Yesterday I had the chance to chat to four local historians, two of whom were born and bred in this area. I was trying to find out a little more about this beautiful, but long empty, old manor house.
I got very excited when my friend, a retired farmer, from a village just a mile away from the house said that she had been to a party in there.
Unfortunately she was just seven years old and all she can remember is that the house was very dark and gloomy. That would have been in 1953/4, so almost a decade before it began a life of emptiness.
No help there, but a tiny link to the place.
The second photograph shows the back of the house, not nearly so many windows as at the front, so yes, I can imagine that there are probably some long, dark corridors in there, probably very spooky for an impressionable child.
Given that the heart of the house is some three or four hundred years old, there must have been some very grand 'do's' there.
I'll keep picking away at the puzzle, someone must know why it has been empty for so many decades.
Almost immediately behind the house there is a large mound - the buried remains of a motte and bailey castle. A motte and bailey castle was a medieval fortification. This one dates from 11/12th century. The motte is about 8 metres high, the platform is about 70 metres in diameter. It is surrounded by ditches which are about 14 metres wide. Toby and I explored part of the ditch system - they are dry ditches - very deep and very wide.
It doesn't exactly look impressive these days. The mound is fenced off with barbed wire, impossible for me to get inside, especially with Toby in tow.
Despite the underwhelming photograph, this was some serious defensive construction work!
This area is so steeped in history, something new to learn every day.
