Lynne About Loughborough: Stanford Hall

Showing posts with label Stanford Hall. Show all posts

Sunday, 31 October 2021

O is for Outwoods

O is for Outwoods – and another update for an entry in my book, ‘A-Z of Loughborough’!

I am thankful that I took the opportunity to go for a long walk in some of the areas surrounding Loughborough yesterday, on what was a beautifully sunny and clear afternoon, after a morning of heavy rain. Not only that, I’ve just read that the next phase of the project to return the Outwoods to its ancient woodland species is about to begin, and much of the Outwoods will be closed from 1st November until 24th November while many of the non-native trees, mostly conifers, are felled. I wrote about the first stage of this project in the book, so I’m keen to keep up with the progress of the work. There are some FAQs about the project on the council website, but essentially, the non-native trees are being felled to allow more oak trees to grow, and to encourage the growth of flora on the woodland floor.

On my walk, I took the path off Valley Road where it joins Belvoir Drive and headed up to the Outwoods. Along the way I passed the site of the new cemetery, which is beginning to take shape, and from the fields close by there were some lovely clear views of Loughborough.

Part of the new cemetery

Nanpantan Sports Ground

Reaching the Outwoods itself, I stumbled upon a memorial bench, and then took a very circuitous route, eventually ending up in the car park off Breakback Lane, where I saw all the work that’s been done on the ranger’s hut that is going to be a café.

Artwork in the wood

Then I followed the path that runs parallel to the road, before exiting onto the road, and then turning left into the bridleway that is Brook Lane. I walked all the way along Brook Lane, where there were some fabulous views back across Loughborough, and I noticed I could even see Stanford Hall from there.

Stanford Hall in the far distance

Looking back at the Outwoods from Brook Lane

Brook Lane came out at the junction in Woodhouse Eaves, where the Bull’s Head is on the corner, and after a quick cuppa in the local cafe, I walked to the village hall, but took the path just before the hall. A new tree had been planted here, in honour of people who had died during the pandemic.

This particular path took me all the way to School Lane in Woodhouse, and I walked up past Pestilence Cottage, and stopped to look at the memorial at the church, and the new memorial bench in Woodhouse, which was close to the church.

Crows' nests

From here it was an easy walk through the village of Woodhouse, and at the end of the village I turned down the path to Beaumanor Hall, taking the right-hand path to come home via the path alongside Mucklin Wood, and then through the Grange Park Estate.

The Lodge to Beaumanor Hall, designed by William Railton,is currently for sale

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 31 October 2021

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Dyer, Lynne (2021). O is for Outwoods. Available from:https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2021/10/o-is-for-outwoods.html [Accessed 31 October 2021]

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Sunday, 23 June 2019

Nearby country homes

Another very exciting week learning about local history - in a small pub in Leicester, in Loughborough's Town Hall, and on a walk around the local countryside.

In the Two-Tailed Lion pub, a small, but fantastic building, in the heart of Leicester's Greyfriars area, I heard a very interesting talk by someone who works at Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire. The topic was the impact of the slave trade on the English country house, which seems to be a hot topic at the moment, with people campaigning to eradicate and remove all reminders of Britain's involvement. Anyway, it appears there are many country houses that were built, and architects influenced, by money earned through things like the sugar trade etc.. These now wealthy people - new money - wanted to introduce an air of respectability to their lives and to rub shoulders with the aristocratic land owners. This helps to explain to me why there are so many country houses in our area, of which more later.

The next evening we went along to the Town Hall to see Lucy Worsley sharing her knowledge of, and love for Queen Victoria, on what would have been her 200th birthday. Incidentally, it would also have been Prince Albert's 200th birthday, but he really wasn't the topic of the evening!!! It was fascinating to hear Lucy Worsley's views about the life and times of Queen Victoria, and I was pleased to hear mention of the poor, unfortunate Lady Flora Hastings, as she makes an appearance in my latest book. In the second half of the show, there were some brilliant questions from the floor: no matter what they were, the answers always centred around Queen Victoria!!!

This weekend we popped down to the Old Rectory in Loughborough, to see the wonderful art exhibition that was on, and to meet the artists, who showed us around. It was a beautifully sunny day, the Rectory looked stunning, and the artwork was amazing!

Later that same day I was promised a meal out at The Plough in Normanton, a pretty riverside pub. But, of course, there was a catch! We parked the car on Stanford Lane, not far from the lovely St John the Baptist church which is on Main Street, Stanford. I hadn't really given it any consideration before, but apparently this church is the most southerly in the northern province of York (but I'm guessing it's part of the Diocese of Southwell??).

So, having parked the car, we then walked along the further of the two footpaths on the left heading towards Cotes, for a bit of a walk! I was promised it was only going to be about an hour, but it took about two, probably mostly my fault for stopping to take photographs of things that are not normally quite so visible! So, we walked a rectangle, from Stanford Lane, along one side, keeping the A60 and Hoton to our right, then down towards the Church of All Saints at Rempstone, then running parallel to the A6006 Melton/Ashby Road, and then finally back to the lower footpath leading out onto Stanford Lane (something like that anyway - I'm not good at orientating myself once I've turned but one corner!). It really was quite a picturesque walk, and only one shortish patch was rather overgrown, the rest was quite easily traversed. Once back at the car we headed off to Normanton, and enjoyed a nice meal by the riverside in the last of the sunshine!

Along the way we were able to see Stanford Hall, now the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC), and Rempstone Hall, both of which can be glimpsed from the A60 when the crops are just planted. They are surprisingly located very close to each other, and not that far from Prestwold Hall, which is nestled in the heart of the Leicestershire Wolds. I've seen Rempstone Hall quoted as being in Leicestershire, in Nottinghamshire and on the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire border so, take your pick!!! And, I've found a lovely film of coronation scenes at Rempstone Hall in 1937 (George VI and Elizabeth).

Anyway, I haven't investigated whether the halls were built with new or old money, but here are some pictures from my walk: