Staunton Notebook – August 2017

The Paths Not Taken Before his nervous breakdown Geoff Herbert was running a successful detective agency in Derby.   The doctors advised a less stressful occupation, so he sold his business and apprenticed himself to a potter in Brailsford, a few miles north of...

Bulletin 135 – July 2017

The End of the Line Fourteen years, and one hundred and thirty five articles later, this will be my last bulletin.  I feel that in this form they have run their course. It all started with postings before we moved into the Hall, to explain why, after years of hospice...

Bulletin 134 – June 2017

Stranger Danger ……And like some boys who, unaware, Ranging the woods to start a hare, Come to the mouth of the dark lair Where, growling low, a fierce old bear Lies amongst bones and blood.                                              Lord Macaulay Well, the bears are...

Bulletin 133 – May 2017

The day we bought Staunton Harold Hall in April 2003, we turned off all the heating.  Lady Ryder had installed electric night store heaters, two hundred of them, and they were costing a quarter of a million pounds each year to run. New ways of heating this large house...

Bulletin 132 – 1st April 2017

Many readers will know of this estate’s forestry interests, in which connection I have been a long-standing member of the British Forestry Society.  Some months ago I joined an expedition to Albania to study work they are doing there to re-establish the elm trees. Elm...

Bulletin 131 – March 2017

Sunday 11th June 2017 – a date for your diary. On this day Staunton Harold will be hosting a major triathlon and showcasing itself to the world.  Our Ferrers Centre craftspeople, the Garden Centre and the church will all be open, plus extra catering facilities...