Day 203
July 22, 2010Wow, what a difference a day makes….torrential rain that floods this normally little stream.
1,351,273
Wow, what a difference a day makes….torrential rain that floods this normally little stream.
A beautiful walk through the Moss Valley with Ray
Some indulgence with this weeks theme of pubs and their signs.
So let’s start with our local, sadly currently closed and looking for a new tenant.
THE VILLAGE CROSS
The Cross erected at the junction of Church Street, Park Street and High Street, was the centre of village activities for hundreds of years. The base is thought to be Norman, but more likely to be 14th century with the column being added in the late 17th century.
THE ROSE & CROWN – An old coaching inn possibly 17th century.
This was the only inn registered in 1729 that belonged to the De Rodes estate.
A day dodging the heavy rain and my first serious cycle ride since the knee op.
The pretty Jug and Glass Inn at Nether Langwith was a pleasant place to pause.
A piece of derelict farm machinery in a local field….but it could be an ageing jet fighter !!!
Anyone for tea?
This derelict caravan is all that is left of an education facility in nearby Whitwell Woods.
The building is now in a sad state. It was used to teach children about this ancient wood which has a great deal of Roman History. Two early encampment sites have been found, elsewhere Roman pottery shards dated from 2nd to 4th centuries A.D. and the medieval ridge and furrow ploughing has left earth banks to the west and south parts of the wood. One large earth bank, known locally as the Kingdom Bank, stretches from the eastern edge to the north escarpment and must have been much higher in the past. It was possibly part of the boundary between the Saxon Kingdom of Mercia and Northumberland.
During World War 1 the demand for timber nearly destroyed the wood. A saw mill and pit were erected near the entrance. Replanting started in the 1920’s
A beautiful sunny day today, which was not expected.
The National Garden Scheme is a charitable organisation that arranges for privately owned gardens to open for the public just a a few times a year. Thornbridge Hall is set in 100 acres of stunning parkland, in the heart of the Peak District National Park and is open only once a year. The magnificent gardens, may not be among the seven wonders of the world – but to my mind they could compete for a place in the top 10 gardens.
Quite simply, their beauty is out of this world, with views over the rolling Derbyshire countryside to die for.
Kairen was excited because the last time she visited (13 years old) she was part of a youth orchestra and the hall was then owned by Sheffield City Council for educational purposes.
From the 12th to the late 18th century, Thornbridge Hall was the seat of the Longsdon family. In 1790, John Morewood bought Thornbridge Hall for the princely sum of £10,000. He made his money selling linens out of Manchester to St Petersburg in Russia. The Morewood family considerably enlarged the house. In 1859, Frederick Craven rebuilt the house in Jacobean style and installed the William Morris/Edward Burne-Jones window in the Great Hall.
In 1896, George Marples, a Sheffield businessman and lawyer, extended the house to nearly its present form, built lodges and cottages, landscaped the park and gardens, added his own private railway station, and acquired the Watson buffet fountain from Chatsworth House.
From 1929, Charles Boot, the Sheffield entrepreneur who designed and built Pinewood Studios, added items from Clumber Park and panelling from Derwent Hall. His company, Henry Boot Construction, was contracted to demolish Clumber after a fire in 1938. It was Boot who was responsible for bringing the many items to Thornbridge, although the bulk were lost to private buyers through auction. Thornbridge Hall is now home to a vast array of statues, facades and fountains originally belonging to Clumber.
Sheffield City Council took over the house in 1945 and it became a teacher training college. In later years, it was used as an educational centre and conference centre by the council, providing residential facilities for teachers and pupils in the house itself and in various outbuildings.
At this time the housewas of sufficient note that a Great Western Railway GWR 6959 Class or Modified Hall class steam locomotive number 6964 built in May 1944, was named Thornbridge Hall in June 1947. It was withdrawn from service in September 1965 and scrapped at T. Ward, Beighton.
The Hunt family purchased the house from the Council in 1997, started restoration work to the gardens, and removed additions to the house to reveal its earlier proportions.
From 2002 Thornbridge Hall has been owned by Jim and Emma Harrison, owners of Thornbridge Brewery and A4e respectively, and is both a private family home and an exclusive venue for events. It is not open to the public.
The Thornbridge Brewery is based in a converted joiner’s and stonemason’s workshop within the grounds of Thornbridge Hall. They aim “to make a small range of quality cask and bottled beers using new recipes, innovative approaches and the use of local fresh ingredients.” Their first beers appeared in February 2005 and have won awards. They have recently opened a much larger brewery in nearby Bakewell.
RECENT COMMENTS