Derbyshire 21 - Mary Queen of Scots and South Wingfield Manor

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Where in the world is Suzy ? OK you guessed she is still parked up on the drive and going nowhere. That, however doesn't stop us getting on the road and doing something. Summer has arrived in Britain and the weather is sweltering. The last few days have been seriously hot. Hotter than the near continent. Last night the sky lit up as it does when the heat has accumulated. Outside the noise was like some Wagnerian opera. Lightening lit up the sky as if it were daylight. The booms went on for what seemed like hours. In fact, it lasted probably a much shorter time. The heat taken out of the night it seemed a tad fresher but that was not to last as by early morning the heat began to build up again in pressure cooker fashion . By mid morning totally unbearable.

So where are we off to today? South Wingfield Manor . So what is its claim to fame? Well you are about to find out. The manor is owned by English Heritage and as we have the CADW card we were able to go in free. However, it is a strange house as it is still a working farm and the land the manor is built on is still owned by the farmer who farms all the land around. He allows access but only through one gate, provides no parking and access is limited to one Saturday (the first of the month) each month. It is only available for guided tours from April to September. We had rung up a few weeks ago to book two tickets. The letter arrived and we were advised to park up on a lay bye some way from the gate and then to meet up with the guide at 11. 00.



We arrived pretty early and parked up. Walking was difficult as there was no footpath, the traffic was fast flowing and the grass verges were either wet from the overnight rain or thick with mown grass which clung to our shoes making them feel heavier each footstep we took. The guide was waiting for us and it turned out she had lived in our village until a few years ago. Upon moving house she had moved to the village we used to live in. The second couple arrived and in dulcet welsh tones said she and her husband (a black country man) had moved from Pembrokeshire. However during our conversation it turned out she came from North Wales and from my home town of Wrexham. Gradually more and more of the group trickled in and by 11.00 our other guide had turned up but we were missing a few of the 29 booked on the tour. Is'nt it always the case? . The letter inviting you tells you to get there at a specific time. Most turn up in time or early but there are always the few who turn up late or not at all. One couple parked up in the wrong place and entered the property via the private farm drive and were chastised .

We were walked to a spot on the drive where our very knowledgeable and funny guide gave us a quick resume of the ground rules. Don't talk to the farmer or disturb him. Don't take photos or look at the farm. Don't pick any of the fruit of which there was rather a lot. Gooseberries, Apples and nut trees growing in the manor grounds . Do not go into the working farm.

The walk to the manor was mainly uphill and rather muddy in places due to the overnight downpour. We passed the fishing lake with its bullrushes and water lilies and a solitary fisherman. And then the castle appeared above the trees. It is a Romantic place the stuff of romantic poets or romantic artists. A ruin which gradually was returning to nature. Much of its stone pillaged by one of the owners to use on his new residence just down the valley. The rest pillaged by the villagers until a stop was put to it in the late 1880's following a curt note from the owner that no-one was being allowed in again. Effectively the place shut down after many years when visitors were positively encouraged. A preservation order was slapped on the building and a compromise made between the landowner and English Heritage which allowed limited visits per year.



So what is the history of Wingfield Manor. As we stood amongst the atmospheric ruins the guide told us it was built by one Cromwell and destroyed by another one. It stands high on a hill and the view from the towers are over the nearby valley. You can see for miles and Wingfield can be seen with its many chimneys and towers across the valley. As always a small castle originally stood on the site in the 12th century of which none remains. On this spot Ralph Lord Cromwell who was treasurer to King Henry VI and one of the richest men in the country acquired the site in 1429 following a dispute with other relatives. The estate was split with other manor houses going to other members and Ralph getting what he wanted. In 1439 he began his building. He spent £220 on it. A massive sum of money in those days but would hardly buy you a garden shed in 2015. We were taken around the outer walls which were pockmarked with cannon ball holes. Part of the destruction of the castle during the English Civil Wars. The walls were thick and withstood the onslaught for a while. But I have gone on too far.

We need to get back to Ralph and his building work. At any one time he employed over 70 workers on his manor so the place must have been a hive of activity. By now he had his great kitchen which was the first room we entered. Roofless and floorless we stood on the ground floor and saw the many huge fireplaces where the food was prepared. Food that had been caught on the great estate. The breadovens were fairly intact and reminded me of an Italian pizza shop with its wood burning oven. We were guided from room to room. Up there are the state apartments originally used by Ralph but eventually by the most important visitor Wingfield had - Mary Queen of Scots. The Great Hall now devoid of its wood panelling and its windows once filled with Venetian glass now just stone bone ribs. Cromwell died in 1456 at the start of the War of the Roses after completing a double courtyard, grand entrances and lodgings on the upper floors. A high tower which overlooked the land. A tower from which Cromwell sat and watched the hunt before joining the hunting party.

Our guide told us Cromwell had no heirs to the home passed to the Earls of Shrewsbury. It was at this time that Mary arrived . The earl and his famous wife Bess of Hardwick were tasked by looking after or if you prefer imprisoning Mary by the then Queen Elizabeth I . Although cousins these two were not the best of friends. Elizabeth thought of by some as a bastard and Mary the legitimate heir . What could a Queen who feared for her throne do? Ship Mary to Wingfield where she was kept for almost 20 years spending time at Wingfield and at Hardwick. She was 20 when she arrived and was over 40 when she finally was executed . Her life at first at Wingfield would have been as pleasant as it could be . She had the prized apartments , she could climb the tower, she could ride out with the hunt. She had a court with 70 hangers on . She was though still a prisoner. As we walked from room to room we were told anecdotes about her hating the gardrobes which were smelly, how she ran her own court in the house and spent time in the Great Hall. We looked through windows she once looked through. The tour seemed to drag on a little as we entered room after room inside the manor house and were told more and more facts about the house and its inhabitants. It became unbearable hot as we stopped in each room. We heard how the house was sold to the Haltons who later sold the farm to the present tenants family. We heard about Turner visiting and painting. Fascinating as it was we hate guided tours and as the temperature soared it became difficult as there were no facilities on site.

Finally we came out and saw the remainder of the outside walls and visited the old barn with its timbers dated to the 15th century. A welcome dark and gloomy, cold damp building. The slurry was the barn rushed out to a medieval cesspit where archaeologists had found evidence of the food eaten by the household and human teeth. Not sure what the teeth were doing there. Never did find out. Our final visit was to the Undercroft . Haunted by the ghost of Mary or so it is said. A building with a medieval appearance of church like quality but the reality was that it was built much later and the materials may have been medieval but were recycled from somewhere else.

Our tour ended and we walked the long walk back which luckily now was downhill rather than up. What could we end the lovely visit with . Cod and Chips . How British is that!

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