Tuesday, December 13, 2016

A 17th Century Farmhouse

In the Smallthorne area of Stoke-on-Trent stands one of the oldest buildings in the city.


 Ford Green Hall is a 17th century timber framed farmhouse which was, when we first came to live in the city, one of the museums belonging to Stoke City Council.


 It is now one of two city Museums that were transferred to charitable organisations and is run by volunteers whilst still working closely with the City Council's  Museum service.

 The farmhouse was built in 1624 for Hugh Ford who was a yeoman dairy farmer of 36 acres of land.  The brick additions were added in the 18th century.  The Ford family lived in the farmhouse for about 200 years.  When they finally left in the 19th century the building went into decline and was made into three and then four cottages.

 At the back of the hall is an award winning herb garden with raised beds full of herbs for different uses within the household. 

Above are herbs for magical and textile uses there are also beds for herbs for medicinal, cosmetic, domestic and culinary activities.


The Green Man was on hand to help organise the festivities.....
(Paul's photo of the Green man)

......shall we go inside?


That's better! It's much warmer in here with candles, and lanterns and open fires.

A choir are singing carols in front of the fireplace in the main hall (I didn't take a photo as children were involved.)

and there is a table laden with festive fayre.

 In the parlour the ladies tell us all about Christmas traditions of the 17th century and other ages too.

 The kitchen too is full of festive food and greenery.

The scent of orange, cinnamon and cloves spreads through the house from the pomander making class upstairs in the parlour chamber.


It's too busy to take a snooze in the hall chamber


So we wander back downstairs to take another look before we leave via the little cafe and shop.....

.....and back out into the cold, December afternoon.

24 comments:

  1. What a fabulous place to visit at this time of year. I can almost smell the oranges and cinnamon. I love old timbered houses and the herb garden looks fascinating. B x

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    1. The smell was gorgeous. I must o back in the spring and summer to look at the herb garden:)

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  2. You certainly took us on a wonderful tour, what a great place to visit especially at this time of year. A real delight.

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  3. That was a lovely warm and festive post Rosie! I could gain a lot of inspiration from such a place. I really like the idea of the raised herb beds with herbs for various uses and activities. I would sure like to try the ones for magic!x

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post Simone, when I saw the magic herb section I was thinking of A Midsummer Night's Dream:)

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  4. Oh isn't that just lovely. It's the perfect size. I love the garden. A real treat of a visit. x

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    1. It is a lovely place to visit and not too large or busy:)

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  5. It looks lovely with all the greenery decorations! I remember visiting FGH quite a few years ago with school and making pomanders!

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    1. I love the way it is decorated inside. I bet you enjoyed making the pomanders:)

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  6. Hey, that looks like a fabulous, fun, place - I suspect particularly good at this time of year. Someone's been to a lot of trouble, anyway.

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    1. The volunteers are really good and full of information. I'm glad it wasn't lost asa museum and tunred into offices or something like that:)

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  7. Lovely post, Rosie. Looks like just the sort of place I like to visit. Thank you. x

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    1. Thanks, Mrs T. It is a lovey place to visit:)

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  8. What a lovely Christmassy post - looks a superb place to visit and wonderful to see the Green Man :) Similar thing has happened in Birmingham with museums and historic buildings - they are now run by a charitable trust.

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    1. It is a shame that libraries and museums are always the first to suffer cuts and staff losses in times of austerity. I can't imagine life without them. I'm glad that the charitable trust took over and that the building didn't become offices:)

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  9. It looks such a lovely house and so festive. I love all the greenery and it is great to see the Green Man there. I'm very intrigued by the herbs used for magic.

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    1. The green man is great isn't he? I must go back in summer and make a note of what herbs are used in each of the different raised beds:)

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  10. This looks like a lovely place. I would love to live there. So festive too.

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    1. It is a lovely place especially at this time of year:)

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  11. This place has so much atmosphere and the building itself is beautiful. Thanks for taking us along.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. Glad you enjoyed visiting, Amalia. It is a lovely old house:)

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