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Heritage Open Days 2011

Heritage Open Days has become a well-established weekend in the calendar year since its inception in 1994, but the event is still being “discovered” every year by new participants who have never heard of it before. If that describes you, then this is what Heritage Open Days is, and when it takes place:

Ruins at Old Hall Farm

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS…

Heritage Open Days 2011 offer a unique opportunity to see a diverse showcase of the country’s treasures that are normally inaccessible to the public. This year’s dates are Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th September, when nine properties in South Derbyshire will welcome the public.

At Hartshorne, visitors will have the opportunity to see no. 10 Main Street, which is part of the magnificent Hartshorne Upper Hall, built around 1620. Its decorative timber framing is a well-known landmark on the corner of the A514 by the Bull’s Head Inn. The new owners Chris and Cathie Rogers will greet visitors between 1.30pm and 5.30pm on the Saturday and Sunday.

Grange Farm at Overseal, fronting the A444, is another historic house that has recently changed hands. New owner Mr. Bob Cox is offering guided tours for six people at a time (NB pre-booking required) on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th at 10am, 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm.  The house was saved from mining subsidence and its building history is more complicated than it first appears, with some good period interiors including a first floor library. To book, please telephone South Derbyshire District Council on 01283 228706.

If you haven’t been to Swadlincote lately, then Heritage Open Days is an opportunity to be pleasantly surprised by the continuous improvements taking place there. In the heart of the town, on West Street, Sharpe’s Pottery Museum will be hosting tours of the buildings on Saturday 10th at 10am, 12 noon and 2pm. Between 10am and 3pm on the same day there will be a special rolling slideshow of museum artefacts that are hidden away in store.

A large variety of religious denominations was once represented in Swadlincote, and among the survivors is the Swadlincote Roman Catholic Church of 1958 at 70, Newhall Road, which will be open from 10am to 4.30pm on Thursday 8th, Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September. There will be refreshments and special activities for children and families.

Sealwood Cottage at Linton, rescued from the brink of ruin in 2008, was a great hit with visitors when it first opened for Heritage Open Days in 2009, and owners John and Elizabeth Goodall are looking forward to sharing the house with visitors on all four days between 10am and 4pm. The small cottage, now available for holiday lettings, is an early exercise in Georgian gothic from about 1774, with many intriguing architectural features. Visitors can also explore the new vineyard planted next to it, with an opportunity to buy a souvenir bottle or two of wine!

A few miles away, at Church Gresley, there will be a chance to see the undisturbed upper floors of Gresley Old Hall, which have lain unoccupied for many decades. The house was probably built by Charles Alleyne around 1590 and was rebuilt in brick about a century later. It is now run as a Community Welfare Centre and among other things houses the collection of the South Derbyshire Mining Preservation Group, which will be on show as part of the event. Opening times: Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th 10am to 5pm.

At Repton, a short walk along a lime avenue and through woodland reveals the evocative remains of Repton Park, secondary seat of the Harpur Crewes of Calke, demolished in a fit of pique in 1896. A series of interpretive boards will tell the story of this fascinating and enigmatic house, first built as a 17th century hunting lodge and converted to a castellated house with corner turrets in 1812. Part of the stable building remains standing, and the outline of the house can still be discerned on the ground. The site will be open on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th from 10am to 5pm by kind courtesy of the owners Mr. and Mrs. Bramall.

At Swarkestone, there is a chance to see the remains of another lost house of the Harpur Crewe family, reduced to ruins in the 1740s. The Swarkestone Old Hall site will be open on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September from 10am to 5pm by kind courtesy of resident owners the Lucas family, with interpretive panels throwing light on the house, gardens and associated buildings. The church, which is on the route around the site, will house historic displays on Swarkestone and Chellaston, with refreshments available.

Another local history exhibition is on offer at Twyford Parish Church, where Rosemary Jefferson is once again running her well-established and popular event on the Saturday between 10am and 4pm, with refreshments. Twyford Old Hall was yet another house associated with the Harpur Crewes, now much reduced, and there was an important ferry crossing at Twyford until 1963.  Twyford was also a seat of the Bristow family.

Philip Heath, the District Council’s Heritage and Conservation Officer, said: “It is a pleasure to work with the organisations and private owners who have such enthusiasm to share these wonderful places with the public over a few precious days in each year. Heritage Open Days reminds us that the attractions which open more generally are just the tip of the iceberg, and gives a clue to the immense depth and breadth of our country’s rich heritage.“

If you are planning to visit any of the sites, it is recommended that you refer to the fuller details available at www.heritageopendays.org.uk , where a searchable directory of Heritage Open Days events nationwide can be found. Alternatively, ask at the Swadlincote Tourist Information Centre in West Street, tel. 01283 222848.

page ref: SDDC 250

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