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Published: December 1st 2013
Week 4 and a half. Life still rumbles on in Suzy. On working days we get up early, shower and I head off for a day at the coal face as they used to say. Glenn is left to his own devices. Puzzle books to the ready, music on the radio and the TV if all else fails. He is getting through puzzle books as if they are going out of fashion.
On non working days we lie in, two heaters blasting away keeping us as snug as bugs in a rug. When we eventually rise it is to a leisurely breakfast of coffee,croissants and toast. Life as full timers to motorhomers hasn't taken that long to get used to although we definitely would prefer to be in sunnier climes. Nottinghamshire is a tad cold at this time of the year. And of course the longer you spend in Suzy the more cleaning needs to be done. Chores have taken on a life of their own. We fill up the water tanks every few days - how much water can you use cleaning your teeth and washing the pots. We fill our drinking water every day without fail. Shopping is
done every four days and we take the dung for a walk.This has become the affectionate name for the toilet cassette which seems to fill up with regular monotony.
Our morning today was spent working out what to do. sit at home and fester or drive an hour into the neighbouring county of Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire is a flat county. Gainsborough a town I have never been to before. From Wales you rarely headed for this part of the world. It is odd you gravitate to whichever coast is the nearest and the North Sea one always seemed too far and too remote to even give a passing thought to.
Our trip was to Gainsborough Old Hall a building completed in both magpie black and white and brick. Not quite as ornate as a Cheshire or Shropshire black and white buildings. It possesses more straight pieces of oak without the cut out trefoils or squiggly bits of carving. In fact Gainsborough Old Hall is a large, late- medieval manor house built by the noble Burgh family around 1460. The house boasts an impressive Great Hall, an original medieval kitchen, east and west ranges and an original brick built tower.
Gainsborough Old Hall was not only the home of the Burgh family but also a demonstration of their wealth and importance. By 1596, however, the Burghs had fallen on hard times as did many families and the house was sold to the Hickman family. Although a number of "home improvements " have been made over the years it remains a “textbook of medieval architecture” Famous visitors to the Old Hall inlcude Richard III, Henry VIII, John Wesley and the Pilgrim Fathers plus us. 😊 Gainsborough Old Hall was given to the nation in 1970 by descendants of the Hickman family.
It is an imposing building sitting in the middle of the town and once must have looked very important in its setting. It is a little known building and a little gem. I dont think many people would find their way to this part of the world to see it. Free to English Heritage and Cadw members. We found the hall a little hard to locate. Our first try took us into the town driving round in circles trying to locate it or to at least find a brown heritage sign to point us in the right direction. After
much driving round we spotted one and a small car park within walking distance. Cost just over a pound to park for two hours. You could park for up to 4 hours on this car park but we felt in the cold two was plenty.
Outside are Tudor gardens which in season would look pretty and smell sweetly. Borders filled with herbs chives, mint and lavender and the herbs used in the kitchens . Inside a small cafe. The choice was limited but the food warm and tasty. None of the main meals you expect in a National Trust property but a good selection of toasties, sandwiches,cakes and soup. The soup today was tomato,not my favourite so we chose cheese toasties, followed by scones with butter and jam and mini mince pies. A reminder that christmas is just Around the corner.
Friendly volunteers manned the information desk, issuing tickets with a smile and a warm welcome and issued audio tapes. The volunteers ever smiling serving the food and the volunteer sewing circle were drinking coffee whilst their needles wove in and out of the material they were working. I suppose we should have asked what exactly they were
sewing.
The inside of the building comprised of a great hall one of the finest in England with a fine wooden oak roof. On the day of our visit the hall was full of local schoolchildren dressed up in Tudor costumes enacting a medieval feast day. How excited they were dressed in their medieval finery and serving up Tudor festive delights which included a whole swan. The great hall was built in was stunning with its windows letting in light. Although the children were enjoying themselves they did make it hard to view the room properly without getting in their way or they got in our way. The roof was an oak timbered masterpiece. Our tape guided us from this room into the kitchens nextdoor.
Two large fireplaces faced each other , one for roasting deer on the spits, the other for cooking potages. What a shame the big fires were not lit and burning. They would have warmed up the chilly room and added authenticity and welcome smells to the building.
The history of the hall, the kitchens and the buttery was dictated to us on tapes as we moved from room to room. On to
the stewards room where the activities of the hall on a day to day basis were undertaken. Upstairs a west wing, a range of bedrooms, corridors including what was called a ghost corridor and living rooms all filled with bedding and oak furniture. A beautifully formed but small solar completed the tour of the building. You can't spend hours here. It is too small inside and the gardens tiny but it is worth an hours visit. And we enjoyed every minute of it.
We ended our journey and visit to the town with a walk through the shops and outside market. Nothing special to write home about. The shops were the usual suspects and the market much smaller than those I was used to in Mold. And the cold spoilt everything. Even with a thick coat, scarf and gloves we were still relieved to get back to the car.
Our return journey was marred a little by the speed camera held by a lurking policeman. He didnt stop us and we think we were Ok but it's going to be a nervous 14 day wait to see if we were speeding.
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