This afternoon we decided to take a drive into Oswestry, but
instead of taking the main road I found an alternate route through some of the
back roads and villages. The countryside
is typically pretty, rolling English hills and villages dotted with pubs and
tiny cottages. We reached a section of
road with ancient stone walls running along each side – usually an indication
of something grand hidden behind. The
wall to the right was in disrepair with several sections dipping down revealing
green pastures and lots of sheep and lambs.
I glimpsed a house – a huge place in the distance and
immediately knew that was it. I couldn’t
believe it. Had we really stumbled on
the house that inspired Caledonia Manor, home to Miss Hephzibah Fayle in the
Alice-Miranda books? We drove along
further, found a safe spot to turn around and headed back to the gatehouse in
the hope of a better look.
I was almost sure of it – but the house was impossible to
see and we were not in the habit of trespassing – although the gate was wide open.
We wondered how we could find out more. In Oswestry I asked a couple of people in the
shops if they knew the name of the place to no avail and then we ran into Sean
and Caroline who we had met at Moreton Hall last week. They suggested the local estate agents or the
library.
We decided to visit the library in the morning and so drove back
out along the road to see if we could at least snap some photos in the distance
– which we did. But then we found
someone outside at the gate house and asked her who owned the place and if we
might be able to have a look. She said
that there was a public right of way access through the property but seeing
that the gate was open, she thought we could probably drive up and take some
photos. There was another car at the top
of the driveway so I hopped out and asked the lady if she lived there and as
luck would have it – her partner resides in the stables. So we wandered about for a while then met Pete,
the resident. I explained why we were so
interested – that this was the inspiration for a place in the Alice-Miranda
books called Caledonia Manor. He said
that it was most unusual for the gate to be left open and that we shouldn’t
really have driven up but after I told him the whole story he was keen to show
us around. He also knows an incredible
amount of the history of the Hall, the tragic demise of the family and plans for
the future. Settled in the 1600s the house and its estate once presided over
the land as far as the eye can see. The family
was one of the great English dynasties and owners of Harlech Castle in North
Wales as well.
Unfortunately a string of tragedies including two Lords
Harlech dying without wills, leaving massive death duties to be paid, saw the
decline of the family fortunes and subsequent sale of the Hall. Interestingly it was also used during the war
by British Telecom as headquarters for communications for the spy network
operating in Europe. Apparently the
cellars are bomb proof. During the time
that the Hall was used by BT it fell into serious disrepair and has continued
in that vein ever since. The family
eventually sold it about 11 years ago to a development firm who are currently
looking at what they could do to save it.
Perhaps a hotel or apartments.
Although Pete said that it is absolutely haunted!
The grounds are utterly gorgeous with towering trees and the
remnants of a once much loved garden where in its heyday, 24 gardeners were
employed.
The stables are magnificent too and so close to what I had
imagined. I could almost hear naughty
Bonaparte whinnying hello.
It was such a thrill to find this place. I never imagined that we would – given that
when I saw it on the Internet it was an unnamed derelict mansion in Shropshire,
which is quite a large county. I had
searched and searched for further clues about this place that I came to call
Caledonia Manor but nothing. There are apparently
many derelict mansions in Shropshire and without an exact location or a name
the search seemed fruitless. But today
we found it – on a road that we travelled by accident. Tomorrow there is a chance that we might be
able to look inside. I’m very excited by
the prospect.
