Country YO U R c o m p l i m e n ta ry L I F E S T Y L E M AG A Z I N E . Est. 1994

March 2012 South Edition

Improve your home with confidenceSoft Touch The Smythson Architectural Dynasty

Read Country Images on-line at www.countryimagesmagazine.co.uk

Talk on life - I’m sorry I’ll say that again - again! Derbyshire Alabaster. Furlong - From a Cart-road.

Gardening in March. A Two Valleys Walk Around Longnor. The Gallery.

Lost Derbyshire Houses - Old Markeaton Hall. Fashion - A Fresh Start. Caravans and Motorhomes.

Cover by Steven Mcloughlin

Join us in our 18th anniversary year

1994 - 2012

2 country images

country images 3

Oberoi Brothers Lighting is a familyowned business and we have beensupplying quality lighting for 45 years.Combining a wealth of experience andexpertise with an efficient direct salesoperation we are proud of the productswe sell together with our high level ofcustomer service.

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Yes, believe it or not this is the 18th year of Country Images

magazine, during which time we have seen a considerable

amount of movement in the publication industry. Publications

have come and gone and we are proud to still be a local,

family owned company, with the magazine made and

produced in Derbyshire. Over the past 18 years we have been

dedicated to showcasing the businesses and beauty of our area.

Our editorial contributors have researched the history and

depth of the area and we hope have been able to bring to your

attention things that not only educate, but help us all to

appreciate the beauty of where we live. We hope that you

enjoy this issue.

Garry & Jane

Victoria House, Market Place, Crich DE4 5DD Tel: 01773 850050

www.countryimagesmagazine.co.uk. email:info@imagespublishingltd.co.uk

Images Publishing Limited is a totally independent publishing company and is not connected with any

other newspaper group. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written consent is

strictly prohibited. The publishers do not accept responsibility for any views expressed, or statements

made, in signed contributions or in those reproduced from any other source. No responsibility is borne

for any errors made in any advertisement, or for claims made by any advertiser which are incorrect. The

publishers reserve the right to refuse advertising deemed unsuitable, for any reason . All material

submitted is done so at the owner’s own risk and no responsibility is accepted by the publishers for its

return. Copyright Images Publishing Limited, Victoria House, Market Place, Crich, Derbyshire. DE4

5DD Origination by Images Publishing Limited 01773 850050/850058

Directors: Garry M Plant, Jane E Plant Editor: Garry Plant

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taste

Competition WinnersCrossword: Answer: Baslow Winner: Mrs R Green, Alfreton

What am I: Answer: Cress Winner: Mr F Clarke, Ashbourne

Folk Tickets Answer: Orkney Isles Winner: Mr D Harper, Brinsley

GolferCounty

Welcome to the 18th yearof Country Images Magazine

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to selected homes and businesses in Derbyshire and

Nottinghamshire; see our website for details.www.countryimagesmagazine.co.uk

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During the Tudor era when times

were more settled, wealthy

landowners moved away from the

inconvenience of castles and into

grand houses where they could

live in greater comfort and safely

flaunt their status. Alongside this

came the need to employ the skills

of professional architects.

Brian Spencer follows the careers of three

generations of Smythsons, who over a mere

seventy years designed many of the stately

Tudor mansions in and around our district.

Every era has its famed architects. Moving backwards in time,

Norman Foster Associates have been responsible for much of the

city of London’s modern skyline. Here are buildings so innovative

that they are better known by affectionate nick-names, such as the

Gherkin and the Shard. Sir Basil Spence rebuilt Coventry

Cathedral by incorporating the blitzed ruins alongside his modern

version. George Gilbert Scott designed the glorious Victorian

hotel alongside St Pancras Station which is now restored thanks to

the likes of the poet Sir John Betjeman; but no other building

other than Charles Berry’s Houses of Parliament can convey the

Imperial pride of that same era. It was Nash who designed and

built the graceful curves of his Regency terraces, but surpassing

them all is Sir Christopher Wren whose memorial in St Paul’s, his

masterpiece, states ‘Reader if you seek his memorial, look about

you’.

All the architects from Wren to Norman Foster owe their

professional ancestry to Tudor and Jacobean architects who were

probably far more innovative than anyone coming later. With the

move away from castles and fortified mansions, architects were

able to express the mood of the time. Instead of gloomy rooms lit

only by draughty arrow slits, huge windows of expensive glass

created light airy rooms that were still easy to keep warm even on

the coldest days. However, no doubt due to some conservative

quirk of the owner, almost all grand houses built in Tudor times

had the semblance of towers on their corners just as with castles,

but without any military purpose. It was into this opportunity that

the Smythsons stepped.

Robert Smythson the founding father of the architectural dynasty

began his working career as a stone mason and by 1568 had risen

to the position of master mason whilst working on the building of

Longleat House in Wiltshire. Although there is no record of using

his developing architectural skills, it is pretty certain that he

THE SMYTHSONARCHITECTURAL

DYNASTY

Left: John Smythson designed the Hunting Tower

above Chatsworth.

Above: Hardwick Old Hall was built to Robert

Smythson’s design by extending a smaller place.

country images 9

Wollaton Hall, Robert Smythson’s masterpiece

became involved with Longleat’s design as building progressed.

Certainly his name was beginning to be known throughout the

country because in the 1570s he was invited by the Earl of

Shrewsbury to design and build Worksop Manor of which only

the lodge remains, converted into a public house of distinction,

and Thorpe Salvin in south Yorkshire (still privately owned).

Following these commissions he oversaw the building of

Wollaton Hall near Nottingham.

Wollaton Hall is an important house nationally because rather

than be built on the income from landowning; it was one of the

first great mansions to be built purely out of industrial profits. Sir

Francis Willoughby, the owner of Wollaton, was fortunate in

owning land beneath which lay vast amounts of coal. Alongside

his colliery interests, Sir Francis owned an iron works,

manufactured glass and grew woad, still an important dyestuff;

making him extremely wealthy. In 1580 he appointed Robert

Smythson as surveyor and architect, with a final budget of £8000

– a huge amount in those days – to build the flamboyant mansion

standing on its hill-top outside Nottingham.

It was during the building of Wollaton that Robert Smythson is

first recorded as an architect; in fact the earliest record of anyone

in the profession. His name must have rapidly become known

amongst the wealthy classes, especially the Countess of

Shrewsbury, better known as ‘Bess of Hardwick’. An imperious

woman, after quarrelling with the fourth and richest of four

wealthy husbands Bess contracted Smythson to rebuild and

extend what became known as Hardwick Old Hall (English

Heritage), her birthplace. Originally it was quite a small place,

more a large farmhouse than manor, but somehow or other she

was not satisfied and only lived in it for a few years during which

her masterpiece opposite was built and the old left to decay.

Hardwick New Hall (National Trust), both inside and out was

Bess and Robert Smythson’s joint masterpiece. Not for nothing is

it called ‘More Glass than Wall’ and the cost of the glass alone

must have been astronomical; no wonder the poor Earl was in

despair. It was around this time in the late 1580s that Robert’s

Below: All three Smythsons were involved with the

design of Bolsover Castle at one time or another.

10 country images

son John Smythson joined his father and the two worked together,

not only on Hardwick New Hall, but on Barlborough Hall

(private), for Sir Francis Rhodes and the four-storey Hunting Tower

above Chatsworth (private, but can be readily be viewed from the

exterior).

Building Hardwick New Hall was certainly the Smythson’s

highest achievement. Designed to reflect Bess’s wealth and

status, the architects were able to extravagantly fulfil her every

whim, from the six imposing towers toped by the initials E S

(Elizabeth Shrewsbury), to the vast array of windows. Some of the

windows are false, built to conceal chimney pieces, while others

appearing to illuminate only one room, in fact let light in on two

storeys. Almost perfectly symmetrical, the arrangement of state

rooms is perfect for a woman who commanded instant respect.

Not content to allow Hardwick to be her lasting memorial and

demanding perfection in everything, Bess had John Smythson

design her monument a good six years before her death in 1607;

life sized and full coloured, it is set in the south chancel wall of

All Saints’ Cathedral, Derby. Unusual for its time, Hardwick Hall

does not have its own chapel, but instead Bess had a church built

nearby at Ault Hucknall. In it is a monument to the first Countess

of Devonshire which was designed by John Smythson. There is

also a black slab marking the burial place of Thomas Hobbes,

political philosopher in the seventeenth century, who tutored Sir

William Cavendish at Chatsworth and who died at Hardwick.

It was during the time when Huntington Smythson, the third

architect in the dynasty, joined the firm that the delightful little

hunting lodge of North Lees Hall was built. Featuring in

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, as Moor House where the Rivers

sisters lived, it is leased by the Vivat Trust from the Peak District

National Park and is available for holiday accommodation.

The three men continued to work together until 1614 when

Robert died, but not before overseeing the completion of Burton

Agnes Hall in East Yorkshire the plans of which, some of the

oldest, are preserved in the Royal Institute of British Architects

(RIBA) collection. It was during this time that John and then

Huntington went on to create their joint masterpiece. This was

Bolsover Castle the fanciful seventeenth century adaptation by Sir

Charles Cavendish of a Norman castle built by William Peveril,

one of the Conqueror’s knights. True to the traditions of his

mother Bess of Hardwick, Sir Charles spent a fortune building

what became a pleasure palace with an enclosed private garden

complete with secluded arbours. Known as the Little Castle, Sir

Charles was able to entertain guests in an apartment block known

as the Terrace, where King Charles I later stayed. Less frivolously

Sir Charles had a riding school built by Huntingdon Smythson.

This is the first block on the left when entering Bolsover Castle

grounds and is where Sir Charles honed the skills of exhibition

horsemanship in an indoor arena that is still used for Riding for

the Disabled.

It is even possible that all three Smythsons were involved in

building Bolsover Castle and certainly John was there, for

according to the parish register he was buried in the nearby Parish

Church in 1634. Huntingdon died in 1648 and is also

commemorated with an epitaph in the same church, but his

grandfather Robert’s memorial is in Wollaton church close to his

home. So ended a dynasty that flourished at a time when

England’s prosperity was at an all time high.

Above: Hardwick Hall, Bess of

Hardwick’s masterpiece. Below: She

employed John Smythson to design her

memorial a good six years before her

death in 1607. It is set in the South

Chancel wall of Derby Cathedral.

Wollaton Hall - Robert Smythson’s masterpiece.

country images 11

Local alabaster, sometimes creamy white but more commonly

with a rusty stain, is found in the Trent Valley, especially the

Derbyshire section as well as in the Soar into Leicestershire. It is

also obtained from the same geological horizon, from quarries

near Tutbury, at Fauld and at Weston, all in Staffordshire. It is

usually referred to as Chellaston Alabaster, being the place from

which it was most prolifically quarried until the 1960s, when the

surviving pit was heedlessly used as a landfill site by the County

Council.

The first use of local alabaster was in the later Middle Ages, when

it was extensively employed in the fashioning of effigies for

monumental tombs in churches. There was a school of carvers of

church monuments in Nottingham and a very important one at

Burton upon Trent which probably owed its origin to the

patronage of Burton Abbey.

From the 16th century, it began to be used for more decorative

purposes and a surviving monumental chimneypiece from

Kenilworth Castle is an example of very early secular use. It

continued to be popular for chimneypieces through to the

Regency period and good examples attributable to an architect or

known craftsman can fetch five-figure sums. Thrumpton Hall has

two excellent ones and there’s a very late one at Aston Hall,

although there are surprisingly none I know of in Derby itself.

Thrumpton, just inside Nottinghamshire and on the southern bank

of the Trent, sits just on the flanks of Red Hill at Ratcliffe-on-Soar,

which was the source of the alabaster used by Robert Adam for

the columns of the Marble Hall at Kedleston, a job supervised by

Derby architect Joseph Pickford, a friend of Adam’s. There are

window architraves made from it at Kedleston too and door-cases

at Chatsworth from c.1695.

The most spectacular use of local alabaster is of course in the

entrance hall at Holkham, North Norfolk. The space is apsidal

and one enters to be confronted with a giant peristyle of 18 Ionic

columns, rising from a monumental plinth embellished with a

frieze of a Vitruvian scroll in white Carara marble on Ashford

Black above a similar one sporting a Greek key pattern. This

Having opened this series of

articles about antiques with

something about Ashford Black

Marble, I felt constrained – and

prompted by a couple of calls from

readers – to keep the momentum

going when it came to items

fashioned from local stones.

Maxwell Craven

DerbyshireAlabasterFrom the breathtaking

to the car boot bargain!

Above: Holkham

Hall - the entrance

hall [Holkham Hall

Trustees]

Left: 1950s

thermometer in

cheap alabaster case

- £2 from a car boot

[Carole Craven]

12 country images

colonnade rises to an entablature and frieze, from

which springs a magnificent coved and coffered

ceiling. The entire space, the work of architect

William Kent, is a breathtaking tour de force of

alabaster. There is more in the chapel and the game

larder there too.

The Earl of Leicester who commissioned the house

employed Kent, who in turn used Joseph Pickford the

homonymous uncle of the future Derby architect as

contractor and it was the nephew who was sent over

to Fauld Quarry in Staffordshire – site of the

catastrophic World War Two ammunition dump

explosion – to choose the alabaster and supervise its

cutting. The Earl owned another estate at Longford in

Derbyshire and here Pickford met and married Miss

Wilkins, the agent’s daughter and got his first

independent job, designing the stable block

(1761-62).

Yet for the collector, all these monumental uses of

alabaster are out of reach bar the occasional

chimneypiece or fragment from a Medieval

monument. At the same time that domestic objects

were being carved from Black Marble and Blue John,

the Derby spar manufacturer Richard Brown

(1735-1816) was carving obelisks, urns, clock cases

and other portable objects from alabaster extracted

from Chellaston. Indeed the local people of the village

later had their own cottage industry, carving small

portable objects from it too, the sale of which helped

eke out their modest wages. It is these that one meets

most commonly for sale.

Commissioned pieces and domestic souvenirs

Above left: Pair of late Regency Urns bought for £40 [Carole Craven]

Above right: R G Lomas angel in All Saints’, Mackworth, illuminated from

behind. [Don Farnsworth]

Below: Monumental urn of Staffordshire alabaster [Peter Hone Ltd]

country images 13

Brown also carved chimneypieces and he and many of the other

spar turners who sprang up in the 19th century made domestic

objects galore, although many were of indifferent quality. The

souvenir trade from various seaside resorts also led to an increase

in the production of alabaster picture frames, boxes, dressing table

sets, thermometers and so on.

Brown’s ultimate successor, R G Lomas of King Street in Derby,

was a real virtuoso in carving alabaster and the astonishing array

of items made from the material which embellish All Saints’

church in Mackworth is a testimony to his skill and almost

over-elaborate style. His firm also made a huge variety of church

furnishings including pulpits, altars and reredoses, being kept

afloat in the dog days after the Great War making alabaster war

memorials. Lomas also produced extravagantly carved urns,

comports and sconces, several of which passed through Bamford’s

whilst I worked there, fetching quite affordable prices, too –

probably because they are not to everyone’s taste and also

because alabaster, being a soft stone, is vulnerable to having

pieces knocked off easily.

After R G Lomas finally went out of business in the Great

Depression in 1932, the making of simple alabaster ornaments

continued as a cottage industry until the 1950s after which, with

no more of the mineral being extracted, it faded away.

It is still possible to buy simple ornaments like pots, book-ends,

and so on for a pound or two at car boots, but the better quality

items are more expensive although not unduly so. Not everyone

likes the colour and staining of local alabaster, which keeps prices

down and some of Lomas’s urns are so over the top as to lose their

appeal. Yet any 18th century or Regency item will command a

premium and here prices do go well into the hundred of pounds

and more too if the object is of sufficient quality. A pair of early

Victorian alabaster urnular candle sconces on plinths will be

offered for sale at Bamford’s next Fine Art sale 14th-16th March.

Yet, generally speaking alabaster objects are still well under-valued

and if well chosen can look really good in any domestic context.

Photographs on this page.

Top: C18th chimneypiece at Thrumpton Hall, Notts [M Craven]

Middle: R G Lomas urns sold at Bamfords 2010 [Bamfords Ltd]

Bottom: Willoughby monument, St. Chad, Great Wilne, of 1622

[M Craven]

Tel: 01335 360 114 Mob: 07990 583 326The Cedars, Main Street, Hollington, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 3AG

www.heldreich.com

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16 country images

a soft touch

country images 17

a soft touch

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18 country images

a soft touch

country images 19

a soft touch

20 country images

Top left: Retrospective Papers by Little Greene

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Middle left: Bonham by ROMO

A fresh new take on classic checks and stripes

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country images 21

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Francis N Lowe Ltd Lowes Marble & Granite is a family run businessestablished in 1946, manufacturing bespoke kitchenworktops, vanity tops, fireplaces, hearths etc, from thehighest quality natural stone to your exactspecifications.

The showroom displays kitchenworktops, fireplaces and hearths. Allare made to your design andspecifications, no items arereproduced! A range of granite, marble, limestone,travertine, slate and quartz resinsuitable for the kitchen, bathroomand flooring is available to view and ifyou can’t see the colour you arelooking for we arrange visits to thewholesalers where you can viewhundreds more. A template and fitting service can bearranged if required for kitchenworktops, vanity tops, hearths andfireplaces.Both private and trade customers arewelcome to visit the showroom andyard to view all our materials.Feel free to call or visit for a browseor advice

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In 1628 Sir Edward Coke once

stated: 'et domus sua cuique

tutissimum refugium' or

translated from Latin to English -

'each man’s home is his safest

refuge.' but prior to this was his

most famous statement of all

when he said that 'A man's house

is his castle and fortress.'

country images 27

28 country images

In view of the times in which we live does this statement ring

true? Well in the 13 years or so that I have been involved with

architecture, more and more people are looking to extend,

convert and improve their homes rather than relocating. So if

you are thinking of making your castle that bit bigger with an

extension or conversion and don't know where to start, then

here's a simple guide on what you need to do and where you

stand legally.

House Extensions…Extending your house is not only a solution to much needed

space, but also a great way to improve the value of your

property. With interest rates at next to nothing and banks more

willing to loan, getting the required funds for your extension

could be a reality.

When deciding the best way to extend your home a careful

balance needs to be achieved between your needs and wants.

Be it a garage, bedroom, larger kitchen or swimming pool -

forethought is essential. Once you have it clear in your mind

what you want then it’s time to get an architect to design your

extension based on the brief you give them. The architect will

give you expert advice on whether your home improvement is

viable from a planning and building regulations perspective.

A man's house is his castle and fortress.

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BEFORE

AFTER

country images 29

When designing your extension - the following should be taken

into account:

Size and scale - It should remain subservient to the

existing property, not detracting from the existing.

Materials - Facing materials should complement the existing

and harmonise with its surroundings

Over shadowing - Like it or not, your neighbours do have a

say in what you propose. A sympathetic design is

required so the impact on adjacent properties has been

considered and any loss of light is minimal.

Gaining planning approval usually takes around 8 weeks if the

application runs smoothly. In some cases however, planning

permission isn’t needed for certain works as it falls under the

umbrella of permitted development…

Permitted

Development…Certain extensions do not even require planning permission, so

you may be able to extend legally within grounds of permitted

development. If you are unsure whether you need planning

A man's house is his castle and fortress.

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30 country images

permission approval for your development then simply ring

your local council, ask for the planning department and pick

the brains of the officer on duty that day. As a rule of thumb

the following does not require permission:

Converting an existing cellar into a living space - however

adding a light well or significantly changing the usage will!

Single storey extensions or conservatories that have a

maximum height of 4m and project no more than 3m for an

attached house or 4m for a detached house.

Converting a loft into a living space - adding dormer

windows to the front or certain side windows will require

permission however.

Erecting a garden wall or fence up to 2m high.

Freephone: 0800 1522640 Derby 01332 561215 – Nottingham 01159 068901www.spettro.net chesterfield@spettro.net

Free quotations delivered within 48 hours of your enquiry. Architect will planit we will build it! New Build, Extensions, Loft Conversions, Full Planning &Building Regs Service

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country images 31

• Custom built kitchens to suit your requirements

• Modern and traditional styles in most finishes

• Purpose made stairs in many designs

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32 country images

Decking an area of your garden is permitted as long as it is no

more than 30cm above ground level!

Garage conversion - planning permission is not usually

required as long as the works are mainly internal and the

existing garage isn’t being enlarged.

Re-laying a driveway - as long as a porous material is being

used. If a non-porous material is proposed then permission will

be required along with details of surface water drainage.

Be warned that certain factors can affect permitted

development. For instance: Has your property been extended

before? Do you live in a listed building? How close is your

development to the boundary? If so then a planning application

will certainly be

required. If you are unsure at all then the following website

offers some excellent advice:

www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission

Building Regulations…Once you have the green light from the planning department,

then the next stage is a building regulations submission. This

basically ensures that whatever is constructed meets with

current standards. An approved inspector will make visits

throughout the project to ensure these standards are met and

will issue a certificate of approval once everything is completed.

This is a legal requirement and essential to have the certificate if

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country images 33

75%

OFF

SALE extendedup to

ever you moved house. Any reputable architect will liaise with

the contractor, inspector and provide the construction drawings

and specification needed for approval.

Unlike planning permission - there is very little that does not

require building regulations approval. Therefore even if your

extension falls under the umbrella of permitted development - a

building regulations application will still be required. Recent

laws now require replacement windows, minor electrical works,

re-laying a new driveway and even the installation of solar

panels to comply with building regulations so be sure to check

with your building control department at your local council

before knocking that wall down.

Conclusion…Sir Edward Coke certainly observed the pride we take in our

abodes - although I like to think that an American journalist

called Alexander Chase was nearer the mark when he said ‘A

man’s house is his wife’s castle!’

Whoever the King or Queen may be, improving your home

need not be as daunting as it may seem. With careful planning,

professional advice and competent tradesmen - you can

improve with confidence.

Andrew Tingle BDCS Architecture

34 country images

RVW Building ServicesQuality building services.Project management. New build, extensions,

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Work carried out to a very high standard.

Free quotations, for awarm and friendly

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Mowing &MaintenanceGarden and grounds Maintenance

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country images 35

36 country images

Heat your home

with help from the environment

Should land be available next to your

property you could go for loops of pipe

buried one metre down. An alternative,

where space is limited, is to have the pipe

placed vertically in bore holes or opt for

an air source system.

Heat pumps can be connected to

under-floor heating pipework or

appropriately sized radiators. Whichever

method is chosen, with the correct control

system, heat should be supplied in a

gradual and continuous manner taking

into account the outdoor temperature at

the time, to provide just the right amount

of heat to keep the house at a comfortable

temperature throughout the year.

So how does it work ?

At the heart of any heat pump is a

refrigeration system; a closed loop of pipe

containing a refrigerant which is warmed

by contact with the outside air or with a

fluid running in pipes under the ground.

As this refrigerant picks up energy it turns

into a gas which is then passed through a

compressor. As pressure is increased the

temperature of this gas also rises to a point

where, via a heat exchanger, it can heat

the water for a central heating system and

a domestic hot water cylinder.

When heat energy is taken from this gas it

will cool, pressure is released via an

automatic valve and we end up with a

liquid refrigerant again, back where we

started.

The process works as a continuous loop

extracting energy from one place and

delivering it at a higher temperature to

another.

Electrical energy is required to drive the

compressor but for every kW of electricity

supplied we can get between 3 and 4 kW

of heat from the system, the difference

coming from the environment which is

warmed by renewable solar energy.

Top Tips

Think about heat pumps as a heating

option early on in your design process as

this will determine several aspects of your

build.

Get advice from a company with both

experience and with MCS accreditation.

The heat pump needs to be correctly sized

for your property; too small will not do the

job, too large will not be efficient !

The heating system needs to be designed

as a whole to work well with a heat pump,

under-floor heating and/ or radiators are

fine but only if sized and installed

correctly.

Energy available from the air or from the ground around you can

be utilised by a heat pump system to provide all your heating and

domestic hot water requirements.

If you are building a new house, converting a barn or upgrading

your existing home then it is worth thinking about a heat pump

installation.

country images 37

KITCHENS & BATHROOMS

Opening times: Monday to Friday 9am – 4pm, Saturday 9am to 2pm. For further details telephone Images on 01773 608531, 44a Charles Street, Leabrooks, Derbyshire DE55 1LZ

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At Images their teamof highly qualifiedand professionalstaff are able toguide you throughthe process ofchoosing your

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38 country images

Gardening

Looking at my notes for last year we had heavy snow

during February, but the weather improved by March

and gardening went into full swing. I do believe that

nature is all about balance or ying and yang, call it

whatever you want, a miserable summer normally

leads to a mild winter. So hopefully a hard, long

winter will give us a fantastic summer (keeping my

fingers crossed).

It’s Mothering Sunday this month (18th). There will be a huge

selection of ready planted baskets or containers in the garden

centres if you don’t have the know how to plant your own. This

saves you the effort and also saves buying extra plants and

compost that you don’t need. Don’t buy that wilted bunch of

flowers from the petrol station!

General Garden Maintenance: • Refresh alpine gardens with new grit and replace any old plants

that may have died over winter

• Refill any bird feeders with new seed or nuts and provide fresh

drinking water

• Check borders for new emerging weed seedlings and hoe them

out

• Weather permitting, tidy up the lawn by trimming new edges

with a half moon and give the lawn a cut, setting the blades on

high

• Dig in plenty of home-made or nursery bought compost into

borders ready for planting herbaceous perennials or summer

flowering bulbs

• Buy summer flowering bulbs now such as gladioli, lily and

eucomis

• Lift and divide large clumps of herbaceous perennials and swop

them with your friends

• Prune hard back last year's buddleia stems to ground level

• Last chance to prune roses back to new shoots

• Feed and mulch rhododendrons, azaleas, pieris and camellias

with ericaceous (acidic) plant food and compost

• Sprinkle fertiliser over flower beds and around shrubs and roses

• Check your garden for plants that didn’t make it through the

winter, look in nurseries or garden centres for “bargain plant”

areas these can sometimes have more than 50% off

In the Allotment or Vegetable Patch:• Sow vegetable seed, it’s cheaper than buying bigger plants.

Crops from vegetables often produce more than you can use so

again swap the surplus with friends or family. Nurseries and

garden centres will have a grow-your-own section with seeds,

trays and compost etc to get you started

• Sow the following crops outside or under cloches: carrots,

beetroot, broad beans, salad onions, cauliflower, cabbage,

brussel sprouts, spinach, leeks, lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed

salad or stir fry leaves, radish, turnip, peas, lettuce and Swiss

chard

• Spread a layer of sulphate of potash fertiliser around fruit trees

and soft fruit

• When they appear, spray new leaves of peaches and nectarines

with copper fungicide to reduce or prevent peach leaf curl

• Sprinkle cabbages and other brassicas with pelleted chicken

manure or blood, fish & bone

• Check fruit trees for “suckers” or grass around the truck and

remove, also put a handful of garden lime around the base of

the fruit tree

• Plant early seed potatoes outside in rows, in large pots or

potato bags

In the Greenhouse:• Buy your summer bedding “plug” plants now, they are cheaper

than buying a “finished” plant from a garden centre later in the

year.

• Sow dwarf French beans in a large pot for an early crop in June

• Sow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other greenhouse crops

in a heated propagator

March

Forsythia x intermedia

country images 39

• Plant up a strawberry hanging basket and leave in the

greenhouse for early crops

• If the weather gets warmer look out for whitefly and red spider

mite and treat at once with a suitable pest control

• Continue sowing summer bedding plants in the greenhouse

which include marigolds, tagetes, verbena, zinnia, nicotiana

and dahlias

This month the choice is huge for plants to

brighten up the garden:

Magnolia stellata: (Star Magnolia)

A beautiful compact shrub with dark green glossy leaves and

masses of pure white “star” shaped flowers in spring before the

foliage appears. Ideal for a garden with limited space as this

variety will only reach about 3 to 4ft.

Forsythia x intermedia: When this shrub flowers it feels like the

start of spring. The warm bright yellow flowers appear before the

leaves so make an impressive show. The taller varieties are more

widely available ('Lynwood', ' Spectabilis') but there are new

compact growing varieties now ('Mini Gold') which are suited to

smaller gardens. Forsythia makes a great feature plant but also

makes a fantastic informal hedge. Can grow happily in full sun or

part shade and in a well drained soil or heavy clay!

Ribes sanguineum: The common name is Flowering Currant, not

to be mistaken for fruiting currants also Ribes. This deciduous

shrub is one of the easiest to grow with little or no care. For an

abundance of flower it likes full sun in a well drained but moist

soil. The drooping flower buds start in late March until late April.

The varieties to look out for are Ribes ' King Edward Vll' (Scarlet)

or ' White Icicle' (White). Like Forsythia this also makes a good

informal hedge.

Call now for a FREE, No obligation quote

Tel: 0115 930 5105Mob: 07817 897582

www.tomrichardstreeservices.co.uk

• Complete Tree Service• Over 8 Years’ Experience• Professional Tree Care &Hedge Work

• Registered Waste Carrier• Stump Removal• Storm Damage• Tree Reports• Logs for Sale

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Written by Mark SmithIf you need any help or advice, please contact me

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Tel: 01332 700800

Why not visit Wyaston Nurseries…

A quaint family run Nursery set in lovely

Derbyshire countryside close to Ashbourne.

Large selection of basket & patio plants, bedding

plants, vegetables, herbs, shrubs, alpines, roses,

trees and climbers.

Glazed and terracotta pots, and much more all at

competitive prices!

OPEN: 9.30 am until 5.00 pm 7 DAYS A WEEK

T: 01335 346164Major Debit / Credit Cards accepted.

Osmaston Lane, Wyaston, (Near Ashbourne), DE6 2DR.

40 country images

country images 41

in their upper reaches the dove and Manifold valleys are

separated by a long ridge, along which runs the airy

high-level road from Hulme End to Longnor. The latter

village where this walk begins has remained unchanged

for centuries. it sits on a high ledge above the River

Manifold, a focal point where in living memory farmers

brought their produce and animals for sale.

The market house with its scale of charges above the door overlooks a small

cobbled square; no longer used for its original purpose, the building now

houses a craft workshop and café. Longnor is one of those places where quiet

wandering down narrow alleys and back lanes often leads to the discovery of

delightful cottages and scenes. The village was once part of the Harpur-Crewe

estate, a fact highlighted by the name of one of the inns surrounding the

market square, which incidentally still uses the old version of the

unamalgamated family names, Crewe and Harpur. Although Longnor’s church

was rebuilt in the 18th century, it stands on foundations at least 800 years old.

Look out for the tombstone of William Billinge who lies buried in the

churchyard. if we are to believe the records of the day, he was 112 when he

died in 1791. A soldier who fought under the duke of Marlborough, he faced

death so many times in action, that he believed death had overlooked him.

From Longnor where parking can usually be found in or near the market

place, at first the walk drops down towards the Manifold. The river is then

followed downstream as far as Overboothlow Farm where a track climbs

steeply up to the ridge-top. next, a brief walk along the road reaches a path

down into the bottom of the dove Valley. Here a series of paths and farm

lanes conveniently pass the Park Horse inn to reach a valley-crossing path

directly back to Longnor.

A WALK in THE COUnTRySidE

A Two Valleys Walk Around Longnor

ABOUT THE WALK

4 miles (6.4 km).

Easy walking on reasonably clear, often

signposted and waymarked footpaths,

through meadows and riverside. Two

short uphill climbs and one slightly

longer down.

Car parking can usually be found in or

around the market square in the centre

of Longnor village.

Two-hourly bus service from Buxton

(Bowers 442 Hartington service).

Single journeys only (no return bus) on

Clowes 446 Leek service from

Bakewell, the first Monday in the

month plus Bank Holiday Mondays.

Refreshments are available in Longnor

ranging from pub lunches, a café and

an excellent fish and chip shop all

conveniently near the market square.

The Pack Horse at Crowdecote comes

just at the right time to slake thirsts on

the run up to the last section of the

walk.

42 country images

Open: 10am-5pm Tues to Thurs. 10am-1pm Wednesday.

10am-4pm Friday. 9am-3pm Saturday.

Tel: 01332 667820 Mob: 07870 277439www.flourishantiques.com

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• Follow the road east away from Longnor market square for

about 150yds (137m). Turn right at a footpath sign and go down

the lane towards Folds End Farm, bearing left through the

farmyard. Climb over a stone stile and turn half right to follow a

field path down to the River Manifold.

The renovated plaque above the market hall lists the tolls due to

the Harpur Crewe estate.

• At a footpath crossing, turn left on to a gravel path climbing up

to Overboothlow Farm. Keep left through the farmyard and then

bear right steeply uphill and right again and then left along a

rutted track. Follow this track through meadowland as far as the

ridge-top road.

About half way above the farm pause and get your breath back

and at the same time admire the broad sweep of the Manifold

Valley. The broad grassy shoulder beyond Longnor to your right

marks the boundary between gritstones and shales in the west and

Dovedale limestone further on to the right.

• Turn right along the road for about 500 yds (457m). Climb over

a stone stile on your left and then bear left steeply down three

fields. Turn right on reaching a track, following it down to Under

Whitle Farm. Go over a stile at the top of the farm garden to

follow a faint path around the property which is waymarked by

yellow waymark arrows; climb stiles crossing hedges and walls.

Continue along this path, going downhill until it reaches the River

dove. Turn left upstream, following waymarks along the riverbank.

A WALK in THE COUnTRySidE

THE WALK

The walk from Longnor

starts and finishes outside

the market house where

there is now a café.

country images 43

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As you climb over the roadside stile, pause again but this time to

admire the valley of the Upper Dove. Grassy mounds to your

right in the valley bottom mark the site of a motte and bailey of

Pilsbury Castle where a landowner held sway in the 11th century.

• Go right to cross the river by a footbridge and bear left along a

track as far as a lane; turn and follow it into Crowdecote.

Crowdecote. The village is named after the Saxon settler Cruda

who built the first farm, or ‘cote’ on this spot. The Pack Horse Inn

is a welcome sight at any time. Along with a good supply of real

ales, the pub offers an extensive bar and table menu.

• Go to the right along the main road beyond the pub, then

almost immediately left along a side lane, leaving it at the last

farm buildings to follow a signposted grassy track through open

fields.

The sharp pointed hills to the north are reef knolls, the remains of

corals surrounding a prehistoric tropical lagoon of years ago.

• Reaching a walled grassy lane, turn sharp left to go down to the

river. Cross the river by a footbridge, and then climb the slight

rise to reach a shallow side valley.

• Turn left at a stone barn and continue forwards on a steadily

improving side road into the outskirts of Longnor. Bear right

along the back lanes and then to reach the market square.

A WALK in THE COUnTRySidE

details of the tolls for Longnor market

The walk conveniently passes the door of the Pack Horse at Crowdecote.

Rambler

44 country images

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Upcoming Events at Denby Visitor Centre

Tickets are now on sale for two special CookeryDemonstrations by TV Chef James Martin on Sunday6th May.

James attracts large and enthusiastic audiences every time he visitsDenby, and this May promises to be no exception! Thedemonstrations will be held in a large marquee in the grounds, withnew recipes and book signing for ticket holders immediately after eachdemonstration. Tickets are £15 per demonstration – available atDenby Visitor Centre Reception, or by calling 01773 740 799. Earlybooking is advised.

On Easter Sunday at Denby there will be a special Easter ClearanceMarquee packed full of home and pottery bargains. Enjoy a carvery inBourne’s (12pm to 3pm) and kids can enter the Easter BonnetCompetition at 1.30pm – and join inthe Easter Egg Hunt at 2pm with lotsof prizes. Plus try the familyCraftroom Tour and make a clay bunnysouvenir to keep.

For details of all events and offers atDenby seewww.denbyvisitorcentre.co.ukDenby Visitor Centre, Denby,Derbyshire DE5 8NX. Open dailywith free centre entry and parking.

Derby Assembly Rooms, DerbyTheatre & Guildhall Theatre01332 255800March5 Collin Raye7 Peppa Pig's Treasure Hunt7-10 Gatepost Theatre Company: Footloose8-20 Moscow City Ballet & Orchestra:Romeo & Juliet and Swan Lake12 The Bootleg Beatles in Concert15 Verdi's La Traviata – An Ellen Kentproduction16-31 New Perpectives Theatre Company &Derby LIVE present: The Honey Man byTyrone Huggins16 The Australian Pink Floyd Show16 Kris Drever and Eamonn Coyne plusLady Maisery

17 Linda Cooper School of Dance: Gravity17 U2 UK17 An Evening of Burlesque20 Richard Herring: What is Love Anyway?20-24 Flying High 201222 Sally Morgan23 Nazareth – plus support: Juall23 Derby Jazz and Derby LIVE presentCourtney Pine: Europa26 Foursight Theatre present: Bette & Joan –The Final Curtain27 The Good Old Days of Music Hall 28-29 Science Museum, Live on Tour

Royal Centre Nottingham & ConcertHall 0115 989 5555www.royalcentre-nottingham.co.ukMarch3 Nottingham Youth Orchestra presents anOlympic Celebration. 5-10 Long Day's Journey Into Night7 Matt Cardle9 Sarah Millican10 The Dubliners11 The Australian Pink Floyd Show13-17 RSC - The Taming Of The Shrew13 Laura Marling16 McFly17 Nottingham Philharmonic OrchestraTchaikovsky's first piano concerto needs nointroduction. 21When You Wish Upon A Star presents 19 Tommy Fleming20 Joan Baez20-24 Sister Act23 The Hollies24 Dance East Midlands26-31Sister Act28 Nottingham Classics - sinfonia viVA30-31Nederlands Dans Theater 2

April2 Chris Rea3-7 Stomp - The British theatrical sensationthat has become a truly global phenomenon4 The Osmonds10-14 Doctor In The House - Do you need a prescription for laughter?Then here comes the cure as the classicBritish comedy, Doctor in the House, hitsthe stage.Follow the inexperienced young medicalstudent Simon Sparrow as he begins hisfive-year internship at St. Swithin's TeachingHospital. Continually running afoul of theirascible head surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt,his social life is spiced up when Sparrow istaken under the wings of two studentrepeaters, Tomy Grimsdyke and John Evans,with farcical consequences.Starring one of Britain's best-lovedfunnymen, Joe Pasquale, alongside star ofstage and screen, Robert Powell and withTom Butcher (BBC's Doctors) as John and

Emma Barton (Eastenders) as Vera, Doctorin the House has delighted audiences forgenerations. Refereed by award-winningdirector Ian Talbot, this is comedy at its verybest...the doctor will see you now!10-14 Grease16-21 Save the Last Dance For Me19 Hormonal Housewives23-28 Steel Magnolias

Lacemarket TheatreBox Office 0115 9507201March12-17 The RivalsWritten by Richard Brinsley SheridanDirected by Marcus WakelyMain theatre production starting at 7.30pmMatinée at 2.30pmIn this classic comedy, the celebs of the 18thcentury are taking the waters in fashionableBath. Come and see the rivals for the handof Lydia Languish. Meet the testy SirAnthony Absolute, the fiery Sir LuciusO'Trigger and not least the proverbial MrsMalaprop. April11-14 David Copperfield. Dickens wrote ofDavid Copperfield: 'Of all my books I likethis the best'. It tells the story of the trialsand tribulations that beset David as hegrows to adulthood, from his devotedmother and her ill advised marriage to MrMurdstone, to settling down with his ownwife. On the way we get to meet some ofliterature’s greatest characters; Miss BetsyTrotwood, Miss Murdstone, Creackle, thePeggoty family, the Micawbers and the oilyUriah Heep. A classic coming of age tale.

Nottingham Arena www.nottingham-arena.comMarch6 Florence and the Machine20 The Four Tops and The Temptations21 Harlem Globetrotters27 JLSApril2 Joe Bonamassa3 Diversity5 McCoy’s 2012 Premier League Darts11 Steps14 CBeebies Live! or the stars come out toplay – and not just the ones in the sky – butthe CBeebies Mega-Stars too! Get ready fora fantastic live stage show adventure, full offun, songs and games with your CBeebiesfriends, including Justin Fletcher, PC Plum,Andy Day and Katy Ashworth.Nottingham PlayhouseBox Office 0115 941 9419www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.ukMarch4 Kangna8 Walsh & Pound

WHAT’S ON!

email: diary@imagespublishingltd.co.uk

email: diary@imagespublishingltd.co.uk

WHAT’S ON!

10 Gang of Angels11 Lee Nelson Live 13-24 Romeo and Juliet26 BalletBoyz28-29 Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt - Ahoythere me hearties! Peppa Pig and her friendsare going on a treasure hunt and need yourhelp!Following the incredible sell-out success ofPeppa Pig’s Party, Peppa is back with a brandnew show featuring true to life puppets,perfect singalong songs and a new story thatwill charm and delight all her fans. Full sail!Ahoy! Arrrrr!31 Pagrav Dance CompanyApril3-7 Reasons to be Cheerful4 The Chuckle Brothers12-14 Woyzech17-May 5 Mary Shelley

Palace Theatre Mansfieldwww.mansfield.gov.uk/palacetheatre01623 633133MarchWords DO come easily for DaveSpikeyAward-winning comedian Dave Spikey is setto entertain audiences next month when hebrings his critically acclaimed ‘Words Don’tCome Easy’ tour to the Mansfield PalaceTheatre. Of course anyone who has seenone of Dave’s live shows, or read hisbest-selling autobiography Under TheMicroscope, will know that words do comevery easily to the hugely popular comedian.

Inspired by the fantastic audience responseto his deconstruction of song lyrics in his‘Best Medicine Tour’ which was at the PalaceTheatre in March 2009 and his fascinationwith the vagaries of the English language, thishilarious new show examines many of life’ssituations where words really don’t comeeasy. These include tongue-tied parentsexplaining the facts of life, ridiculousnewspaper stories, magazine poems,adolescent chat-up lines, weird hospitalspeak, learning a foreign language and anextended selection of song lyrics that rangefrom the lazy through surreal to theridiculous. Throw in a ‘Champion the WonderHorse’ sing-a-long, ancient Abyssiniancontraception, rubbish school trips, epiduralanaesthesia and The Last Supper and youhave all the ingredients for a rich and spicycomedy casserole or as Dave would describeit “a sort of Lexicon-carne ............ sorry!”

Since winning the nation’s hearts as cabaretstar Jerry St Clair in Phoenix Nights, whichhe co-wrote with Peter Kay and NeilFitzmaurice, Double British Comedy Awardwinner Dave Spikey has been a regular onour TV screens as well as in theatres andcomedy clubs around the UK. Aside from

Phoenix Nights, Dave also wrote and starredin Dead Man Weds and Magnolia, hosted thenew series of the TV classic Bullseye and iscurrently one of the regular hosts of the TVBook Club on Channel 4.

Talking about his return to the Palace, Davesaid: I am proper looking forward toreturning to the Palace. I recorded my thirdDVD there and in all honesty I couldn’t havepicked a better theatre. On the night theaudience were absolutely fantastic whichlifted me to perform at the top of my game.So I’m hoping they’ll all come back with thatsame warmth, level of support andencouragement to enjoy my new show justas much.

Dave Spikey will be at the Mansfield PalaceTheatre on Friday 30 March @ 7.30pm.Tickets are £18.50 All Seats. Book yourtickets now at the Box Office on 01623633133, or online atwww.mansfield.gov.uk/palacetheatre. Buxton Opera Housewww.buxtonoperahouse.orgMarch2 Giselle 2 Buxton Buzz Comedy Club - March(Pavilion Arts Centre)3 There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed AFly (Pavilion Arts Centre)3Swan Lake 2:30PM3 Swan Lake 3 Richard Herring (Pavilion Arts Centre)4 Jazz at the Arts Centre - The Yarrow RiverJazz Band (Pavilion Arts Centre)4 La Fille Mal Gardée 5 Gretchen Peters 6 Stewart Lee 7 The Solid Silver 60s Show 2012 8 Andy Abraham’s History of the Big Bands9 Tavaziva Dance – Sensual Africa 9-10 Thin Air (Pavilion Arts Centre Studio)10 Jackson – Live in Concert11 Puccini’s La Boheme 12 Joe Brown 13 Beanbag Stories - Out of this World(Pavilion Arts Centre)13-17 Yes, Prime Minister - DIRECT FROMTHE WEST END!Best New Comedy – What’s On StageFollowing two sell-out West End seasons,Yes, Prime Minister comes to Buxton OperaHouse for 1 week only.16 Letz Zep (Pavilion Arts Centre)18 Lord of the Flies19 Our Country’s Good 22-24 The Sound of Music 23 Buxton Soul Night (The Octagon,Pavilion Gardens)25 Jack Bruce & His Big Blues Band 26 Interface 12 27 Charlie Landsborough

28 Gilbert O’Sullivan29-31 Love’s Labour’s Lost 30-31The Government Inspector (PavilionArts Centre)April1Jazz at the Arts Centre - The JulianGregory Quartet (Pavilion Arts Centre)1Sesame Street Live – Elmo Makes Music!1Tideswell Male Voice Choir (Pavilion ArtsCentre)1An Audience with Pam Ayres 2The Ken Dodd Happiness Show 3The Bootleg Sixties - The Bootleg Sixties isa sight & sound show which takes you on anunforgettable 2-hour journey with thesongs, stars and images of pop’s greatestdecade. It stars The Overtures, one of thefinest exponents of 60s music in the worldtoday … end of story. They count Sir EltonJohn as a fan (he asked them to be the mainact at his star-studded wedding). TheOvertures are light years from being justanother covers band … what they bring tothe stage is a true representation of thepower and glory of the cream of 60s music.Featuring three screens, a lightshow, specialguests and of course, the fantasticOvertures, this show is a must for all 60sfans.4 Curtis Stigers 5 A Roo in my Suitcase (Pavilion ArtsCentre)5 Pure Brubeck 5 Wilko Johnson (Pavilion Arts Centre)6 The Rat Pack is Back!6Buxton Buzz Comedy Club - April (PavilionArts Centre)7Live/Wire 7-8 Double Vision (Pavilion Arts CentreStudio)8 Rainy Days & Mondays – The CarpentersStory9 Treasure Island 9 Simon Yates – The Wild Within 10 Hormonal Housewives 11The Ugly Duckling (Pavilion Arts CentreStudio)11The Hollies12 Beyond the Barricade 13 Recitals at the Arts Centre - VictoriaBarton (soprano) & Elgan Thomas (tenor)(Pavilion Arts Centre)13 The ELO Experience 13 Seann Walsh (Pavilion Arts Centre)14 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 14 Grimethorpe Colliery Band 15 In The Box 16 Shylock 17 Beanbag Stories - Farm Yard Fun (PavilionArts Centre)18 The Northern Soul Tour 2012 - AngeloStarr & The Team and Lorraine Silver 19 Are You Experienced? – The Jimi HendrixExperience

gallery

Portrait and wildlife artist NickProctor invites you to enjoy aone day workshop at his studioin Alfreton. Learn techniquesusing pastel pencils andexperience airbrushing acrylicbackgrounds. Ideal for thebeginner or the moreexperienced. With only 4people to each workshop,providing more individualattention, there are variousdays and dates available. Only£35 for the day 9am- 4pm, allmaterials provided and includestea /coffee and biscuits.Come away with a finishedpainting, framing available whileyou wait.01773 831046 / 07715277501www.nickproctor.co.uknickproctoruk@yahoo.co.uk

48 country images

The Studio, No 2 The Galleries,New Lane, Alfreton.

01773 836907

u

Norma GentDerbyshire Artist

Pets, Portraits, Scenes, Still Life,Executive Caricatures, Victorian Life.

SPECIAL DAYWORKSHOP

Saturday 10th MarchWatercolour Classes Tuesday

mornings & evenings &

every Thursday 9am - 10.45am

St Thomas’s Community Centre

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Framing Now Available

Nick ProctorPortrait and wildlife artist

Commissionswelcome,

prices start from £95. One day

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Book with this advert andreceive a free sample of

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With spring flowers gingerly popping up above thecold ground and daylight hours lengthening, the

opportunities arise to put brush to paper. NormaGent holds watercolour classes weekly and special

day workshops once every 3 months with somethingfor beginners to the more experienced. Visit Normaat her studio - 2 The Galleries, New Lane, Alfreton.

Steve Mcloughlin Exhibition 22nd April – 6th May 2012

Steven began painting professionally at the age of 21 workingcommercially for publishers and clients.

A self taught artist Steven works primarily in oils developing thefinished pieces from sketches and photographs taken on location.The British coastline and countryside has been Steven’s inspirationfor many years, taking him from Derbyshire where he lives to theeast coast of Norfolk down to Cornwall. For more informationregarding the exhibition please contact Gill Watson 07980 332873or 01332 865995. Email gillwatson@ingleby-gallery.co.uk or visitwww.ingleby-gallery.co.uk

country images 49

Murray Hallam, the owner and Kate Taylor, the manageresshave decided to retire from the knitting and needleworkshop in Ripley. The decision came after much deliberationand soul searching, such has been the enjoymentexperienced over the past 37 years in serving and lookingafter the needs of their numerous customers, many ofwhom have become good friends.

Both Murray and Kate enjoy reasonably good health andso wish to have time to be able to pursue other activitiesand to do some travelling too. They also wish to have moretime to spend with family and friends, some of whom havebeen neglected over the years

Murray is looking for a new owner to build on the happyrelationship the shop has with its customers and continuethe ongoing success of the business. Both Murray andKate appreciate the good will of their customers, old andnew and thank them for their custom over the years. Therewill be many happy memories to look back on.

Murray can be contacted on 01773 745824.U-duit and The Wool Shop, Church Street, Ripley,Derbyshire.

Murray and Kate

call it a day at

U-duit!They are looking for new

owners to continue thebusiness.

ARE MOVING!on March 7th 2012

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Our new postal address will be:Images Publishing Ltd, Keys Road, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 7FQ

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i’ve never made a secret of the fact that i have

quite a short attention span. When people talk

to me i find my mind starts to cloud over and

think about something else. i don’t wish to be

rude or ignore people but my brain just leaves

the scene. My wife spots it instantly and says

‘are you listening or am i boring you?’ i think

a light must come on somewhere around my

face saying ‘gone away” or “closed for lunch”.

However i am getting increasingly frustrated

with TV programmes that presume i can’t stay

with the plot for more than five minutes. i’m

convinced that i have got longer staying

power than that.

i quite enjoy Countryfile but they insist on chopping the

programme up and then sticking all the bits back

together in five-minute segments with “i’ll be back later

in the programme”. One minute i’m watching Matt

abseiling down a mountain and the next i am thrust into

the weather forecast with the promise ‘Matt will be back

a little later to show you what happened’. Obviously the

weather is slotted in later otherwise it could be old stuff

and that would be no use. Then suddenly i’m on Adam’s

farm shearing sheep and before it’s finished i’m off on a

canoe somewhere with Ellie, who for some reason can’t

finish canoeing until Matt comes back to have a go, but

he can’t yet because he’s still coming down on his ropes

and the weather man hasn’t done his bit, but can’t until

John has sold us a calendar.

The main problem is that every time they come back,

they explain to you what they were doing the last time

that you were with them and what is going to happen

next. Multiply that by three or four times and it starts to

grate on you and you begin to realise that without it, the

show would be half its length! you can’t lose the plot

though – you aren’t allowed to!

The other programme is Escape to the Country, how

many times do you need to tell me that Mr and Mrs

Earntwistleshaw hyphen Smith have got six hundred

grand to spend? Once is ok. i got it at the beginning…

and where they want to live!

The problem is that once you start to notice it you can’t

stop. Antiques Road Trip does it with “let’s look what

they bought”. Well, actually we saw them buying it. So

does Celebrity Chef, Gardeners’ World does it, but i

stopped watching that as you may be aware due to

dejection. i think this type of programming dialogue is

called digression but i think it is more like indigestion;

you just can’t get rid of it.

Mind you i suppose we could just switch off or even

better just watch the end of the show because they

review it all then anyway. Or fast forward it and miss

those bits. i could save hours. After reviewing these

programmes i feel quite smug that my concentration is

not so bad after all. Well, obviously that’s only my

opinion others may disagree, if of course they’re

listening.

On the subject of TV there was an advert on recently for

a new laxative that says ‘take

before you go to sleep’. A tad dangerous i thought.

i was chatting to someone the other day who told me

that they were a ‘vivid’ reader! That’s a new one on me.

Unless of course they were describing the way they read

and not how much.

i am currently taking medicine that ‘could make my

stools dark’. i’ve looked at the kitchen chairs every day

and they’re fine!

Can’t wee!Bargain!!

Poetic justiceFollowing last month’s article about blood tests Ihad a letter informing me I needed one. How’sthat for timing?

So, being obedient I went for one. When I sat down I was asked

“Which arm?”. All kinds of smart quips were running through my

brain - like ‘there is blood in both”, however

common sense prevailed when I looked at the man with the

needle and opted for my left arm.

Seconds later it was all over and feeling relieved that I wasnt

recognised by anyone in the hospital, I made for a sharp exit!

I’m sorry I’ll say that again - again!

Ta

lk o

n L

ife b

y G

P

A wild and very wet night, the rain beating on the

southwest-facing window panes, still spitting as i set off in the

darkness. Clouds were scudding north-eastwards, the first traces

of dawn seen through a gap in the clouds. Apart from the wind

soughing through the trees, there was no other sound. Earlier i

had heard a moorhen call from a nearby pond but no owls were

calling this morning as they do in still, frosty weather but few

creatures enjoy windy conditions, they feel disoriented.

Mild, start of a new day, water standing where puddles have

formed, reflecting the sky, trees and hedgerows. These are the

conditions frequently encountered by wild creatures, an

important part of their world, but life must go on. i disturbed a

wood pigeon that clattered off into the gloom and then heard

something totally unexpected. A skylark suddenly burst into song

from the darkness at the side of the cornfield. i squelched and

slid along the track, talking to one of our cats that had decided to

accompany me, and what a pleasure it was. The skylark sang

again, its song carried towards me on the wind. nature is full of

surprises but you have to be about to be surprised. The rain of a

few days ago soaked into the land but this time water is running

off, swelling the stream with muddy water. Still no human sounds

but some activity as i saw a light twinkling in a cottage window.

A pair of ducks flew low and quickly overhead, softly quacking

as they passed by. The first notes of a mistle thrush as i stood

alongside an alder, silhouetted against the lightening sky, its twigs

festooned with catkins, not yet open unlike the lambs’ tails on

hazels. The hedgerow fringing the stream is ancient and i look

forward to seeing it unfold in tune with the seasons. A thrush

sang from another part of the countryside; territories are being

re-occupied, the owners proclaiming their ownership by their

singing or by ‘drumming’ as is the case with the greater-spotted

woodpecker, a short while ago only seen, seldom heard, apart

from soft ‘chip-chips’. A blackbird’s alarm note cut through the

air, the diurnal inhabitants of the countryside beginning to shake

off the shackles of the night. A robin and wren sang as i walked

through their territories and those of many other creatures. i

heard the first call, or caw, from a crow as i looked over the

greening winter corn, the rain is money in the bank after three

abnormally dry months, followed by predictions of this, that and

the other. ‘February fill dyke, be it black or be it white’,

fortunately the former and a start has been made on redressing

the balance. i reached the end of the wood and goodness knows

what had taken place in it under the cloak of darkness. Far away

over the corn, a blackbird sang but it needs fine tuning. The

stream is more tuneful as the increased volume of water

encounters obstacles on its downhill passage.

i turned for home just as the rooks decided it was time for them

to swoop and dive over their feeding ground for the day, calling

excitedly as they did so. The number of ducks on the pond had

been swelled by later arrivals and they were making a whole

variety of sounds, providing their own music for their paddlings,

a natural ballet, ‘duck Pond’? perhaps. The sky cleared, morning

had broken. Below the track, under some trees, yellow winter

aconites and snowdrops are in flower.

By mid-morning, i heard and saw the skylark high above the

field where i had earlier heard it in the darkness. it was touched

golden by the early morning sun, easily visible against the pale

blue sky through the rain-washed air. A chaffinch sang from the

bough of a tree and i had to remind myself it is still mid-February.

A pair of gulls glided high overhead, using the breeze as they

scoured the land below them, searching for flooded parts of

fields, instant larders of drowned earthworms and other victims of

the rains. A large heron stood in the pasture not far from the

stream, its beady eye looking for food, in its case virtually

anything, most things are grist to the mill where its diet is

concerned.

‘From a Cart-Road’

‘On the beaten track’

Bye for now, Furlong

Plumbing & HeatingStewart Hague

MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF PLUMBING

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54 country images

Din

ing

Exp

erien

ceOn an icy cold February

evening……our destination was

the charming, historic village of

Melbourne and The Paddock

Country House Hotel. Once

known as The Railway Hotel, The

Paddock, just two minutes’ drive

from Donington Park race track, is

now affectionately named after

the circuit entrance.

There are plenty of luxury break offers and

weekend retreats available at the hotel,

offering a relaxed and comfortable stay. The

restaurant is the pride of The Paddock

Hotel, their aim is to achieve 3 rosettes and

become the top fine dining restaurant in

Derbyshire under the guidance of their

Michelin trained head chef, Mr Timothy

Slack, who has worked closely with

Raymond Blanc's prodigy, Charles Harris.

Raluca-Gabriela, head receptionist and

supervisor, welcomed us warmly and then

showed us to our table in the centre of the

newly refurbished dining room. This has a

fresh contemporary look; the walls dressed

with black and white contrasting wallpapers

and plenty of soft lighting. The natural

wooden beams add a traditional

atmosphere to the restaurant. The tables

looked inviting; each set with crisp white

linens and the candles gave warmth and

intimacy to the restaurant. It was then that I

noticed the serving area through to the

kitchen opposite where you can see head

chef, Timothy and his team busily preparing

the guests' food orders for the evening,

bringing scenes from Masterchef

immediately to mind!

Restaurant manager, Scott Cawley offered

us the wine list. You can choose from an

excellent selection of fine wines to enhance

your meal choice. We subsequently

ordered our drinks with Erastus, who along

with the other ‘waiting’ staff, provided a

very professional and attentive service from

the minute we arrived.

The à la carte menu offers a superb

selection of dishes, made from locally

sourced ingredients, within a 26 mile radius

wherever possible, supporting businesses

from around the Melbourne area. There is

also the opportunity to select from the ‘bar

specials board’ in the warm and welcoming

Paddock Bar, where meals and snacks are

also produced by the head chef and his

team to the same consistently high

standards.

We had just placed our starters and mains

order with Scott, when Timothy arrived and

introduced himself, presenting us both with

an ‘amuse bouche’, a little tingler for the

taste buds, offering us a glimpse of his

approach to cooking.....French duck foie

gras, poached and served with port infused

quince, finished with black truffle foam.

During the course of the evening, Timothy

proceeded to talk to other diners in the

restaurant, which we thought was a lovely

gesture, as you very rarely meet your chef!

The foie gras, was beautifully presented,

tasted delicate but rich and buttery, with the

quince complementing the subtle flavours

perfectly, this definitely prepared our taste

buds well for our meal to follow.

Our starters soon arrived, again superbly

presented, scallops for my partner and tuna

as my choice. Succulent and perfectly

cooked, the pan seared, hand-dived scallops

with pickled chanterelles, dressed with a

black truffle feather, cream truffle foam and

pink caviar was a perfect combination.

My yellow fin tuna steaks were poached in

olive oil and presented with a cup of

watermelon sorbet, finished with raspberry

and basil oil, squid ink and crème fraiche jus,

lemon & lime caper jelly and topped with

black seaweed crisps. Exquisite and a real

chance for the chef to showcase his skills!

We were offered more drinks by Erastus,

then we welcomed the arrival of our main

meals , Steve’s choice was a ‘chump of lamb’

presented on carrot purée and braised red

cabbage, with rosemary and thyme truffle

mash, finished with wilted lettuce and

eucalyptus foam. The lamb was very tasty

and tender and the accompaniments

cooked and presented to perfection. The

use of herbs made the aroma of this dish as

appealing as its taste.

I had chosen the assiette of pork; pork fillet

wrapped in nettle and foie gras butter,

poached baby carrot rounds, a petite jug of

red wine jus and finished with ‘all day’

crackling. I couldn’t help but finish

everything on my plate as once I had started

eating it, it was all totally irresistible!

….and when it came to the dessert menu a

short while later, again, I could not resist the

temptation of the mouth-watering desserts

in front of me!

I chose the tarte au citron, which consisted

of a fresh lemon tart made with deep, rich

yellow duck eggs , served on a shortcrust

pastry, delicately finished with intricate

glasswork and a hazelnut and chilli sabayon.

This was a true delight, easily eaten and

leaving a fresh clean taste at the end of the

meal, a lovely mix of sharp, sweet and cool

flavours.

The basil pannacotta had caught Steve’s eye.

It was the iced beetroot parfait and

cinnamon jam that it was served with that

he was intrigued about. Beetroot has a high

natural sugar content and so is ideal, if

unusual, for a dessert. It is now one of his

favourite dishes and the only

disappointment to him is the fact that he is

unlikely to find it anywhere else!

We decided to finish our meal at this point,

although there were teas, coffees and

liqueurs available if we had wished to have

them. For us, this had been a truly first-class

fine dining experience, where Timothy’s

skills and creativity certainly proved that

The Paddock Restaurant is the place to dine

in style!

The Paddock

Country House

Hotel

“...the place to

dine in style”

country images 55

The Paddock Hotel & Restaurant

The place to dine in style…

The Paddock Hotel & Restaurant, formerly known as the ‘Railway’.222 Station Road, Melbourne, Derbyshire DE73 8BQ

www.paddockmelbourne.comreception@paddockmelbourne.comTel: 01332 864716

The KetchBar & Bistro

“Your out of town dining experience”

Warm and friendly welcomeCome and see for yourself

BOOkiNG aDviSaBlE.

Kniveton, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 1NQ (Between ashbourne and Carsington Water on B5035.)

Tel: 01335 301194 www.theketch-kniveton.co.uk

New Management.Great New Menu.

Great New Experience.Spring Dining:

Wed-Sat 12 noon - 2pm& 6pm - 8pm

Sunday 12 - 4pm

Relaxed and informaldining with freshlyprepared food using

locally sourcedingredients.Head Chef:

Owen Telford

The new edition of

taste is now on sale

visit www.tastederbyshire.co.uk for details

It’s always nice to see a plan cometogether and The Spanker Inn atNether Heage is the perfectexample of people comingtogether with common aims toput into place a plan and thenworking hard at it as a team toensure its success. ‘Saving ourvillage pubs’ has been frequentlyin the media recently and here itis in action. It is a year since ourlast report on The Spanker. Mindyou we have kept popping infrom time to time to see howthings were going. So, whenDanielle invited us to ‘take a lookat us now’, we needed nopersuasion.

Once again we were pleased to meet

Danielle and her two chefs Mike and Chris

and sit and chat about where they all were

with the plan we had discussed a year

earlier. The results are outstanding, in fact

the day before they had served 140 covers

which is fantastic to hear at a time when we

are constantly being told that the village pub

is under threat. Here is a success story that

is still unfolding. It is obvious that Danielle

and her team have been relentless in making

the Spanker a welcoming village pub serving

fine ales and traditional, quality, pub food. As

we stood at the bar, which featured four

very fine ales; Black Sheep, Pedigree, Abbot

and London Pride, Danielle excitedly told us

of their outstanding year - the growth of

their business linked with the events that

they put on to ensure The Spanker is part

of village life. I’ll tell you later about those

but first I need to describe the food

because I am sure that’s what you want to

know about.

Mick and Chris are two fine chefs and put

on very varied menus. I say menus as there

are three: the main one, the specials and the

lite bites, not forgetting of course the

carvery. Something for everyone, that’s the

motto.

For his starter Alistair had the deep fried

brie (two very generous pieces) served with

warm red onion chutney and salad. For the

main course he went for the carvery. The

British are justifiably famous for their roast

dinners and his carvery at the Spanker was

most enjoyable. He was given a generous

slice of well cooked roast beef expertly cut

and also asked if he would like a slice from

another joint. The warm roasted ham

looked good so he had this as well. With

dishes of vegetables to help yourself to he

chose a massive Yorkshire pudding and

surrounded this with large crisp roasted

potatoes and a portion each of the carrots

and red cabbage. This was topped with dark,

rich gravy. For a weekday lunch (12-2pm) or

Sunday lunch (12-4pm) this was a

reasonably priced, value for money meal and

I can see why it is necessary to book first if

you want to visit the Spanker at the

weekend.

Scott decided on the tasty large field

mushroom to start and followed on with

moussaka which was served in an ovenware

dish with homemade chips. A nice change

from lasagne, it was one of the chef’s

favourite dishes and he declared it delicious.

David’s choice of tiger prawns in a chilli

sauce came as a surprise. The prawns were

what was expected; plump, juicy and tender

but the sauce was not the usual (red and

jam-like) but a light, savoury jus with a

pleasant taste of chilli but not too much

heat. A fine leaf salad and a chunk of warm

bread completed the well balanced first

course.

New to the Spanker is their ‘Pie Night’ on a

Monday. This features a choice of three pies

topped with homemade pastry

accompanied with either chipped or

mashed potatoes and garden or mushy

peas. What could be better on a Monday

night than to sit by the roaring fire with a

steak and ale pie and a pint of Pedigree?

Now you are getting the reason why the

Spanker is bucking the trend and putting the

village pub back on the map. Events planned

that you can get involved in are music nights

that encompass all kinds of musical tastes

including jazz (I’ll miss that one! Sorry

Danielle but I will be at the prog rock one!).

On April 21st there is a 10km charity fun

run (or walk) which can be started or

finished with a drink and food.

As we discussed whether we could manage

a pudding with Mike and Chris, who

dedicate Tuesday afternoons to making their

fresh homemade desserts, Danielle brought

a tasty selection to our table, including

apple crumble and custard and a very rich

fruit cake. We all indulged in a selection of

desserts, the warm chocolate sponge cake a

firm favourite. I’m not a chocolate fan but

there was something about the warm, dark,

bitter-sweet coating to the light chocolate

sponge that made it irresistible.

This brought to an end our extremely

relaxing and delicious lunch. Time to head

back to work via the other part of the

dining room where artists are welcome to

display their wares and you can vote for

your favourite piece. A nice touch we

thought as this is something that gets us all

involved in what is happening in our

community. As you may guess from the

above it is all hands on deck at the Spanker

as they work at putting customer

satisfaction first in the way the menu is

constructed and the beers are chosen.

These things don’t happen by accident but

when people come together with a

common cause, to run an efficient and

enjoyable business, it definitely gives Nether

Heage a pub to be proud of.

We would like to wish Danielle and her

team a successful 2012.

LO

CA

L T

AV

ER

NS

The Spanker“...putting customer

satisfaction first”

56 country images

country images 57

THE SPANKER INNAT NETHER HEAGE

Spanker Lane, Nether Heage, Belper,Derbyshire DE56 2AT

Telephone 01773 853222

Come and try ourNew Daily Specials

Menu!

CarveryMonday – Saturday12-2pm £5.95

Sunday 12-4pm£7.50

Belcanto Local Male Chorus Singing modern songsThursday 8th March

The Spanker Inn at Nether Heage

To be kept up to date with future events and to download

menus please go to www.whitehartduffield.co.ukwhere you can join our mailing list

The White Hart, Town Street, Duffield, DE56 4GD

Reservations: 01332 841141

E:info@whitehartduffield.co.uk

Duffield, Derbyshire

New Wood Fired

Pizza Oven…

Handmade wood fired pizza

The latest Jamie Oliver Wood Fired Pizza

Oven will be fired up from 22nd March 2012

See your pizza cooked before your eyes!

Available lunch and evenings Monday to

Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday

Follow us on Twitter

We look forward to seeing you

Send your entries (including your full name and address) to: Country Images Magazine (food comp.)

Victoria House, Market Place, Crich, DE4 5DDFirst correct entry chosen wins.

Closing date for entries: March 16th 2012

I’m the son of my father or so the song went by a group who wasdefinitely named after me. That’s my first tip anyway. I am quite anancient food in fact I am rooted in history as Horace mentioned

me many years ago. You’re not in the dark now so what am I?

WHAT AM I? “We’re passionate about qualityand freshness because we know

you are too.”Fresh fruit and vegetables, locally produced

beef, lamb, pork and poultry, award winningsausages, free range eggs, freshly baked bread,

home-made cakes, organic produce, local icecream, local beers.

Farm shop café now open.

www.croots.co.ukFarnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, Duffield,

Derbyshire DE56 4AQ

Tel 01332 843032email:info@croots.co.uk

Open Tues-Sat 9am-5pm Sundays 10am-4pm

New MenuHomemade Dishes

Sunday RoastsSpecial Mothers Day Menu

thebridge-ashbourne@hotmail.co.uk

33-35 Dig Street, AshbourneDE6 1GF. T: 01335 418234

PLEASE PHONE TO BOOK.

Our famous Sunday Carvery is now available

Wednesday to Friday 12-8pm

Only £4.95 per person

Lunchtime Special12-4pm 2 for £8!

Hilcote Lane, Hilcote, Alfreton DE55 5HRTel: 01773 811 248 www.hilcotecountryclub.co.uk

Leek and Fontina Risotto

Ingredients

300g arborio rice5 leeksLarge pat butter, plus a little extra50g parmesan100g fontina 1 glass red wine

For the stock:Parsley stalks1 carrot2 leeks1 potato2 sticks celeryPeppercorns1 small onion Bay leaf

Method

1. First make your stock. The exactrecipe depends on what is in yourcupboard. Don't use too muchpotato, the stock needs to be very

clear.2. Cook half the leeks in thebutter, cooking slowly until theyare translucent. Place the otherhalf in a saucepan with a littlebutter and cook until caramelised.Remove the caramelised leeks andset aside.3. In the pan with the translucentleeks, turn up the heat and addthe rice. Stir for 1 minute for therice to absorb the flavour, thenadd half a glass of red wine. Thenadd the warm stock, bit by bit,until the rice is almost cooked. 4. Add the rest of the wine andthe caramelised leeks, reservingsome to sprinkle on the top. Keepthe heat on until the rice is ’aldente’, ie. not over-cooked, butstill with a little bite. Add a smallknob of butter and the cheese.5. To serve, top with theremaining leeks. Serve sprinkledwith parmesan.

58 country images

WIN £20 Croots Vouchers

THE vERY BEST OF EaST & WEST

Take Away Service (Free delivery within 5 miles, minimum order £20)

Open: Monday-Saturday 5pm-11pm, Sunday 12pm-9pm. Free car park

The Farmhouse (formerly The Yew Tree) in Brinsley located on the a608 Cordy lane.

SpecialsMonday & Tuesday Indian Buffet £8.95 –

eat as much as you likeMonday to Friday 2 for £10 on selected English meals

Sunday Roast 2 for £10

a warm welcome awaits you at The Farmhouse

English & indian sizzler Restaurant & Bar.

Offering the best of both worldsThe Farmhouse offers a full English & indian menu, indulging desserts

plus a range of coffees or you can simply join us for a social drink!

Mother’s Day 18th MarchJoin us for a Mothering Sunday special treat!

51, Cordy lane, Brinsley, Nottingham NG16 5BY

01773 768641 www.thefarmhouserestaurant.co.uk

Very Special Specials at The Excavator

The huge success Pub People Company have had since taking the

helm at The Excavator in Ambergate near Ripley, means the

kitchen has needed to not only meet the demand of the

customers but also the expectations. The pub has managed to do

both by reinventing their specials board on a regular basis, with

the intention being to give customers a new menu each visit.

The popular specials board changes to keep you coming back and it'sall thanks to imaginative and innovative dishes dreamed up by DaveOwens and his kitchen team.

“A focus this winter has been on the fantastic new vegetarian dishesthat are coming through at the minute and becoming more and morepopular, not just with vegetarians." Dave says "We've also always beenknown for a great steak and we still offer a great range of grilledDerbyshire beef, including the brand new introduction of a great value8oz fillet steak!"

So, with an already established Sunday lunch to die for, a mid-weekafternoon value menu and now a specials board worth travelling for,what is in store next at The Excavator? Well, to find that out you’llsimply have to keep visiting the pub and dining room which is easy tofind, located on the A610 close to junction 28 of the Ml, the Ripleyjunction of the A38 and 10 minutes from Derby.

Bookings are now being taken for Mother’s Day and Easter Weekend.Booking in advance is recommended at the weekends, call 01773 744400

country images 59

ARE MOVING!on March 7th 2012

Country

Our new postal address will be:Images Publishing Ltd,

Keys Road, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 7FQ

Phone: 01773 830344Opening hours: Mon - Thur 9am to 5pm

Fridays 9am to 3pmEmail: enquiries@imagespublishingltd.co.uk

Website: www.imagespublishingltd.co.uk

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GolferCounty

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IDPI m a g e sD e s i g n& P r i n t

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At Eddowes Waldron we help our clients through all

property transactions and keep them fully informed

every step of the way until the key is in the new

owner’s hand. Because we do not pay referral fees

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to act in your best interests at all times.

When you need a good independent

residential or commercial property

lawyer ...talk to us first.

Eddowes Waldron Solicitors12 St Peter’s ChurchyardDerby DE1 1TZinfo@ewlaw.co.ukwww.ewlaw.co.uk

Tel: 01332 348484

66 country images

Country Images‘through theletterboxdistribution’ ethicmeans that over32,000 homesreceive a copy ofthe area’sbrightest freemagazine.If you would likeyour businessfeatured inCountry Imagesplease call amember of oursales team on01773 850050

country images 67

Valley Lodge: Bakewell Road, Matlock DE4 3BN

68 country images

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Hey! Now that I have your attention!If you have a summer event coming up why not advertise it in

Country Images Magazine. You can always wire it to me!!!diary@imagespublishingltd.co.uk

LOSTDERBYSHIREHOUSES

OldMarkeatonHall, Derbyby Maxwell Craven

The estate of Markeaton was in the

hands of the Earl of Chester when

the Domesday Book was written in

1086 and was tenanted from him

by Goscelin, one of his senior

retainers. Yet it would seem that

before 1073, when the Earl

involved himself in an act of

disloyalty to the Conqueror, his

possessions in Derbyshire were

very considerably greater.

Thereafter, Markeaton,

Mackworth, Allestree and part of

Kniveton were all he was left with.

Goscelin’s family, the Touchets, built the first

house on the estate, for it is mentioned in deeds in

the early 12th century. A church and priest at

Markeaton were recorded in the Domesday Book,

yet no mention of either appears subsequently,

suggesting that it was a domestic chapel (and thus

implying the existence of a residence). By 1200

the church at Mackworth alone is mentioned in

the charters of Darley Abbey and the supposition

is that the original church had became a domestic

Above:

Detail of the hall from the

bird’s eye view of the old

house in 1753. [Derby

Museums]

Right:

The new house; Markeaton

Hall, the seat of William

Mundy MP

chapel attached to the Touchets’ house and a fresh church to serve the

estate had been founded at Mackworth, with its patronage given to

the Abbey which immediately rented it back to the Touchets.

Later, in 1405, the Touchets inherited the barony of Audley of Heleigh

(in Cheshire) but after that it all went a bit downhill for them. The 7th

Lord Audley fought for Richard III at Bosworth but was later executed

for putting himself at the head of the so called Cornish Insurrection,

he was captured at the Battle of Blackheath on the outskirts of

London. The family sold up in 1516 and moved to Ireland where they

were later created Earls of Castlehaven, but the 2nd Earl disgraced

himself by involvement in the sort of scandal which would have kept

the late lamented News of the World in self-righteous headlines for

weeks and was consequently executed.

The Derbyshire estates centred on Markeaton were purchased by an

ex-Sheriff of London, Sir John Mundy of Checkendon in Oxfordshire,

who had made his fortune as a goldsmith. In 1522 he went on to

become Lord Mayor of the City. Fuller’s Worthies states that he was

the son of William Mundy of High Wycombe in Bucks, but the family

actually claimed a Derbyshire descent, albeit one that is in detail hard

to authenticate, but an estate at Alstonefield in Staffordshire held by

Sir John’s son Vincent seems to have been held over a century before

by a Mundy.

Mundy built a new house, probably c1522-24, partly timber-framed,

but on a stone plinth with a multi-gabled two storey façade, above

which rose a tall central feature topped by three steep gables and

clustered chimneys. This would have occupied the space where in a

more conventional house an inner courtyard would have been.

Although Melbury in Dorset is a slightly later contemporary (and

perhaps slightly more sophisticated) example of a very similar house,

old Markeaton nevertheless does constitute one of the precursors of

the later Elizabethan mania in the East Midlands for building

unusually tall houses which reached its apogee with houses

such as Wollaton Hall and Worksop Manor (the latter long

destroyed) in Nottinghamshire and of course, Hardwick.

The house stood behind a very expansive courtyard of

timber framed offices, outbuildings and stables ranged

round three sides, the house forming the fourth, but set back

somewhat and surrounded by a wall punctuated by three

impressive gates which may have been later additions.

Much of the west side of the stable/offices range was built

on a stone plinth punctuated by buttresses executed with

carved details. A branch of the Markeaton Brook ran

through the north range of this courtyard and was probably

so diverted a considerable time before in order to act as a

freshwater supply and drain to the stable range.

We know all this because an unknown artist drew a bird’s

eye view of the old house in 1753, just before Sir John

Mundy’s descendant Wrightson, having inherited estates in

Leicestershire, resolved to have it demolished and replaced

by the house (also demolished) that many of the older

generation in Derby will recall. This is immensely valuable

as a record of a long lost and architecturally important

mansion and is in the safe hands of Derby Museum along

with plans and elevations of the replacement house, all

appearing to date from 1753. The likelihood is therefore,

that the drawing of the old house is by James Denstone, the

LOST DERBYSHIRE HOUSES

Old Markeaton Hall, Derby

man who seems to have designed the later house, which

was completed in 1755.

We can also derive more information about the old mansion

from a series on inventories from the 17th century and from

the hearth tax return of 1662 in which the house was taxed

on 11 hearths, suggesting that despite its appearance in the

drawing it must have been a fairly compact edifice. The best

inventory is that drawn up following the death of Edward

Mundy in 1607, in which he left property assessed at nearly

£1,000. This mentions the Great Chamber, two other

chambers, three ‘halls’, three other rooms, a brew-house

and stables, William Woolley in 1713 described it as ‘an

ancient seat’, which hardly tells us much we didn’t know.

Needless to say, little is left of the house today. A rather

battered stone pinnacle from it survives as a park feature,

and the buttressed stone plinth that supported the stable

block survives underneath the rather mauled remains of the

hunting stables built for F N C Mundy by Joseph Pickford in

c.1772 on the NW corner of the present structure. Beyond

that there is nothing; everything else was swept away for

Denstone’s new house, for Pickford’s stable block and

William Emes’s 115 acre park, not to mention the site’s

municipalisation in the years subsequent to 1929 when the

last Mrs Mundy, Emily Georgiana, left it to the Council.

Top left: NW angle of the stable block

shewing the buttressed stone wall

surviving from the previous stable range

[M Craven]

Middle left: The new hall in its heyday.

Bottom left: Melbury in Dorset, from the

lake, built 1536-1538. Note the tower

rising through the centre of the house

[M Craven]

Top right: The bird’s eye view of 1753

[Derby Museums]

Above: The surviving orangery from the

new hall

68 country images

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country images 69

A fresh start

70 country images

Personal Choice’s spring/ summer 2012 collectioncontains some innovative and trendsetting designs that willboth delight and surprise customers. Their newest colourthemes suit different tastes and lifestyles and are availablein smart daywear pieces, as well as in unique designs forthose special events. Available at Marcelles Derby.

The new summer collection from Jacques Vert is led bysmart, feminine and elegant occasion wear complete withstylish fascinators, show stopping hats and accessories.Available from Clarkes of Ripley, Grosvenor Road, Ripley.

Be on trend this spring with the fabulous footwear collection

by Peter Kaiser. These gorgeous shoes are available at John

Barclay, Babington Lane, Derby. The shop stocks a great range of

footwear by Gabor, K&S, Rieker, Van Dal and Caprice to name

a few. For more details regarding their footwear, telephone

01332 342260 www.johnbarclayshoes.co.uk

City centre choiceTown centre

serviceFriendly personal servicefrom assistants who care,in a truly independent

store that’s big enough tostock the quality brands

you want.

An independentdepartment store, withFashions, Lingerie,

Accessories, Shoes, Mens,Homeware and Coffee Shop.

Pop in soon and free yourself from chain

store sameness.

full of surprises

8-18 Grosvenor Road,Ripley

Tel: 01773 742151pomodoro

Thoresby Courtyard NG22 9EP 4th March

Butterley Grange DE5 3QY 25th March

Tissington Hall DE6 1RA 1st April

Thrumpton Hall NG11 0AX 22nd April

The Priest House DE74 2RR 20th May

Show Dates

K&S • Van Dal • Caprice • Peter Kaiser • Rieker • Camel • Gabor

www.johnbarclayshoes.co.uk

Step out in style…e Peter Kaiser

Spring/Summer 2012 Collection.

OHN ARCLABINTERNATIONAL FOOTWEAR

YJ46 Babington Lane, Derby 01332 342260

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PEROTTI • DENTS • THE BRIDGE • FOSSIL • YOSHI • SMITH & CANOVA • ANTLER •

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PEROTTI • DENTS • THE BRIDGE • FOSSIL • YOSHI • SMITH & CANOVA • ANTLER • R

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NY2a Chapel Street, Belper, Derby DE56 1AR Tel: 01773 822794

The Fabulous Leather Shop of Belper

Now available at

Travel in style with the newHighbury range of suitcases

and travel bags

72 country images

The gorgeous newspring/ summer2012 collection byMichaela Louisafeatures stunningcolours andextremely femininefashion. Nowavailable from Jillian Hart Fashions, 40 - 44 BabingtonLane, Derby.Telephone 01332 347647.

A fresh startPut 1st April in your diaries – Tissington Hall is amust-visit for all married couples-to-be.Tissington Hall, steeped in history and tuckedaway in the Peak District’s wild rolling hills, willsoon launch its decadent new Simon BondArboretum Pavillion.

The stunning Pavillion can seat 150 invited guests within a beautiful

setting near the house and on 1April 2012 White Media will be

showcasing this exclusive romantic venue that has so much to offer

couples who are looking for a grand setting.

Eight generations of the FitzHerbert family have lived in this beautifulJacobean Mansion, which presides over a quintessentially Englishvillage, complete with duck pond and village green. It is the perfectvenue for a fairytale wedding, garden opera, private party or exclusivecorporate event. Whatever the occasion,Tissington Hall is a beautifulbackdrop with a timeless atmosphere all of its own. At the showcase,guests can expect to see Sir Richard FitzHerbert’s Tissington Hall andthe stunning grounds with an array of top wedding suppliers ready tohelp you with your big day such as Red Olive, who will with be inforce with a selection of canapes to sample.

There will also be entertainment from Paul Martyn. Tissington Hall’swedding co-ordinatorVictoria will be on hand with available weddingdates for both 2012 and 2013.This special day has been put togetherbyWhite Media and Tissington Hall to offer couples a magicalexperience they will never forget.

For more information call White Media on 01246 541906www.whitemedialtd.co.uk www.tissington-hall.co.uk

A Magical Setting

Just look and book: www.designsbymarlaine.co.uk

Designs by Marlaine82, High Street, Alfreton, Derbyshire. DE55 7BE

Telephone 01773 830787

A-Ma-Zing Prom Dresses Fabulous Designs and Colours

Appointments only

§ £25 OFFDresses ove

r £285

with this advert

40-44 Babington Lane,Derby

Tel: 01332 347647

Opening Times: Monday - Saturday 9.30am - 5.00pm

Spring & Summer2012 Collection

country images 73

David Nidd Jewellers of Belper

High Quality Watchmakers • Jewellers • Silversmiths

15 Bridge Street, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 1AY Tel: 01773 880470

…Elegance

74 country images

A fresh start

Loake shoes are for those who wantcontemporary designs with traditionalquality and craftsmanship. Availablenow from Rock Fall, Major House, Wimsey Way, Alfreton. DE55 4LS

CAROLELADIES MOBILEHAIRDRESSER

T: 01332 346321M: 07989 779210

Friendly &

Reliable

Ladies & MensHair

by Julie

Opening Times:Tuesday - Saturday 9am to 5pm

with late nights Wednesday, Thursday & Friday

Free ParkingAppointment Service: 01332 551440Abbey Lane, Darley Abbey, Derby DE22 1DG

Created usingSimply RecycledAran, this tiedcardigan is from oneof the range of newSirdar springpatterns. Yarn andpattern availablefrom a hugeselection at TheWool Shop, U-duit,Church Street,Ripley.

‘Big is beautiful’ prom dresses - these 10 layered dressesare now available from Designs by Marlaine. Thesestunning dresses are ultra glamorous and perfect forproms and special occasions. Contact the shop for anappointment. Designs by Marlaine, 82 High Street,Alfreton, Derbyshire. Tel 01773 830787www.designsbymarlaine.co.uk

Travel in style with thenew Highbury rangeof suitcases and travelbags, available only atThe Fabulous LeatherShop Belper

T: 01773 608616 Major House, Wimsey Way, Alfreton Tr. Est.,

Alfreton DE55 4LS Mon-Fri: 9.00-5.30 Sat: 9.30-5.00

A contemporary designand traditional craftmanship

New to Rock Fa

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Tudor JewellersSouth St, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 5QT Tel: 01159 303 004

Using sterling silver and 14ct gold, chooseand combine your favourite charms tocreate a unique piece of PANDORA

Jewellery

Mothering Sunday March 18th

FAShIon ShoW

Sponsored by Morley HayesThursday 15th March arrive 7pm to 7.30pm

Sachaverell Suite, Morley hayes

Cost £10 including a glass of champagne

All proceeds to Cancer Charities.

Contact Clarkes of Ripley 01773 742151

BY

Inner Wheel

U-duit7a Church Street, Ripley, DE5 3BU Tel: 01773 745824

www.u-duitknitandstitch.co.uk

SIRDAR • PATONS

• SUBLIME • RICONORO COLLECTION

for

Babies, Children &Grownups

Your localwool shop

76 country images

A fresh start

U-DUIT

DMC • Anchor • Books • Tablecloths • Tapestry Wools • Threads • Frames • Hoops

• Embroidery Charts • Fabrics • Metallic Threads

‘PictureFraming Service

Available’

Established

19757a Church Street, Ripley DE5 3BU Tel: 01773 745824

www.u-duitknitandstitch.co.uk

We are a good wool shop

Specialist Needlework Shop

X-Stitch - Surface Embroidery - DaylightMagnifying Lamps & Bulbs - Tapestry -

Lowery Workstands

Haven’t you suffered enough? How many times have we heard “I wish I’d visited weeks ago”?We can make such a difference.. Well, don’t put up with thoseaches and pains any longer. We are fully qualified remedial andsports therapists who can ease your problems away. No harshmanipulations and suitable for all ages with exercise advice givenfor a speedy recovery. 01773 749512 to book your appointment.Fizzio-Fit, Butterley.

A fabulous new collection of footwear for a great spring

look is now in stock at Frox of Draycott. Available in a

variety of sizes and colours. For more information

contact Frox, The Courtyard, Draycott Mill, Derbyshire.

Telephone 01332 875572 www.froxshop.com

Mum’s Perfect Day – Competition

To celebrate Mother’s Day this year The Alphabet Gift

Shop in Station Road, Mickleover is asking Mums to tell

them about the things that would make their ‘Perfect Day’.

“We are looking for Mums to list up to 12 things that

would make their day extra special” said shop owner, Sue

Dorling. “Or children can enter on Mum’s behalf and write a

list of things that they think their Mum would enjoy on her

special day . . . it’s open to all.”

It could be “sunshine on a frosty morning, breakfast in bed,

watching the boys play football, a spot of gardening and a

glass of red wine . . . it’s whatever makes you happy.

We’ll judge the entries on humour, originality and general

loveliness and the one we like the best will be type set and

printed as an A2 size framed text print (worth £75) in a

choice of colourways to hang on the wall. Two runners up

will also be chosen and their entries printed as A4 size

framed prints.

Samples of the text prints and competition entry forms,

with full instructions, are available at The Alphabet Gift Shop

at 44 Station Rd, Mickleover and from Alphabet Interiors at

6 Grassy Court, Grassy Lane (behind Burnaston Garage).

Or you can e-mail sue@thealphabetgiftshop.co.uk for an

entry form.

You can also view (and buy!) the prints on our brand new,

long awaited website! Hooray!

www.thealphabetgiftshop.co.uk

Good luck!

country images 77

The Florist GateBarn Farm, Chapel LaneRolleston on DoveDE13 9AG01283 521444sam@thefloristgate.co.uk

Flowers With Love

Offering Designer Clothing, Fabulous Jewellery, Accessories & Gifts…Wanted - Quality Ladies Clothing, Handbags & Accessories…

Frox Fashion Show in conjunction with the Mayor of ErewashWednesday 4th April 2012 TICKETS NOW ON SALE

The Courtyard, Draycott Mill, Market Street,Draycott, Derbyshire DE72 3NBTel: 01332 875572 www.froxshop.com

Now In Stock New Pippa Handbags

Derbyshire’s Largest Dress Agency

IDPI m a g e sD e s i g n& P r i n t

Folded Leaflets • FlyersLeaflets • Booklets

Business Cards Folders • Stationery

Design Print

Distributionall under one

roof!

T: 01773 850050info@imagespublishingltd.co.uk

All Aspects of Plastering Undertaken…

Re-Skimming • Dry LiningRendering • Artex Removal

Small Repairs to Full Renovations

Clean ReliableService

Free No Obligation

Quotations

Patrick O’Neil PlasteringFor All Enquiries

Tel: 07980 052 011

94 country images

connectaphone.netEXTRA PHONE

POINTS FROM £50Phones from £10.

FAULTS/BROADBAND PROBLEMS.

T.V. SKY, DATA NETWORKS,SYSTEMS, EXTERNAL BUILDINGS - BELLS.

EX B.T. 1 YR GUARANTEE!B.T. QUALITY AT HALF THE PRICE

Based in Belper

Dave 07729 037667

Cleaners

Mobile: 07960 849642Tel: 01773 856082

All work carried out by our own skilled craftsmen with

over 20 years experience.

JOHN’S SOFA STUDIO

UPHOLSTERYRE-UPHOLSTERY

REPAIRS

Home visits a pleasure for a Free Quotation for re-upholstery

or furniture repair.

Gas Central HeatingCondensing Boiler Specialists

Boiler changes and full systemsfitted. Service plans from only£8.95 p/month. Powerflushing

and repairs.

For Help, Info & your FREE quote

01332 202442www.blueflame.info

Over 20 yrs combi experience

Telephone Sue 01332 557974 or 07504 857436Abbey Lane, Darley Abbey, Derby DE22 1DG

(Located next to Headlines by Julie)

allestreecleaners@hotmail.co.uk

www.allestreecleaners.com

Darley Abbey &Allestree Cleaners LtdDomestic & Commercial Cleaning

Competitive Rates • Honest Reliable Cleaners

ImagesDirectory01773 850050

w w w . c o u n t r y i m a g e s m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

BEDS – BEDS – BEDS

38-44 South Street, Ilkeston

01159 325 733

THE CHEAPEST AND THEBEST FROM SILENTNIGHT

THORPES

info@thorpesofilkeston.co.uk • www.thorpesofilkeston.co.uk

Park at the Door

Bring this advert with you and we will take your

old bed away!** Terms and contitions apply

PRAMS – PRAMS – PRAMS

38-44 South Street, Ilkeston

01159 325 733

You can buy your pram on the net, give your credit card tosomeone you’ve never met and as for spares, never mind the

repairs, You’ll have a few grey hairs!

Why pay internet prices when you can seewhat you’re buying and PAY LESS in store.

THORPES

info@thorpesofilkeston.co.uk • www.thorpesofilkeston.co.uk

Park at the Door

(we check internet prices daily)

country images 95

To advertise in

ImagesDirectory

call us on 01773 850050

Derbyshire Small Syndicate

3 Miles of Sutton Brook

(Lower Dove Tributary)

FLY FISHING FOR

TROUT AND WINTER

GRAYING

Excellent flylife, beautiful

peaceful surroundings

Contact Nick or Steve

01159 328669

or 01332 862496

www.blountflyfishers.moonfruit.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11

12

13 14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28

29 30 31 32 33

34 35

36 37 38 39 40

41

42 43 44

45 46 47

Across: 1 Clearly display 4 Hovers in the air 9 Never ending

10 Said to surprise 12 Rest in peace 13 Chemical element of

astatine 14 Do it with a fishing line 15 Get off the bus!

17 Information technology in short 18 He phoned home

19 Small company 20 He makes hats 24 Make certain

27 River in Chester 28 Religious education 29 Helps heal a cut

31 Bring to life 34 Finish 35 Not you 36 Term for vulcanite 39

God 41 Pass away 42 A plan 44 You get nuclear ones! 45 Spin

round 46 Spherical object 47 Vesuvius did it.

Down: 1 Use this when you have grit in your eye 2 Unfasten 3

Lift up 4 Dennis! 5 Shake 6 Capricorn and cancer are!

7 Advice 8 Boat 11 Sticky liquid in petrol 14 Quotes

16 Food buff 21 Make it up! 22 Beverage 23 Fish eggs

25 Grandma 26 Singer Chris 29 Foretell 30 Long grass

31 Snake 32 Copy 33 Mistake 37 Layer 38 Tavern

40 Up to now 43 Duo

Just find the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire village

in the crossword below and send the place name

on a postcard to: Crossword Comp. Country Images,

Victoria House, Market Place, Crich DE4 5DD

Entries to reach us by March 16th 2012

First correct entry drawn wins the prize of a £20 voucher

for Vintage Bluebird. Terms and conditions apply

Win a £20 gift voucher for

Vintage Bluebird Gifts and Interiors

Unit 2, Wellington Yard,

Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 1GH

Tel: 01335 347515 www.vintagebluebird.co.uk

Experienced Sales

Executive RequiredDue to continual expansion within

Images Publishing we are now looking for an

experienced, enthusiastic sales executive to

work as part of our sales team.

Basic salary plus commission,

bonus structure and

company car.

Apply by sending your CV

by e-mail to

alistair@imagespublishingltd.co.uk

or in writing to: Alistair Plant

Images Publishing Limited

Victoria House, Market Place, Crich,

Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5DD

IMAGESPUBLISHING

L I M I T E D

When thoughts turn to holidays, why

not take a closer look at getting out

onto the open road.

More and more people are taking to the open road in their

motorhomes and caravans. The rise in sales of these vehicles over the

last few years is evidence that this is an expanding market. The luxury

levels in these latest mobile homes is quite exceptional. Gone are the

days of going to a cold toilet block in the middle of a field, as these

homes now come equipped with flushing toilets, hot showers, double

glazing and central heating. All the mod cons that you have at home

but this time out in the countryside.

What could be better than flinging open the door of your mobile

home or caravan and just breathing in fresh country air at any one of

hundreds of sites around the country. Britain has some fantastic

scenery to be enjoyed and motorhomes and caravans can open up

new vistas for the adventurous holidaymaker. As an ex-caravanner I

have enjoyed some fantastic holidays in and around Derbyshire itself,

you don't have to go far to enjoy a break. The initial investment in a

mobile home or caravan can be quite high, but don’t let that put you

off, remember this is a long term investment and will afford you the

opportunity to take not only your main holidays but afford you many

delightful weekends away. The second hand market is buoyant too

with many bargains to be found, I found a delightful 6 berth caravan

for under £5,000 that came complete with all mod cons.

If buying is too much of an outlay then there are companies around

that rent motorhomes and caravans for weekly periods. This obviously

reduces the outlay but still gives you the opportunity to enjoy the

outdoor life. Remember though, if you are hiring a caravan, you will

need to check that your current vehicle is capable of towing it.

If you are a current owner and love the home you have, then it may be

time to look at refitting your vehicle. When you have invested in a van,

it is not always the best option to trade it in. It is possible to upgrade

your vehicle with the latest bathroom equipment, central heating,

carpet, cooker etc. This can prove a very cost effective way of having a

‘better’ motorhome or caravan.

Whilst out in the open countryside a bike is always a good way to get

around. They are easy to carry

and provide the ideal

opportunity to have a pootle

around the lanes.

Don’t forget to stock up with

the necessary equipment before

you go away. Ensure you have

plenty of gas and that your torch

has fresh batteries!

Here are some of the people

who can help you;

www.peakleisurevehicles.co.uk

www.geoffcox.co.uk

www.derbymotorhomes.co.uk

www.glossopcaravans.co.uk

www.sandccaravanservices.co.uk

✱ FIXED PRICE MENU SERVICING FROM £195✱ GENUINE JAGUAR SERVICE PARTS USED✱ 50% LESS THAN DEALER LABOUR RATES✱ JAGUAR DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT✱ MOT TESTING £30.00✱ FREE LOCAL COLLECTION + DELIVERY✱ ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

UNIT 10, ROBINSON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE,SHAFTESBURY STREET, DERBY DE23 8NLDERBY: 01332 291348 TO SEE A CLIP OF OUR WORKSHOP VISIT WWW.MGAJAGUAR.CO.UK

96 country images

Life on the open road

VOLVO SAABINDEPENDENT SPECIALIST

Service and Repair FacilitiesNew & Used Parts Available

Used Volvos & Saabs atCompetitive Prices

UNITS 2/3 FOX STREET DERBY DE1 2BW

TEL 01332 291320 01332 296324

VOLSAAENGINEERINGVolvo & Saab Specialists

country images 97

98 country images

The Polaris is a brand new prototype of a semi

integrated motor home made on the 3rd generation

of Mercedes sprinter and features several new

solutions regarding interior and exterior design.

A great amount of knowledge and technology has been invested in thedevelopment of the vehicle, which is aimed at buyers who demand thehighest quality, reliability, usage and design.

The interior entrances the visitor at first glance. It combines classic

with modern inspiration. It shows high quality expertise and a love ofdetail which can be seen at first sight and becomes obvious duringusage.

The interior of the Polaris has been designed to suit even the mostdemanding customers. The elegant, curved lines of the furniture andabove all the functional organization of the elements will surely leaveyou speechless.

Geoff Cox of Denby has the only Adria Polaris in the country, so whynot go down and look at this stunning motor home

designed to suit even the most demanding customersThe Polaris

Free dishwasher*with every kitchen ordered

in March

Monday - Wednesday9am - 6pm

Thursday 9am - 7pmFriday 9am - 6pm

Saturday9am - 5.30pm

Sunday 10am - 4pm

2 Available