Perlethorpe Village part 1.

 

Above: Map of 1774.

The early history of Perlethorpe, situated within Thoresby Estate where the A614 (Blythe Road) crosses the River Meden, is made slightly more complicated by the fact it was once governed and owned as a region in its own right, entirely separate from Thoresby.

In Saxon times this area belonged to two Saxon chiefs, Thurston and Ulmer. After the Norman Conquest, as was the fate of other lands in the region, Torp (Perlethorpe), became the joint property of the King and Roger de Busli, who also gained lands such as nearby Clumber, whilst Thuresbi (Thoresby), became the property of the King.

The origin of Perlethorpe’s name is subject to debate. “Thorpe”, an Old Norse name meaning ‘dependant settlement’, clearly suggests it started life as a Viking settlement, but Perle is more troublesome. In Old and Middle English that means “rush of water”, particularly apt considering both the River Meden and the River Maun converge close by. However, before the printing press established common spellings, and information relied on the spoken word as much as the written, the village was recorded variously through the centuries as Peureltorp, Peuerelestorp and even Peuerellingethorp. During the reign of Henry III, William de Peverel the younger had some interest in Torp and it was once assumed the “Peverelthorp” prefix was due to him. Most researchers discount that notion today. By the 18th century the common name for the village was Palethorpe. (“Pale” can mean “an area enclosed by a boundary”, adding even more to the debate).

In 1831 Palethorpe (Perlethorpe) had a population of 89 people living in 14 houses. That's an average of 6 to a house. The oldest buildings in the village today date from the mid-19th century, and were often originally in pairs. A typical example of this is Rose Cottage.

Above: The original Rose Cottage, not the nearby restaurant which took its name, stands a little further up the A614 from White Lodge. 19th century Thoresby Estate records refer to the property as Rosedale Cottages. In 1851 it was the home of Perlethorpe Village miller, J. Chamberlain. In 1862 the estate's milkman Thos Day lived in one cottage, whilst Henry Dodd occupied the other. By 1864, Dodd had moved on and been replaced by miller Robert Budd. In 1947, Rose Cottage was still divided into two properties, one being occupied by carpenter / joiner William Craig and family, later to become foreman at Thoresby Estate’s Woodyard.

Above: White Cottages at the end of Radley's Lane, were occupied in 1862 by John Radley and Joseph Sills Batten. In the 1960's the two properties merged to become the Chaplain's House.

Above: Home Farm Lodge.

Above: The Almshouses stand opposite Home Farm, and were built in 1894 by the 3rd Earl "for the benefit of the old labourers on Thoresby Estate". This implies such elegant properties were perhaps intended for those retiring from their labour? Certainly by the 1950s they were occupied by still active workers from the farm and the Woodyard, such as Jack Kenyon.

Each house in Perlethorpe had its own brick built soft water tank to contain the rain which was then drawn up from underground via a hand pump. Starting in 1860 the 3rd Earl Manvers ensured all the houses in Perlethorpe underwent any necessary repairs, and had all the thatched roofs replaced with slate. At the turn of that century a water mains was laid through the village from Boughton water works, and in the 1920s / 30s a steam roller kept the pre-tarmac roads in order. In 1947 Perlethorpe Village was supplied with electricity, and the building of the red brick houses around a new village green soon followed.

Read more about Perlethorpe Bridge, 1847, on THIS LINK.

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.

Perlethorpe Post Office.

 

Perlethorpe Post Office also served as the only shop in Perlethorpe, and was situated in Meadow Cottage, the other side of the River Meden, on the road leading out of the village. In 1940 Mrs Dawson ran the post office. By 1995 she was succeeded by Mrs Blanshard. Mrs Blanshard had been the infants’ teacher at Perlethorpe School between 1910-1919, but retired to look after her husband who had been demobilized from his injuries in World War 1.

Mrs Blanshard would collect the letters from Perlethorpe Village's only post box on the wall to the right of the door. She would then use sealing wax to secure them inside a large brown post sack, this procedure being a veritable treat for the children who would stand transfixed at the sight and smells of her ritual. My sister and I were regular customers at the post office, spending our pocket money on both note books and sweets. The dull brown note books were threepence, whilst the glossy red ones accounted for the full sixpence, and nothing left over for “sweetie cigarettes”.

Children's sweets would be weighed out from the large glass bottles behind the counter, whilst a "Fry's Five Boys" advert on the wall above, heralded the post war arrival of pre-packaged confectioneries. "Sugar Pigs" (literally a large block of sugar shaped like a pig) were very popular, as were the new Lucky Bags which concealed a secret toy. In this way the children of the 50's would keep the dental profession in business for decades to come!

Perlethorpe Post Office closed down in May 1999, when the final postmistress to work there, Sue Rose, resigned. It remains a residential property. The old letter box is still in the wall, unused, and replaced by one next to the farmyard arch.