Thoresby Lake videos, Thoresby Hall.

 

These films were taken on the north side of Thoresby Lake, an area which had been a well-used public footpath as late as the 1940's. The people from Perlethorpe would walk along here to Budby (and visa verca), able to purchase sweets from vendors along the way, or take a seat on a bench and admire the view. In the 18th Century this is probably where the general public were invited to stand and view Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston upon Hull, as his boats maneuvered about the lake. In 1928 Perlethorpe School had to introduce a new rule to prevent pupils from Budby taking this route when the lake became frozen over and was considered dangerous. They were instructed instead to walk via Nelson's Lodge and the Woodyard. Most of the little piers along the lake's edge are crude, relatively modern, concrete and tarmac constructions. But at the start of the film you will see stones which were clearly once a part of something more significant. For a short time, c.2007-2010, the footpath was once again opened and became a popular walk for those staying at Warners Thoresby Hotel, although one could no longer proceed any further than this halfway point towards William Castle (Budby Castle), nor get a clear view of Kingston Island, the latter of which seems to have lost all definition to its boundaries. Sadly, at the time of writing (2012) access to the lake has been closed off once again.

Thoresby Park Lake.

 

Above: Postcard. "Evening on Thoresby Lake", dated 1909.

It seems likely that a small lake has always existed where Thoresby Lake is situated today. There is speculation that a Roman fort may have been here, and certainly there are small natural underground springs which add to the flow of the River Meden as it comes from Budby. We can be sure from the place names THOResby and PerleTHORpe that Viking settlements were attracted by such a reliable source of fresh water. But at some point, probably before the 16th century the River Meden was dammed to form a bigger lake.

However, the size and spectacle of what we know today as Thoresby Lake was the result of the ambitions of Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston upon Hull, who in 1751 (at a cost of £497) extended this lake alongside which the original Thoresby Hall had been built. Evelyn's landscaping and extensions also involved the formation of Kingston Island at its western end. His greatest enthusiasm was for the boats he kept on Thoresby Lake, clearly visible in the Tillemans painting dated 1725, and during the 1760's the Duke would allow public access every Sunday to watch his boats manoeuvre around the lake. (One print depicts the Duke's boat as having 15 cannons). William Castle (a.k.a. Budby Castle) was built in 1789, and named after William Scott, the "Captain of the Mary" who had died in 1756. This is where the crew and Captain of the boats were then stationed.

The passion for boats continued with successive generations. In 1832 Charles Herbert Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers, had a fully rigged ship built near Gainsborough and brought to Thoresby by carriage. During the 1930's pleasure rides on the Lake were still being organised for children from the Estate, and two rustic boat houses were situated on either side. The one on the northern side housed the "Reed Cutter", named as such because it was designed to cut the weeds growing below the surface. The lake also provided a plentiful supply of pike and eels, as well as ice in the winter which was gathered and placed in an ice house, and on top of which the Earl's game would be placed.

To watch a video of Thoresby Lake click on THIS LINK.

Above: The plain, practical look of the repaired weir at the east end of the lake (2006), gives no indication of earlier splendors.