Monday, April 25, 2016

At Longnor

We recently went up to the village of Longnor, which is a typical Peakland village situated to the furthest northern corner of the Staffordshire Moorlands before its border with Derbyshire,  to meet some friends for lunch. 

First we had a coffee in the Longnor Craft Centre which is housed in the old Market Hall which is in the Market Place.

The Market Hall

Then we ventured up the little lane at the back of the market place.

The cottage above is called Lambton Cottage which may give you some idea as to where you have seen it before.  It was used as the inn in Lambton where Elizabeth Bennet and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner stayed when they toured Derbyshire in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.


Further up the little lane, and below some details picked out along the lane.

Date stone over Lambton Cottage

Sign on a building that is now an artist's studio and gallery.

Heart's tongue fern and wall rue growing  on a wall in the lane.

At the back of the cottages on the lane is the church.

There are some very old and interesting grave stones in the churchyard. Especially the one below.


In memory of William Billinge born in a cornfield at Fawfieldhead in this Parish in the year 1679. At the age of 23 years he enlisted into his Majesty's Service under Sir George Rooke and was at the taking of the Fortress of Gibralta in 1704. He afterwards served under the Duke of Marlborough at the ever Memorable Battle of Ramillies, fought on the 23 May 1706 where he was wounded by a musket shot in the thigh. He afterwards returned to his native country and with manly courage defended his Sovereign's rights at the Rebellion in 1715 and 1745. He died with a space of 150 yards of where he was born and was interred here the 30 January 1791 aged 112 years.
Billited by death, I quartered here remain when the last trumpet sounds I'll rise and march again.
 
Above is the tombstone for three of the daughters of Thomas and Hannah Wood who all died when they were 21 years old.   Mary in 1833, Ann in 1834 and Hannah in 1836.  How very sad, one wonders why such a thing should happen.  It somehow reminded me of the Brontes.
We had lunch at a pub called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.  It was very busy and the people serving the food told us they were in the process of changing ownership.  I hope whoever takes over doesn't change the inside as it was fascinating and I wish I'd taken some photos but didn't like to as there were so many visitors in there and it seemed intrusive.  There were wonderful old photos on the walls and a collection of old clocks plus the table we sat at and those either side of us were glass topped with display cases underneath containing the most wonderful array of objects.  Things like cigarette cards, old bus timetables, fountain pens, spectacles, badges and medals and so many other interesting objects.

I loved this sign outside The Cobbles coffee shop in the village, we didn't go in this one and I didn't take photographs as it was being painted on the outside.  Spruced up for the coming season, I expect.

32 comments:

  1. How interesting. The gave stone was really detailed, I've not seen one like that before but fascinating to hear his life story. That Pride and Prejudice was the definitive version. :-)

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    1. It is a fascinating grave stone isn't it? Yes, that was definitely one of the best versions of P&P that I've seen:)

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  2. Amazing looking place. The church looks almost like a factory, rather than a place of worship. I really should get out more and have a look at some of the Peak villages.

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    1. Yes, I thought that it had a look of a Northern Mill rather than a church, which made me think of the Brontes when I saw the grave stone of the three sisters:)

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  3. Really interesting, thank you for sharing.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post, Elizabeth:)

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  4. I really like the look of Longnor! Lovely old churchyard and fascinating stone in memory of William Billinge. I wonder what the secret of his long life was? In contrast, how sad and strange that 3 daughters should all die so young at the same age. I love all the little lanes and cottages and of course Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. In fact, this has been one of my favourite days out with you on the blog! x

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    1. Thanks, Simone glad you enjoyed the visit. It is a curious but fascinating little place. I do hope the cheshire Cheese doesn't change too much as it was like a museum inside:)

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  5. What a wonderful interesting village. Loved the Pride and Prejudice connection :) The church looks lovely and it is fascinating to read of William Billinge and very sad to read of the 3 sisters. It really illustrates how much of interest there is to see in churchyards.

    The pub looks wonderful and a great place for lunch - do hope the interior doesn't change with new owners.

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    1. I hope the pub doesn't change too much with the new ownership. Churchyards are fascinating places and I expect there are more interesting engravings to read in there, quite a social and local history. It is quite unkempt at one end but also I expect a haven for wildlife too:)

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  6. One hundred and twelve, that's amazing! What an adventurous life he had. Quite an interesting village.

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    1. It is amazing isn't it? To have so much information about one person as I don't expect there were too many records then other than the church registers:)

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  7. It's an interesting little village and with plenty of great countryside surrounding it. My grandparents lived here until I was about 15 so I have so many great memories of weekends in Longnor!

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    1. It is a fascinating place, how lucky you are to have spent weekends there:)

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  8. I love reading about the history of the interesting villages that you visit. That is quite an unusual church with the two tiers of windows. xx

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    1. It is fascinating isn't it and looks more like an industrial building than a church:)

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  9. It's a very pretty village and what a lovely day you had for your walk around it. I love those ferns growing out of the wall.

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    1. The ferns in the wall looked very healthy. It was a lovely walk:)

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  10. Longnor is such an interesting village - I did enjoy learning about it. I love the way that so many of the old signs and objects are still there to be seen and I'm very interested in the Pride and Prejudice connection. I remember the scene very well (having seen it many times!) I love the life-story of William Billinge, such a contrast to those of the three Wood daughters. A lovely post.

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    1. It is a fascinating little village isn't it? There are some lovely old houses and former shops and inns there too. William Billinge was quite a character wasn't he? So many stories in those lanes, buildings and churchyard:)

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  11. Another fascinating post. I love mooching around graveyards. All the stories from the tomb stones. Amazing. B x

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    1. There is always so much local, family and social history to be found in churchyards, as well as wildlife too:)

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  12. What a lovely place, would love to potter round here, so much to see. I like all the nooks and crannies of a old village.
    Amanda xx

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    1. There are certainly lots of nooks and crannies to explore as you potter around the village:)

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  13. Oh Rosie, what a lovely place to visit. That adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is my favourite - it must be about time that I watched it again. Marie x

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    1. Yes, we watch that P&P now and again it is a wonderful adaptation isn't it?:)

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  14. What a great place to visit! I love to read those old toll signs, they are always so interesting to see what was charged and for what different things to cross. Glad you had a great time!

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    1. It is interesting to see the different services and charges isn't it? So much history on every building in the village:)

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  15. I enjoyed our day out. An interesting place to visit and looks like we had fine weather as well.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. It was certainly better weather on this visit than we've had more recently, it is like the seasons are going backwards at the moment:)

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  16. I love to read old tombstones. I studied Historical and Social Geography and my favourite times were during the fall Geography Field Camps - I'd spend most of the week in a cemetery reading the stones.

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    1. You can learn so much from reading old inscriptions, I always enjoy a good mooch around a churchyard:)

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