Last Day

I'm Saturday 15th October 2016 - near Chester.

Just a quick review of our trip this Autumn.  Our visits to National Trust properties during the last month  would have cost us £263!!  We have visited 12 properties.  I think you can safely say we have had our monies worth from a membership that was effectively free as part of a Sunday Times newspaper offer.

Maybe I should apologise for taking you on a Vernon quest for holy grail.  I haven't quite established a true link between myself and true nobility but we have unearthed some family connections of historical importance and have been to some memorable places in the quest.  Key places have been Haddon Hall, Sudbury Hall, Hanbury Hall and not forgetting John Bishop living in my home at Whatcroft Hall.

Today we cycled into Chester for our last full day.  The sun got out for us too.

A kind Chester tourist ambassador offered to take this picture for us. Very kind. 

We had a lovely lunch in La Petite France restaurant.

Then had a walk on the Walls where Janice had a little shock....

The man in costume was standing completely still as we walked past and completely spooked Janice when he moved.

Back to the van....our task was to eat up the food combinations that were left over.  It wasn't too bad really as we had eaten most of our stocks but things have been quite desperate as we have run out of gin and whiskey!  The only food to eat tonight is cheese and biscuits with cereal left over for tomorrow morning.

Ooo....nearly forgot to mention tonight's treat!  We have bought a DVD for our entertainment.  It is 'Eddie the Eagle' movie....we will enjoy, I'm sure!

We have been exceptionally lucky with the weather again, considering the time of year.  Tomorrow will be a dash up the M6 and clean the van and put it to bed for the winter.  Next trip Australia...not in the van!

Got home safely on Sunday.

Bishops in my house!

Friday 14th October 2016 - High Kinnerton, near Chester.

After a significant day yesterday we celebrated a more significant day today.  It is the 950th anniversary of Richard de Vernon beating Harold at the Battle of Hastings, well he did help William.  

We made our last move before we go home on Sunday.  We had chosen Chester as our last stop and had booked a CL about 5 miles out.

I needed to complete the Vernon pilgrimage though before we got there.  Whilst we have toured the great houses of the Vernon family I needed to visit the first property that started it off when William the Conqueror came over with Richard de Vernon.  William gave Richard Shipbroke Castle and land around it near Northwich.  I knew that Shipbroke Castle no longer existed and Shipbrook Farm was now in its place but I wanted to visit anyway.  The farm is open to the public for the sale of organic vegetables and there is a cafe and children's play area etc.

Here is the Farm, some old buildings but not exactly a stately home!

Here is a stone that came from the original castle.....isn't it exciting.  I don't know what it is but it looks old!

We also knew that Richard de Vernon gave the neighbouring Whatcroft Hall to his younger son.  We thought we would walk the half mile or so along a lane to see Whatcroft Hall, not knowing what would be there.  We found a Hall behind a metal gate and modern security keypad.  The Hall was quite distant but I could see it looked like it might have been built around the 1800 period.  A car was driving out towards the gate and I stopped the car and spoke to the lady occupant.  I told her that we were researching the Vernon family history and she seemed to know the Hall had previously been owned by Vernons who came across with William the Conqueror.  I asked who lived there now.  I was surprised to hear that the current occupant is John Bishop, the comedian!  We had a little chuckle and asked if we could get a bit closer to the Hall for a photo.  She said we could go along an adjacent path for a closer photo.

This was as close as I could get.  I should have attacked from this point and ousted the pretender from my rightful property but instead of Conquering I went conkering......

There were the best conkers I have seen for a long time.

I was quite made up that John Bishop was in the Hall that stood on the ground that was once owned by the Vernons.  It is believed that this branch of the Vernons went on to live in Hanbury Hall, near Droitwich Spa.  This Hall was actually built in 1780 by James Topping who was a barrister and Member of Parliament.  I'm not sure when the Vernons relinquished the property and what happened in between.

With a spring in our step we walked back to Shipbroke Farm, had a cup of tea and a scone and then continued on our way.  We called at Cheshire Oaks shopping centre and managed to avoid buying anything.  Janice hadn't been previously and wanted to see what was there.

In the mid afternoon we arrived at our new CL south of Chester and settled in.  We had a walk into the local village and came back to the van for the evening.  It turns out we are in Wales!

Long lost Cousin.

Thursday 13th October 2016 - Much Wenlock.

Lots of things happening today.  More Vernon links but I will 'cut to the chase' and hit the headline first.

Last year my brother David discovered a cousin of my mum's that we had never heard of and he visited her at her home in Much Wenlock earlier this year.  Tonight, Janice and I visited her at her home in Much Wenlock.  She is Maureen and she is my maternal grandfather's sister's daughter, so my mum's cousin and my second cousin.

I will have to be careful what I write as she will be reading this blog with interest.

Maureen had her son in law, Nic with her and she was lovely (he was nice too).  We had 3 hours of non stop chatting, talking about our respective families.  It could be rather confusing at times as all males on Maureen's side of the family are called Jack.  There is an element of mystery because we had never previously heard of Maureen or her parents and Maureen has never met my mum even though they are cousins.  Maybe there was a rift between the Bolton family (mum's maiden name) and the Bradshaw family (Maureen's maiden name)??  Although Maureen had met my mum's brother Jack.  Maureen's husband, John, passed away 14 years ago and they have two daughters, Libby and Lesley.  Overall it was a lovely experience and nice to talk to someone who knew my grandad, as he died near the time I was born.

We left the house to return to the van that was strategically positioned on the Much Wenlock Abbey car park, ready for a night of wild camping.

Earlier in the day we had had a morning walk around the Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale area.  It was very interesting.

There was plenty of industrial heritage where the iron process was revolutionised.  The walk also included some lovely woodland and views over the gorge.  At the conclusion of the walk I managed to satisfy my cravings for a pie by purchasing a 'Cornish Pasty' and had it for lunch.

I don't think the pasty had ever been to Cornwall....it was rather small by my standards (only a mouthful) and not up to the high standards I was used to in Cornwall.  

After lunch we moved off site and in the afternoon we visited Attingham Park (National Trust) near Shrewsbury.  

The Hall is larger than it appears on the photo.  On arrival I found the family tree of the Hill's who built and owned the house.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that Noel Hill, the 1st Lord Berwick married Anne Vernon in 1768.  She came from Hilton Park and I also found Vernon connections to Harefield Park and Wentworth.....so exciting (I can hear you say!).  I can also hear you thinking that Hilton Park is an M6 Service Station and Wentworth is a golf course, so don't get too excited.  Attingham was excellent, very interesting rooms, fantastic paintings and a very unusual wrought iron roof that been made at Coalbrookdale and had needed lots of complicated renovations to stop leaks.

Dining room set out in a darkened room like it would have been during an evening dinner.

We travelled back to Much Wenlock and got the van established at the Abbey car park.  The Abbey is a ruin but we could just see it through a gap in the trees.

We walked through town, which is quintessentially English with nice independent shops and proper pubs and hotels.  We had a bar meal at the Fox Hotel before going to see 'our' Maureen.  I told you it was an action packed day.

Iron Mad!

Wednesday 12th October 2016 - near Much Wenlock.

The weather is still holding out for us.  We wanted a quiet morning and surprised ourselves by waking up at 9am, a record late time for our current trip.  We stayed at the site and did an exercise session in the morning and then had an early lunch.

We walked a short distance to another National Trust property called Benthall Hall.  Not as large as some of the other places we have been to but very enjoyable for a visit, especially in the sunshine.

The house was full of Tudor era carving and furniture.  Unsurprisingly the house was owned by the Benthall family and still is used by the family occasionally.

A fine Tudor knight, ready for battle at any time!

Later we walked into Broseley, a small town that has an industrial heritage like Ironbridge.  John 'Iron Mad' Wilkinson lived here and made his fortune making iron and iron products.  He was involved in the project to build Ironbridge, he manufactured the first precision boring machine that enabled the repeated building of iron products to feed the industrial revolution.  He also made the first iron boat.  The particular interest in John Wilkinson was that he owned Castle Head, at Lindale near Grange over Sands and he was buried there.  There is an iron monument to him in Lindale.

During our walk it started to rain and we took shelter in a cafe.  We had a cup of tea whilst the shower passed.  The cafe wasn't a fancy place for sure but we paid £1 for a mug of tea.  What a good price, every hot drink in every other cafe seems to cost £2+.  It's a bit sad that we are so surprised to get a hot drink at a sensible price, bearing in mind that a tea bag must cost less than 5p.  Us polite members of the general public seem to accept paying grossly over the odds for our drinks......why?

A quiet day today....it must be if I'm talking about tea bags.  

Nice tomb see you, tomb see you nice!

Tuesday 11th October 2016 - near Much Wenlock.

After a grey start to the day things started to brighten up.  Our aim was to go to Tong Chuch, in the village of Tong, just off junction 3 of the M54 east of Telford.  We had a great cycle to get there and passed RAF Cosford enroute (I had heard of it but never knew where it was).  

Tong castle had been owned by the de Pembrugge family but when there were no male heirs in 1446 it passed to Sir Richard Vernon who was a grandson of one of the Pembrugge sisters.  The castle passed to the Stanley family when Margaret Vernon married Sir Thomas Stanley, who died in 1576.  As a result, Tong Church has four large tombs from the Vernon family of that period, two are Sir Richards, one for Sir Henry (Harry) Vernon and one for Sir William Vernon and their respective wives.  Sir Harry was a tutor/advisor to Prince Arthur (King Henry VIII's brother) and he actually witnessed the marriage of Prince Arthur to Catherine of Aragon at St Paul's Cathedral, she later remarried Henry VIII.

Here, Sir Richard has his head on a boars head.  Doesn't sound too comfortable to me.  

The Great Bell of Tong was given to the church by Sir Henry "for the tolling of it when any Vernon comes to Tong".  Sadly, the tradition hasn't lasted as it stayed silent for my visit!

We moved on to Telford and looked for the town centre.  The Town Centre turned out to be a large modern shopping complex.  I was looking for older buildings and a town hall.  Although these shopping complex are a bit soleless it was quite spacious and certainly had all the shops you could want.  We took advantage of having another cheesy scone at the M&S.

Ironbridge was our last destination.  I know most people will be aware that Ironbridge was the first ever iron constructed bridge in the world.  I had never been before and it is something that I learned in school, so we had to visit.

Built in 1789 with iron made at Coalbrookdale (about a mile down river).  The village is pretty set in a gorge.  We will probably explore a bit more tomorrow.  All we had to do is cycle back to the van up a steep hill to earn our tea.

Marrying into money

Monday 10th October 2016 - near Much Wenlock, Shropshire.

Our night was silent as a graveyard.....well actually we were next to the graveyard!  The morning was a beautiful sunny start.  People started to arrive at the church car park from 9am onwards and I got concerned that their might be a funeral service or something.  It turned out that they were a team of people who were recording all the information in the church.

There were several memorials to Vernons and a written history of the family on sheets in a side chapel. The family at Hanbury Hall seem to be a branch of the Vernon family that came to prominence in 1580 when Richard Vernon became the Rector of this church.  It was a particularly wealthy clerical position and he bought a property and some land at Hanbury.  It was his grandson Thomas Vernon that became a successful barrister in London and married into a wealthy family.  He bought more land at Hanbury and was responsible for starting to build Hanbury Hall as we see it now.

Talking about marriages, I think Janice (soon to be a Vernon) was looking particularly at home in our Grand Hall.  I suppose I will need to get her portrait done!

There was another very interesting story about Emma Vernon.  There had been no male heirs and she married Henry Cecil who was a second son of the Earl of Exeter whose family own Burghley House at Stamford, Lincolnshire.  It is a long story but she ran off with the local curate and he remarried a common girl from Gloucester and then actually inherited his title as his older brother died young.

The hall has been used recently for the Antiques Roadshow, Countryfile and most prestigiously.......Bargain Hunt!

I also found out that Thomas Vernon (probably from Sudbury Hall) obtained Stokesay Castle, near Ludlow by marriage in the15th century and he passed it to his grandson Henry Vernon in 1563 but due to hard time they had to sell it in 1598.

It seems from my research into the family history that the Vernons made a series of good marriages into families with wealth and status.  No pressure then Janice!

The nearby Vernon Hotel and Restaurant seemed the swishest of the Vernon pubs we had seen but it was the only one we didn't actually go in. We will save it for a future trip.

We moved on towards out next destination but stumbled across another National Trust house.....Dudmaston House near Quatt, Bridgnorth.  The house wasn't open but a wing of it was used as an art gallery.  We treated ourselves with a look at the modern art, without too much sniggering, but enjoyed some of the proper art.

What a nice sunny day.  This is Dudmaston.  Probably not so grand but nice nevertheless.

We found our next CL about 3 miles from Much Wenlock which is close to Telford.  Surprisingly there is a National Trust place nearby and also I want to visit a little church at a place called Tong where some of the early Vernon tombs are to be seen.

Change of direction.

Sunday 9th October 2016 - Hanbury Church, near Droitwich Spa.

Our overnight location may have given you a clue about the 'change of direction'.  We had looked at the weather forecast for the next few days and decided that East Anglia looked overcast and showery whilst the middle west of England looked brighter and drier.  By 9am we were on the road travelling west.  Who says we can't make a decision!

We passed Cambridge and Northampton but didn't stop till we got to Royal Leamimgton Spa.  I had never been and was quite impressed.  It had the appearance of affluence, especially compared to Not so Great Yarmouth!  The river Leam and its park areas were nice and all the shopping streets were bustling on a pleasant Sunday afternoon and the people only had ten fingers and toes!

The Royal Pump and Spa was now a library and museum.  The museum was free and very interesting.  It told the story of the towns era of affluence during the 1820's to1850's when royalty frequented the town and took the 'medicinal' waters.  The town lost popularity when mass tourism started to favour seaside resorts like Great Yarmouth.

Interesting story about the boxer Randolf Turpin (from Leamington) who defeated Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951.  Don't know if the hat had anything to do with anything but I couldn't resist trying it on.

We managed a cream tea at a vintage tea shop.

We had no definitive destination planned but thought we would wild camp somewhere near Worcester or Droitwich Spa.  We wanted to visit Hanbury Hall tomorrow near Droitwich Spa.It's another Vernon hall and just happens to be owned by the National Trust.  Around 5pm we found the Hall and then set out to find a place to wild camp.  Lo and behold, we saw a sign for Hanbury Church, we drove up and found a nice car park, no restrictions and.....even better....no evensong tonight.

We will have a look in the church tomorrow and the hall and see if we can unearth any more Vernon facts.....I know you want to know!