Thoresby Estate workers.

Above: Jack Williamson was born on Thoresby Estate in 1907, and spent his entire life there. Starting work first as a gardener at Whitemoor House, aged 13, he would be remembered most for his work in the Woodyard’s sawmill where he started work in 1921. I well remember the sound of the saws of a morning, and the distinctive black clothing he always wore, which is captured in this painting by Lady Manvers. The person in blue is Ted Williamson. Anyone researching Thoresby Estate should try and get a copy of Jack Williamson’s booklet “My Life on a Nottinghamshire Estate” (1980).

 Above: Another water colour sketch by Lady Manvers, dated 1962. It depicts the interior of the main joiner's workshop at the Woodyard. The subjects are Gran Gilliver (left), and Works Foreman William "Jock" Craig (right), the latter of whom had run back nervously into his home the Three Gables to get a clean shirt! (I’m sure Lady Manvers wouldn’t have minded, but he did).

Above: Seated on the steps leading from the Blue Dining Room into the gardens at Thoresby Hall, these seven workers were mostly based in the Woodyard on Thoresby Estate. Back row left to right: Ted Williamson (one of the operators in the saw mill), Les Dennison, Charlie Leepins, Bob Dickinson. Bottom row left to right: William (Bill) Craig (foreman / joiner at the Woodyard and also known as Jock), Bill Nunn (plumber), Alf Dennison.

Above: A team of workers no doubt sent down from the Woodyard to clear the snow in front of the gates at Perlethorpe Church. The only person I can recognise with any certainty is Jack Kenyon on the left, who lived in the Almshouses. I believe the picture was taken c.1960. (Credit goes to former Perlethorpe School pupil David Reddish for making this photo available).

Above: The central figure is William Craig Senior, the chief gardener at Thoresby Hall for a short time in the late 1950s / early 1960's, until he became homesick for Scotland to where he returned.


Any errors in these names / details can be corrected via leaving a comment.

The Dukeries and Fox Hunting.

 

Above: Charles William Sydney Pierrepont, 4th Earl Manvers (1854 – 1926) was Master of the Rufford Hounds. Pictured here with his huntsman outside Thoresby Hall as everyone indulges in an excessive pre- hunt breakfast.

Fox hunting, as one thinks of it today, really began in the 18th century. Previous to that, deer had been the hunter’s choice of animal, but this changed after the Enclosure Acts in 1750 which resulted in open lands being sectioned into farmable fields, and the deer population going into decline as a result. At that point foxes and hare became the target.

Fox hunting was never truly about the cull. As any gamekeeper will tell you a fox is a creature of habits, taking the same routes every night at the same times. So, if you have a fox problem, it would be very easy to locate and shoot. Fox hunting was really all about pomp and circumstance, an excuse for the Dukes and Lords to don their bright red finery, mount their thoroughbred horses, and follow their equally well bred packs of hounds across their vast estates, exhibiting as they did so just how wealthy and powerful they were. In the evening there would be an equally lavish ball, a banquet with tables well stocked with game from the Duke’s estate.

Above: It is for this reason, wanting to impress and display one’s wealth and social position, that the hunt became a favoured subject when commissioning artworks. Such paintings would have pride of place within the great halls, and on occasion hung in notable London galleries. To reach an even wider audience, engravings would be made from the original artwork and mass produced for circulation. One such example is the above print from Tilleman’s painting of 1725, depicting the 2nd Duke of Kingston, with the original Thoresby Hall and his impressive estate in the background.

Above: Another fine painting which was shown in the Academy of 1789, is F. Wheatley’s 1788 “Portrait of a Nobleman returning from Shooting". It depicts Henry Pelham Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, and his shooting party, with the Clumber Spaniels and, beyond the bridge, Clumber House in the background. 

Above: The ducal seat of Clumber became well known for the breeding of hunting dogs such as the Clumber Spaniel and the Greyhound. The Greyhound was originally bred as a hunting dog for the rich and privileged. Anyone from the “lower classes” owning such a dog would be prosecuted by law, perhaps because it was taken as evidence of an intention to poach game on the King’s land. In the 15th century a White Greyhound was seen as a symbol of status, and there are records of such dogs being gifted to Knights in appreciation of services rendered. It became associated in particular with the Tudors, and appears on the Henry 7th coat of arms.

From John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to 8th Duke of Newcastle under Lyme, Clumber House was a ducal seat. Hence the greyhounds on the Drayton Gates opposite Clumber Park Hotel, are referred to as Newcastle Greyhounds, carved in the 18th century. There are similar examples throughout Clumber Park.

Above: The Kennels, Thoresby Estate. The original building would be much older than the current Thoresby Hall, and was directly linked to the first Hall via “a long straight canal”. (H. Repton). The Kennels were built c.1738, the name of the building being self explanatory, as the site where the Duke's hunting dogs were kept. Just how much of the building standing there today is part of the original would be hard to assess. We do know that architect John Carr renovated The Kennels in 1790, c.20 years after the second Thoresby Hall was completed.

Above: The Guy Marson painting of a 1959 hunt gathering outside Thoresby Hall, also received the mass-production treatment as many residents on the estate were expected to buy a copy. I well remember a colour print of this hanging in our family home when I lived there. The original hangs today (2017) in Perlethorpe Social Club.

In November 2004 a free vote in the UK’s House of Commons made "hunting wild mammals with a dog" unlawful in England and Wales. Since The Hunting Act was passed several previous hunt organizations have gone on to perform displays of jumping and cross country riding with hounds within the Dukeries area. It remains a controversial subject.

Thoresby Estate lodges.

 

Above: A building known as White Lodge stood in this area in 1683 when the 3rd Earl Kingston purchased 1270 acres of Bilhaugh woodland for £7,000, thus making it a part of Thoresby Estate. It is not known just how much of the present building (if any) is that original house, but records indicate that the private road alongside the property and leading into Thoresby Estate, was originally laid by Evelyn Pierrepont the 4th Earl. However, the arches that stand at its entrance today are the ones which stood at Buck Gates until the 1950s.

White Lodge, stands on the A614 approximately a mile from Ollerton roundabout. It was once called Proteus Lodge, and is referred to as such on late 19th and some early 20th century maps. Local records from 1904 / 08 refer to it as White Lodge.

In 1832 it was occupied by Chas Paschoud the park keeper, and the Estate's fox hounds are believed to have been kept in the vicinity. In 1851, subsequent park keeper Richard Kemshall shared the lodge with Reverend Augustus C Masters, followed in 1862 by Joseph Cross, in 1864 by head game keeper Thomas R Kemshall, and in 1922 by Thoresby Estate Agent Hubert Davys Argles. When Lady Sibyl Pierrepont (daughter of the 4th Earl) married Davys Argles in 1923, alterations were carried out on the lodge which then became their marital home. Lady Sibyl Pierrepont was superintendent of the Perlethorpe Sunday School at that time.

Above: Cameleon Lodge (above) stands approximately two miles South West of Shepherd's Lodge, on the other end of Netherfield Lane. It was known as Red Lodge in the 18th century because of its red tiles. However, Repton had the lodge washed with stone colouring, painted, and thatched. The name Cameleon was taken from the Roman Goddess.

This property has been most associated with the head woodsmen who have worked on Thoresby Estate over the decades, examples including David Jamieson in 1864, and James Smith, who started at Thoresby in 1910 and lived at Cameleon Lodge until 1930. Dennis Turnbull took on the role of Head Forester at Thoresby directly after his demobbing from National Service, and lived there in the 1950s / 60s. (Note: Cameleon Lodge is spelt as such on Ordnance Survey maps from at least 1906 to the present day. Some sources do spell it as Chameleon lodge. I have chosen the former.)

Above: Shepherd's Lodge stands near the mini roundabout aside the A614. At various times in the 20th century it has also been referred to as Clarke's Lodge. It was built c.1800 by John Carr, at a time when he was engaged in modifications to Thoresby Hall itself. Records indicate that in 1862 John Carnall lived there, and in 1864, Joseph Ellis. One can only assume from the Lodge's title what their occupations were. In the 1930s George Hind, who worked the boilers at Thoresby Hall, was the resident.

Thoresby Estate roads and routes of the past.

 

In 1706 the 5th Earl of Kingston applied for permission to make a “ride” through Bilhaugh Wood. Permission was necessary because, although the 4th Earl had gained the right to create a Park by enclosure from Sherwood Forest, the 5th Earl’s plans travelled beyond that boundary. His proposed route would facilitate a quicker journey direct from the original Thoresby Hall (1683), to Ollerton town in readiness for Newark beyond. Permission was granted.

Clearly still visible on Google maps, though long since abandoned and off limits today, the “ride” led in a straight line from the original Thoresby Hall by the east of the lake, over the original site of Green Bridge, through Ice House Wood and the Pleasure Gardens, alongside the site where one day would stand the Woodyard, and continue for about one mile before stopping at the lodge which became Buck Gates. This part of the journey so far, would be named Chestnut Avenue.

Chestnut Avenue suffered like every other landscaped area of Thoresby as trends in forestry changed. However, there is a story that the Estate Manager Mr Holder was dismissed in the early 1950's when Lady Manvers discovered he had started felling trees there. Holder was replaced by Mr Tapper, whose foresight started a vigorous planting scheme in Thoresby. Apparently Chestnut Avenue was restored in 2000 by clearing it of the silver birches which had taken root along its length over the decades. Indeed, one can see the clearing where the original Duke's carriages would have passed on the video posted on this blog of Thoresby’s 2015 Hayride.

Above: The Craig brothers walking along a well-kept Chestnut Avenue c.1958, heading for the toys shops in Ollerton.

Above: 1964. The view from atop one of the avenue's Chestnut Trees, looking towards the woods which concealed Proteus Camp and the A614 beyond.

Above: Green Drive. This postcard places it near to Buck Gates. At the end of Chestnut Avenue there were indeed several such woodland paths converging there.

Above: 1985 and c 2013. The road which had linked Perlethorpe with The Woodyard, leading then to Edwinstowe beyond, had several bends. In this way it avoided higher grounds, and also retained a link to Green Bridge and what was once the second Hall on the other side. All traces of the road are now gone, and the fields extended.

Above: Scotch Firs, Thoresby Park postcard c.1900. Colour photograph 2014.

This relatively undisturbed region of Thoresby, close to the rear of Rose Cottage and the A614, became open to the public during their "Permitted Walks" scheme. Access might be more limited today.

Lady Rozelle Raynes 1925 – 2015.

 

Above: Lady Manvers' portrait drawing of her only daughter Lady Rozelle, looking rather proud in her Wren's uniform, 1944.

Lady Frederica Rozelle Ridgway Pierrepont would have been 15 years old when, in 1940, her father became the 6th Earl Manvers (succeeding his cousin) and took up residence in Thoresby Hall. She was the youngest of three children but the only one to survive to adulthood.

Soon after the family moved into the Hall it was requisitioned by the military. It was World War 2, and troops were billeted on the estate whilst training both here and at Rufford Abbey. As a small child she had been fascinated by the sea, and the Second World War presented an opportunity to join the WRNS as a tugboat stoker. (Much preferable in her eyes to a finishing school in Switzerland.) She would recall those times as being a “peak of happiness”, and burst into tears upon being demobbed when the war was over. But her sailing days had really only just begun, and subsequent adventures on her 25ft yacht the Martha McGilda, provided ample material to fill a series of self-penned books. In 1953 she married Major Alexander Beattie of the Coldstream Guards.

Whilst her mother continued to reside at Thoresby Hall, Lady Rozelle inherited the estate in 1955 when her father died. As was the case with many post-war stately homes in need of finances, Thoresby Hall was opened up to the public in 1957, and first husband Major Beattie was much involved in it becoming a popular attraction during a decade when visiting such places became a favourite national pastime.  However, the marriage ended in 1961.

In 1965 Lady Rozelle married Dr Richard Raynes. In the mid-1970s, with the support of husband Dr Raynes, she embarked on a scheme to help rehabilitate East End boys in care. This involved taking them out on the Thames in the Martha McGilda, half a day every fortnight, and teaching them to sail and navigate. These “Tuesday Boys” became the subject of a subsequent book, and in 1980 she established the Martha McGilda charitable trust so as this successful scheme of support for such boys might continue.

After Thoresby Hall was sold to the National Coal Board in 1984, the estate would be managed mostly by agents, but Lady Rozelle retained lifelong friends with many of the people living and working there, in particular, the Courtyard Gallery where her mother’s paintings enjoy a regular presence. In the 1980s she and her husband had a house built on the estate. She moved there in 2010 after suffering a fall, and less able to reside in London. Lady Rozelle died June 22nd 2015, a year after her husband. They left no descendants. According to internet sources "she is buried in the family plot at Thoresby".

Thoresby Hayride 2015.

Thoresby Estate's Hayride does not always take exactly the same route every year. This video shows the route taken in June 2015, and names the places of historic interest along the way: Home Farm, Perlethorpe Village Hall, Radleys Lane, The Kennels, Whitemoor Farm, Whitemoor House, Whitewater, Whitewater Lane, Druids Grove, Buck Gates, White Lodge, Henry's Grove, Charles Wood, the original Duke’s carriageway, Chestnut Avenue, Nelson's Grove, Icehouse Wood, Three Gables, The Woodyard, and Perlethorpe Church.

I make no apology for the camera shake. Such is the character of a fun hayride, and I wanted to preserve that. 

 Above: Departure from Home Farm and along Radley's Lane, leaving Perlethorpe Village.

Beech Avenue, Thoresby Estate.

 

Above: Birklands Wood.

In the 19th Century the wooded areas of Birklands, around the Major Oak, and Bilhaugh, next to Ollerton Corner, were popular tourist attractions, both a part of Thoresby Estate. Birklands was landscaped and maintained with a mixture of Oak and Birch, and there is an interesting record of how a 1902 scheme to seed the area with new birch trees was thwarted by pre-myxomatosis levels of rabbit population, before which up to 10,000 rabbits were shot annually on the estate.

Thoresby Colliery opened in 1925. When a railway track was planned to run from the colliery, through Cockglode, and into Ollerton Corner, letters of protest appeared in The Times. Thanks to the public support of Earl Manvers (who had never liked the idea of the mine being named after his estate), the scheme was dropped. But the woods of Ollerton Corner, were still cleared of their timber during the needs of two world wars, and the colliery itself.

Above: Beech Avenue, 1940s / 50s.

These rows of trees apparently rivalled Robin Hood's Major Oak as a place of both local and national interest.

It is known that war time entertainer Gracie Fields once visited Beech Avenue whilst staying at the Coaching House, now known as the Hop Pole. Beech Avenue acquired the nickname "the Cathedral" because of the way its branches met over the roadway like the arches over a cathedral's aisle. Allegedly, even at the height of summer, the only light which penetrated was from each end of the Avenue.

Above: Beech Avenue 1969. Copyright 2013 Graham Travis and used with consent.

Above: Proteus Camp 1965.

In 1942 Proteus Camp (eventually re-named the Dukeries Training Area) was established. Understandably, the woodlands in this area became a more secretive, off limits, military site. Beech Avenue itself was finally cleared in 1976 / 78, following decades of neglect, overgrowth, old age, the storm damage of 1976.

Happy ending: Where once stood Proteus camp, now stands the ironically and appropriately named "The Sherwood Hideaway". Starting in 2009, a joint venture between Thoresby Estate and a luxury lodge developer, in rents cabins for short term holidays. It even seems to have its own new Beech Avenue:

River Meden, Thoresby Estate.

 

 Above: The River Meden as it passes Thoresby Hall (2018).

 The River Meden, called the River Medin as late as the 16th century, winds a picturesque course from where once stood the stone Mills and cottages of Warsop, through Budby, before being dammed to form Thoresby Lake, and then continuing its journey through Thoresby Estate to Perlethorpe, soon after which it merges with the rivers Maun and Poulter. It was this reliable source of water which must have attracted Saxon and probably earlier Viking settlements in the area.

Above: The River Meden's winding journey through Thoresby made several small bridges necessary. The above photograph (1984) shows the view from atop Perlethorpe Bridge.

 

Above: There was once a mill on the side of this river, next to Home Farm, and powered by a water wheel. In 1875 one George Mawson started work there. This is long since gone, but the region still retains small lock gates which help control the flow. In 1862 the mill was described as having two grey millstones, two French buhr stones (said to produce a superior wheat product), and a Gorse Bruising Machine, the latter of which rendered a gorse bush into a palatable thorn-free food supplement for horses and cows when mixed with chopped hay or straw during those months when green forage might be thin on the ground. Dairymen were also of the opinion it made the milk richer and tastier.

Above: We know from records, and Leonard Knyff’s painting of 1705, that a straight canal once led from the very first Thoresby Hall, through the Mill, and on to the Kennels. The relationship between that canal and the Meden itself, remains very hard to ascertain. However, long since abandoned lock gates can still be viewed in the nearby field, weather permitting.

The Woodyard, Thoresby Estate.

 

Above: The Woodyard, Thoresby Park, photographed in 1964 from a tree top near the start of Chestnut Avenue. (The remnants of the Duke's carriage way, leading from Thoresby Hall to Buck Gates, are still visible from mid left to the road.)

The Woodyard is situated at the other side of Thoresby Lake from Thoresby Hall, outside the region known as the Pleasure Grounds. It was built in 1876, during the time of Sydney William Herbert Pierrepont, 3rd Earl Manvers, at a cost of £64,000. This is where the timber grown by Thoresby Forestry Department became the Estate’s fences, telephone poles, window frames, doors, and much more.

Selected trees would be felled after the leaves had fallen, and the sap was no longer rising. These would be taken to the Woodyard where the 40 H.P. gas engine of the large central saw mill cut them into their desired formats. This saw mill, the large central building on the picture below, was run by Jack Williamson and his staff of about six men. It was also the location of the band saw, lathe, and various other powered woodworking machines, the floor to the saw mill concealing a maze of pulleys, shafts and drive belts. I well remember waking to the sound of Jack's early morning saw, and the smell of the fresh cut timber which would then be stacked in the central drying shed for two years before being used in the joiners' shop at the Woodyard’s entrance. At the rear of the yard, next to the “sand pits”, was the "shavings shed" in which younger, slimmer, timbers were manually stripped of their bark.

Beside the saw mill was a huge, black, metal creosote tank, 20 foot long and 5 foot diameter. This is where fence posts and poles would be left to soak as the tank was flooded with creosote, a banned substance today. It resembled a submarine, as a young child was able to stand upright inside.

As the nation's oil lamps gave way to gas, a gas works was installed behind the cottages on the northern side of the yard at a cost of £2,251. This supplied Thoresby Hall, Perlethorpe Church, the path to the Hall and its gates, Perlethorpe School, and Buck Gates. During the 1930's, Johnny Mellors lived in the Woodyard cottages and three times a week took a horse drawn cart to Ollerton Station to get coal for Thoresby Hall's boilers.

In August 1940 a number of incendiary bombs fell on Thoresby, and Walesby. During the night of 29th August the Woodyard caught fire as a result of this but no extensive damage was done.

On the right of the Woodyard entrance was the office of the Clerk of Works this being Johnny Mellors in the 1930's, Noel Whitworth from 1940 - 50, and Jack Bramley between 1950 - 1963. Opposite his office was the main joiner's shop in which worked such personnel as William “Jock” Craig, foreman of the Woodyard during the 1950's – early 1960s, and Gran Gilliver. Others in the workforce included Bill Nunn and Jack Kenyon, the latter of whom was also the church boiler stoker in 1959. All these men took great pride in their skills and versatility.

Above: The Woodyard in 1984. Three Gables can be seen on the distant right. The large central building was the saw mill, whilst the works van parked inside the building on the left.

Above: In 2019 I was permitted to take a last look around The Woodyard, Thoresby Park.

Perlethorpe Environmental Education Centre. Perlethorpe School part 4.

 

Above: Perlethorpe Environmental Education Centre as seen from the churchyard opposite. Countless generations of Perlethorpe schoolchildren have crawled along the long lower branch of that Lime tree.

When Perlethorpe Primary School closed in 1984, both the land and building reverted to the ownership of Thoresby Estate, Lady Rozelle. As has been mentioned elsewhere on this blog, Lady Rozelle was already a keen supporter of childhood education through her 1970s scheme to rehabilitate “East End boys” in care. Negotiations between Thoresby Estate and Nottinghamshire Education Committee soon took place, and it was agreed that this once busy primary school, could be used as a field study centre.

In 1985 the centre offered the opportunity for groups of children, perhaps from a mostly city or town background, to visit designated areas in the park’s woodlands, farm land, and river. It proved a great success. Between then and now (2024), the centre has gone on to develop and offer a rich, broad curriculum, incorporating such subjects as Archaeology, Geology, Art, Bushcraft, Saxons & Vikings, Victorian days, World War, Art, and of course, the Nature Studies so enjoyed by the estates own children in many decades past.

Above: Roof repairs, 2015.

Above: Rear view, 2017.

Above: 2021. Solar panels being fitted for an environmentally friendly Environmental Education Centre.

Above: 2022. New extensions to the Centre.