Day 234
August 22, 2010A 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.
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