Author Archives: buildingbeginnings

The Friends enjoyed an engaging visit to Iscoyd Park on 24 September. The Grade II* red brick Georgian house is situated in an idyllic 18th century parkland setting on the Welsh side of the Shropshire/Wales border. It has been home to the Godsal family since 1843 and we were fortunate in having Philip Godsal as our host. In addition to an informative talk about the Godsal family’s hstory, Philip led us on a tour of the house and had set up an exhibition of archive material for us to view. Claire Harrington, Principal Archivist, of North East Wales Archives (Hawarden) also attended to tell us about the Iscoyd archive material held there. Our visit concluded with tea and cakes in the coachhouse.

On 10 July 2024 the Friends visited Millichope Park, a Greek-Revival building built in the mid-19th century by Shropshire architect Edward Haycock for Reverend Norgrave Pemberton, Rector of Church Stretton.

The Grade II*, 25-acre landscaped garden includes large lakes, cascades and the George Steuart temple, which pre-dates the house and is perched at the top of a steep cliff rising out of the lake. We enjoyed a tour of the ground floor of the house led by Antonia Bury whose husband’s family have owned the property for over a century. Head gardener Egle Zinkute then took us on a guided tour of the grounds and explained the planting of the new terrace in front of the house, and the emphasis on more natural planting in the park to encourage habitat conservation. Tea and cakes completed a very enjoyable visit.

Fordhall Organic Farm is England’s first community-owned farm following a high profile campaign in 2006. At the time over 8000 people across the world supported siblings Charlotte and Ben Hollins to save their family home. Now owned by the community and farmed by Ben Hollins, Fordhall is a wonderful example of community spirit and real organic farming. The Friends visited Fordhall on 3 August 2023. Our group enjoyed an inspirational talk by Charlotte who then led us on a tour of the farm. This was followed by a delicious soup and sandwich lunch and and a visit to the farm shop.

Our country house visit this year was to the Grade 1 listed Hawkstone Hall in Weston. This was slightly different to our usual arrangement in being self-guided using hand-held audio devices, however this enabled everyone to explore the building at their own pace and we were fortunate in having the whole property available. Freshly baked scones accompanied our tea and coffee afterwards which we enjoyed in the Snug, one of the many comfortable reception rooms.

Our 2023 AGM on 13 June at Shropshire Wildlife Trust in Shrewsbury was well attended on a very warm summer’s day, the venue proving delightfully cool with easy access. After the essential business was completed, local archaeologist Nigel Baker entertained us with a delightful illustrated talk of his research and recent discoveries at Shrewsbury Castle. Nigel is an engaging speaker and we learned a lot about the history of the castle and its origins as well as the various archaeological investigations he has led.

Saturday, 5 March 2022

Our sale of surplus 6″ scale Ordnance Survey maps was a great success. We raised over £900 and introduced some new users to the wonderful collections held at Shropshire Archives.

Saturday, 13 November 2021

Gareth Williams delighted his audience at our 2021 annual lecture with his illuminating insights into the history, architecture and art of some of Shropshire’s country houses. Our virtual tour of these prestigious properties, illustrated by many instructive documents, drawings and photographs, was enhanced further by Gareth’s in-depth knowledge of his material, much of which was researched at Shropshire Archives, which he put across in his naturally engaging and enthusiastic style. Gareth has kindly donated a copy of his book The Country Houses of Shropshire which is available to view at Shropshire Archives, or can be purchased through the publishers Boydell & Brewer.

Wednesday, 8 September 2021

Neil Clarke led us on a fascinating and informative guided walk around Little Wenlock on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. We covered a lot of ground including the parish church which houses the county’s earliest cast-iron grave slab, the Royal Arms of George IV, and the Forester memorial east window; the range of the village’s domestic buildings (16c-20c); the historic road pattern; and remains of the industrial history of the area. It was a very interesting and enjoyable tour.

Thursday, 19 August 2021

We were delighted to be able to repeat our visit to Pitchford Hall this summer – our first in-person event for 20 months due to the pandemic. As before, we were expertly taken through the house and ground by four guides and given a delicious tea afterwards.