Netherseal-Old-Hall
We had supper in Birmingham which is more like an American City than anything we have seen so far in England. Then we drove on to Burton-on-Trent where we were entertained most royally by the Manners, at Neatherseal-Old-Hall. Before I left Pensacola, a Mrs. Cooke gave me the address of her sister, Mrs. Ernest Manners. And today I remembered it as we were passing through Burton-on-Trent, and we decided to stop by. Neatherseal-Old-Hall is a grand English Estate. The house is 15th Century. We felt a little bashful when we stopped Elvirey before the door of such an imposing manor. It was lovely. But after the formality of the maid taking our cards, warm hospitality made us entirely at home. Mrs. Manners was away, but her daughter and her husband, as well as two charming couples from Scotland were stopping with Mr. Manners (after motoring down in their Rolls-Royce) for the Royal Show at Derby. They were just finishing dinner - all in evening clothes, of course. We heard how King George had this afternoon awarded a prize to one of the Scotchmen for his exhibit in the show. We walked around the beautiful gardens, the like of which we have never seen except in the movies. A lake at one end with swans swimming around, and a mill which is listed in the Domesday Book (11th Century), and such a riot of color in the flowers. Yellow Violas, red roses, holly hocks, everything. While the husband, who by the way is an officer in the army of King George and Randy were discussing automobiles, the daughter took me over the house which is quite the loveliest I have ever seen. Old secret cupboards, paneled walls, huge fireplaces - beautiful old paintings. It was the best treat we have had in England yet. When we came down - we had to leave and how we hated to. Mr. Manners made a reservation for us in Ashby where we are now.
When I read this entry, I couldn’t help but be a bit enthralled. This visit to Netherseal-Old-Hall seems like a story line taken right from Downtown Abbey, albeit a decade or so later. Evening clothes? The Royal Show? King George? So I set to work trying to find out what I could about Netherseal-Old-Hall and the Manners Family.
I was happy to find out that Netherseal-Old-Hall still exists. There was some incomplete information about it’s history on-line but I couldn’t find out much other than that. Was it still owned by a Manners family descendant? Had it been taken over by a historic trust or was it still a private residence?
I could find out a little more about the Manners Family. At the time the Merry Band handed their card to the maid, the owner of the home, Ernest J. Manners, along with his brother controlled and ran one of the largest beer-brewing companies in England. His wife, Alice, was a inveterate gardener, bringing back clippings of plants from her journeys to Africa to populate the garden at Netherseal-Old-Hall. They only had one child, a daughter, Gwendolin.
After my internet searches failed to turn up any information about who lived or owned Netherseal-Old-Hall, I e-mailed the government offices of South Derbyshire where Netherseal is located asking for information about the occupant. “None of your business” came the reply. Okay, the person didn’t say that but stated that they couldn’t divulge that information due to privacy regulations and suggested I check the internet. I had come full circle.
With the start of our trip fast approaching, in a last ditch effort I wrote what my son called an “analog” letter addressed to Resident or Caretaker, Netherseal-Old-Hall, Church Street, etc., took it to the post office and sent it off to England with a fond farewell but minimal hope that it would result in anything.
I just love it when I’m wrong at times like these. Less than two weeks later, I checked my e-mail early one morning and there was not one but two e-mails from the owners of Netherseal-Old-Hall. Lizzy Devey Smith wrote inviting Randy and I to visit and stating that the Manners grandson was still in the area and he could join us. Her husband, Adam Devey Smith, sent a separate e-mail asking if we were Rusty’s son and daughter-in-law because he had worked with Rusty in the ‘90s on the California Academy of Science Museum Project. What?!? How could this world be so small? I started dancing around the house feeling like I had just won the lottery. To be able to see the best treat we have had in England yet after I had practically given up hope felt fantastic!
We pulled up to Netherseal-Old-Hall, which, may I say, is not on anyone’s definition of a main thoroughfare or in Burton-on-Trent, so at first glance I had no idea how the Merry Band ended up anywhere near it (but I solved that mystery - more on that in the next post.). The house was behind high brick walls with an iron gate but after buzzing us in, the Devey Smiths came out to greet us, albeit not in evening dress. 😊 Once inside we met a retinue of lovely British people plus a lone Canadian and after lots of pleasant conversation over tea and coffee we were treated to a tour of the house and extensive grounds.
The house is a large and lovely. Red-brick with a third story that used to be the servant’s quarters, it is a mishmash of additions and modifications that have been added over centuries. A 2011 report by the South Derbyshire District Council states that the neighboring St. Peter’s Church was built in the 12th century next to the manor house. This means that some type of dwelling was on that spot 900 years ago but it’s anyone’s guess as to how much of that original manor house was incorporated into the current structure. The Devey Smiths related stories that the house had once been home to a group of monks who diverted the stream that runs behind the property, creating two ponds on the grounds and supplying a brewery they had built. This tipsy-monks tale is confirmed in the Council’s report that states some of the land in Netherseal was given to the not-too-distant Cistercian Monastery of Merevale in the 1100s.
There are still swans on the ponds (as well as a newly hatched cygnet!) but the formal gardens that once stood behind the house have given way to the more practical swimming pool, soccer pitch and motocross hillocks that a family with four young active children needs to stay sane.
The mill which is listed in the Doomsday Book is not part of the Devey Smith’s property any longer and the structure the Merry Band would have seen actually dates from the early 18th Century, not the 11th. There are remnants of Alice Manners African plant garden and of the diverted water channels for the monk’s brewery. And in the house, the secret cupboards are still there.
Anthony Hignett, the son of Gwendolin Manners Hignett, and his wife Trisha were part of the group we were delighted to meet. Anthony had brought a picture of his grandmother, the Mrs. Manners Shirley mentions, standing in her African plants garden.
After reading Shirley’s entry in the Journal, Anthony pointed out that is was his father, John Derrick Hignett, a Captain in the 10th Royal Hussars, who was discussing automobiles with Randy, not Mr. Ernest Manners (Anthony’s grandfather), which had been my assumption. I had not realized from my interpretation of who-was-whom in Shirley’s narrative that Captain Hignett had been present.
Anthony also told us stories of being evacuated to Netherseal-Old-Hall during WWII to live with his grandparents, pointed out where the formal and vegetable gardens had once been and told of how he got in trouble with the Farmer MacGregor-esque gardener who chased him off after he drove his pedal car into the vegetable garden.
Serena Cottrell and Nigel Ashworth were two other members of our pleasant party. Although they had not won a prize from the King at the Royal Show in Derby, they were none-the-less University classmates of Adam’s and both are physicians - Nigel in Canada and Serena (a pediatrician, no less!) in Southampton. Scarlett, the oldest of the Devey Smith’s children and the only girl, was playing hooky that day after a tough exam week and gave us a child’s delightful perspective of living in the Old Hall.
The entire group we met at Netherseal-Old-Hall were genial and welcoming - just like the ones the Merry Band encountered in 1933. Randy and I so enjoyed our visit and realize how fortunate we were that generous people like the Devey Smiths live in Netherseal-Old-Hall. I mean, how often are you welcomed into a stranger’s home in a foreign country?
One last thing about Shirley’s Journal entry - Mr. Manners arranged for them to stay that night at the Queen’s Inn in nearby Ashby-de-la-Zouch. I had arranged for Randy and I to stay at the same inn the night before our trip to the Old Hall. While it has been renamed the Queen’s Head Inn, some internet sleuthing brought up pictures that showed the two inns were one and the same. I was pretty excited because this inn is the only hotel/inn/boarding house of the Merry Band’s travels that is still in existence. When Randy and I pulled up at the Inn in Ashby, it was closed for renovation. Speaking with a worker on-site we were told it had been closed for over a month. Funny how Booking.com had just charged me for the room the week before. Anyway, we quickly found another place to stay and Booking.com refunded me but I was disappointed that the one and only place where we could have spent an actual Merry Band night was a bust.
Next Up: The Lake District Part 1
Today my heroes are:
Lizzy and Adam Devey Smith for their incredible hospitality and sharing their knowledge about the history of their lovely home.
Anthony Hignett for sharing tales of his parents and grandparents and of his childhood memories of Netherseal-Old-Hall.
Best one yet 👍🏻
Your visit to Netherseal-Old-Hall was almost unbelievable! Such rich grandeur shared so graciously so many years later - a rather historic event, in my mind. Your trip continues to be truly astonishing in its scope and depth. Continue to enjoy and create special memories!!