...but not just any
house. This is Cholmondeley Castle near Malpas in Cheshire and it's
the home of the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
I first saw the Castle
during Coronation year when I was a kid of eight and my aunt, uncle
and cousin went to live there. No, Uncle Arthur was not the Marquess
of Cholmondeley, he was his butler. He landed this dream job in 1953
and they moved from Delamere to Cholmondeley and took up residence in
the Castle.
I vividly recall our
first visit. I was eight years old, my sister was a little older and
our auntie met us from the train at Chester Station and from there we
rode on the once-weekly Crosville bus to Cholmondeley. It was a long
walk from the gatehouse up the drive, through the impressive
ornamental gates until the Castle came into view. Oh wow, what a
place! And my auntie, uncle and cousin lived here.
Their flat was
jaw-droppingly magnificent to kids who were more used to a council
house or a worker's cottage on the edge of the forest. I remember
stepping inside the vast bedroom which we kids were going to share
during our stay, and saying to my sister and cousin, 'You could fit
Gran's house in this room!' And that was probably little
exaggeration.
I spent lots of happy
times during school holidays at Cholmondeley and for me it is one of
the defining places of Cheshire. My Cheshire. As much so as the
forest. Little wonder, then, that when I came to write The Snig's
Foot, Tom Sparrow, my lead character, should have an aunt and uncle
living in a stately home. They are not based upon my folks, not even
close. And Ringwood Hall, my fictional stately home, isn't anything
like Cholmondeley Castle. In fact, here it is. Well, something like
it, lifted out of its far from rural setting in Salford:
This is Ordsall Hall
and it's much as I envisage the big house in my story.
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4 comments:
What a fantastic looking place! Looks like a 'proper' castle (if you know what I mean). I have just hopped over to their website, and saw they have a holiday cottage. Not a bad view to look out onto for a few days!
Maxi, thanks for dropping by. The holiday cottage is the gatehouse which I mentioned in my post. The views from the castle itself - from my uncle's flat - are breath-taking but the castle itself is not open to the public. the gardens are well worth a visit.
Ordsall Hall looks about the same age as Anne of Cleves House in Lewes where my son was married two years ago. And don't we feel supeior for knowing how to pronounce the castle's name? :)
Liz, ah yes, that pronunciation! Not very far from Ordsall Hall in Salford there is, or was, a Cholmondeley Street. But if you were to pronounce the name correctly the residents would look at you as if you were daft.
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