HOME FARM, NUTHALL

Have you ever noticed this building from the northbound carriageway on the M1 at top of slip road to Junction 26 ? 

SAFETY 1st   IF YOU ARE DRIVING !

I look at it every time I  pass by, that's hundreds of times now & I say - If I win the jackpot on the Lottery I will restore that clock ! 
It's at Home Farm, Nuthall & over the years it has fell into more disrepair.

So a couple of weeks ago after doing some research on the web & finding out that it was Home Farm belonging to the now pulled down Nuthall Temple, (its rubble is now under the motorway). I went in search of the clock.

When I got there, not knowing if it would be ok for me to be there, I walked up the lane to the farm & was met by the owner & his dog, he had just come out of his house. After explaining my reasons for being there, he told me quiet a bit about the farm & I notice there were more buildings to the farm than you can see from the motorway. I asked if it was ok to photograph them, which he granted.

He told me that a developer had tried to restore them, but changed his mind because of the difficulties in the requirements of Grade Two Planning Regulations, which would have cost to much money to do.

This next picture is the other side of the clock building & the rest of the buildings are formed around a courtyard.

I asked if the local conservation societies visited, which he said, they use to come & bring groups around regularly, but its dropped off now & no one is interested in saving these buildings, so they are gradually falling down. He has done some restoration work himself, but it's to larger project without a large cash injection, possibly millions of pounds. I think if it was not next to the motorway these buildings would have been restored years ago & now being lived in.

That roof won't last much longer now, especially with the high winds we are now experiencing !

These are possibly the oldest buildings from the 18th century, with an added 19th century third floor. There is a stone dated 1664 set in the granary & the owner thinks this was the site of a medieval manor house.

Looks like these cottages haven't been empty for to long a time.

It won't be long before this part comes down next !

Apparently this is where the horse-drawn carriages were kept for Nuthall Temple, now it's the home for vehicles with more than one horse power. 

Front of the cottages adjoining the carriage house.

If you would like see photos & read about Nuthall Temple I have added these two links.

http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/monographs/nuthall/nuthall1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuthall_Temple

So if you are that millionaire with an interest in saving these buildings, I am sure the owner would be interested to hear from you !

CODNOR CASTLE & DERBY MUSEUM

On a glorious June day in 2008 I went in search of Castles & Gold. Needless to say the gold had been already found by Time Team. This is Codnor Castle in Derbyshire a very well hidden castle, well off the beaten track. You can only get to it via foot & the quickest way is through a golf course, which you are forever watching out for the balls for - Four ! There are two longer routes to get to it, see web site. This castle had been on my to photograph list for years, as it is on private land & no access was permitted. But with the help of UK Coal Ltd, (landowners) for its consolidation in 2008 & Time Team having a dig around, the castle has now been made safe & access on certain days is now allowed. If I had gone before the restoration I would have been disappointed, so much has been done to remove trees & under growth to reveal the castle. 
Built around the year 1200 & owned for 300 years by the De Grey family, a full account of the history of the castle & Time Team's visit can be found at this web site.  b
http://www.codnorcastle.com/home.php  

It was at the foot of this tower that Time Team found the Henry V Noble coin, which is now in Derby Museum.

Then in September 2010 after finding out that the Noble was in Derby Museum, off I went. I obtained permission to photograph it & here is the result. After battling to shield the camera from reflections on the glass case from the spot lights above, I was unable to do anything about getting my camera in shot, as the coin was on a stand with a piece of glass underneath for you to see the reverse of the coin. 

Two pictures of the Noble taken from display sheets.

I have found that one of the metal detectorist on the dig is local to me, so here is the web site for the account of his time on the dig.
http://www.ashfield-mdclub.co.uk/summer2007.htm

I then went around the rest of the museum, which I found very interesting & in doing so I came across the Pinxton Porcelain display, something I had always wanted to see, but only had seen on TV antiques programmes. The photos are not great because of the glass refections, but they give you an insight of what there to see. Photographs of the porcelain have been taken with the permission of the museum.

I then went to visit Pickford's House belonging to Derby Museum. A townhouse set with rooms from the 1770's to the 1930's. 

I can highly recommend a visit to Derby Museums & they are all free, so here is the link to their web site.  www.derbymuseums.org

BRADFORD ON AVON

Being one of my favourite places that I have ever visited. I have stayed in Bradford on Avon in 1989, 1990 & nearby on several other occasions since. Here are some of the many pictures taken.

Old Saxon Church

1989. This is the Round House Bed & Breakfast were I was booked in to stay at, but when I got there the building work had not been finished. Peter & Priscilla my hosts have notified me advance it would be touch & go. So I was taken next door to Ivy Cottage which they were renting. My room was massive, it nearly took all of the 1st floor. After a great week there I headed off to Weymouth, saying to Peter & Priscilla, I would come next year to see the finished house.

1990. No scaffolding, it must be done. Yes it was ! It had now been renamed Bradford Old Windmill, to reflect it's past use. Everything had been done to a very high standard & I enjoyed my week of luxury. As well as the round rooms, one bedroom had a water bed, something new at that time !

From the bridge, it does not look very high up on the hill side, but it is. So one day I decided to walk up that hill, taking photos as I went. 

It's on the level at the moment, but just you wait a moment.

Nearly there, just turn right, were the car is.

Made it. Phew ! Priscilla was there with a nice cool drink, Thanks !

Priscilla & Peter 

View from the gardens

14th Century stone Tithe Barn, it's 168ft. long. (51 metres)

Three pictures taken in 2010, after I had called in on Priscilla & Peter.

Kingston Mill, now being converted in luxury apartments. 

But were has the clock gone from the corner of the building?   

    It has been taken down, because it had been neglected & 

it had to go. Shame on them ! 

If you would like to stay with Peter & Priscilla here is their web site.

http://www.bradfordoldwindmill.co.uk/home.htm

MATLOCK FROM ON HIGH

This 2002 photo of Matlock was taken from the public footpath in front of Riber Castle & I always said I would go back & re-take this shot on a better day. So this September, eleven years later, on a Sunday morning I said Matlock, so off I went. The sky wasn't perfect, but it was a sunny day. 

Riber Castle from the park in Matlock taken in May 2002. The Castle had been a shell since the 1950's, but from 1960 to 2000 the ruin was a fauna reserve and wildlife park. 

It's still not a perfect picture, at least it's better than my 1st attempt. Now armed with a zoom lens distance is no problem.

Matlock Town's football ground. You could watch the whole match from up here for free with a good pair of binoculars.

The award winning Victorian Hall Leys Park from Riber Castle

The Hydro on Matlock Bank, was built by John Smedley, a Victorian mill owner, philanthropist & builder of Riber Castle. The Hydro offered a world famous water cure until it closed in the 1950s. Today it's the headquarters of Derbyshire County Council. 

The Castle is now being converted into apartments, which has been a slow process since 2009. So if you have 3/4's of a million pounds (sterling) to spare, you can buy one of the Towers !

If you wish to see Matlock from this view point, Can I ask you, please if you going by car, to be courteous were you park, as there are very few places to park in the village. So if you can park before the village, it's only a short walk by the cottages & up the hill via the footpath to this point.

Update 5.11.16

I revisited Riber Castle & Matlock in October of this year, so I have added these three photos to the post. 

Hopefully this one is spot on ! The autumn colours of the trees are just starting to taking place.

There's a lay-by just to the left of the gatehouse where you can see this view of the castle, strangely I had not been down the road to this point before. 

View of the castle from Matlock Archives, taken with the zoom lens of a compact camera, hence it being not very good quality. With the look of it, it shouldn't be too long now that folk will be living in the castle !

If you would like to read more about Riber Castle, I have added 3 links.

http://www.derbyshirelife.co.uk/out-about/places/riber_castle_8211_life_at_the_top_1_1648101

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/riber-castle-matlock-derbyshire.t71302

http://www.andrewsgen.com/matlock/mag/reflections/riber_asaschool.htm