Survey drawings

Becca from English Heritage has kindly produced the drawings from the very wet survey notes we made back in April when we surveyed a length of the pale near to Windy Hills in Leagram Park.

The aerial photo clearly shows our section of ditch and bank: the pale

and these are the results of our surveying

Forthcoming talk

This is just a quick reminder that on Thursday 27th June Nigel Neil will be giving an illustrated talk about the Deer Parks of the Forest of Bowland AONB, based on the research he carried out with others over the last two years. The talk is one of our 'Discover Bowland' series, given by local experts and volunteers, as part of Festival Bowland. It is to be held at Chipping Memorial Hall and starts at 7.30pm: no booking required, please just turn up. For more details phone the AONB office on 01200 448000.
The accompanying field trip, to be held on Saturday 29th June, is nearly fully booked so hurry up and ring us if you want to join a fascinating walk around the pale at Leagram, led by Graham Cooper.

Deer Park report published

Last week we finally managed to publish our long awaited research report on Deer Parks in the Forest of Bowland: the work that led us to set up the Leap in the Park project.

You can download a copy from: www.forestofbowland.com/deerparks and read all the detail about how Leagram and Radholme parks were developed, managed and finally dis-parked. There is also a short report about the salters, or deer leaps, around Leagram park, which we have been investigating lately.

The report contains some of the photos and images from this blog, and many more of archived material which was unearthed during the research work carried out by Nigel Neil, Ruth Thurnhill and Graham Cooper.

Depiction of a deer park on a Flemish tapestry of c 1500
from the Burrell Collection, reproduced by kind permission of Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries

Surveying the pale, in the rain

Last Sunday we carried out our first fieldwork on the deer park at Leagram, with a training day led by Dave and Rebecca from English Heritage who showed us how to carry out earthwork surveys, the old fashioned way. No GPS for us (there's no satellite reception at Leagram!) so we turned back the clock and used poles, tapes, drawing tables and a dumpy level. The only nod to the 21st century was the wonderful invention of waterproof film - which was a lifesaver as the weather was wet, very very very wet!

We hope to carry out some more survey work soon, so please get in touch if you are interested in joining us (whatever the weather).

The afternoon training session: drawing a cross section of the bank and ditch

Inspecting the site on a drier day: the ditch and bank, the line of the pale, is quite clear on this section of the deer park boundary near to Windy Hills

Weld paintings bring the park to life

Last month I mentioned that we had been to view some paintings of Leagram by John Weld, owner of the estate from 1866-88. We are now able to reproduce a few copies here, with thanks to The Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston. We hope to be able to exhibit these at an open day this Autumn, and to use some of the other paintings in our forthcoming interpretation materials

These two images are of Birchen Lee farm (above) and Loud Mythom

Most of the images show views which are surprisingly unchanged in the last 170 years. Many of the Leagram farm houses were re built at around this time, after a 'hurricane' destroyed many of the then thatched roofs. These 'new' farms still bear the initials GW or JW after the father and son George and John Weld.

Portrait

Here is Sir Richard - with kind permission of the Governors of Stonyhurst College

My apologies, it appears that Sir Richard was only married the once, to Maud Bold; wheras his son, plain Richard Shireburn (died 1629) had the three wives - Katheirne Stourton, Ann Hoghton and Ann Holden - one at a time ofcourse!

Rascally Sir Richard

Today I have been to visit Stonyhurst College to help photograph the portraits they have there of the Shireburn family. Sir Richard Shireburne (or Sherburne, as they spelt it then) purchased Leagram deer park in 1563, soon after it was 'disparked' and so he was an influential person in the subsequent development of the area.

Sir Richard was a rascally fellow, having had 3 wives in succession, and fathering several children both in and out of wedlock. He was also a known Catholic who managed to serve a total of 4 monarchs of varyious religious allegiance. His portrait appears wise and serene: so he was a clever man too!


Sir Richard began the improvements to the original medieval Stonyhurst manor which eventually became the grand house it is today, and he built the old Hodder Bridge nearby. He also founded a long line of Richard Shireburnes who ran the estate until Sir Nicholas Shireburne took it on in 1690. He and his wealthy wife Catherine carried out expensive renovations of the house and gardens, but sadly they had no heir and eventually Stonyhurst and the deer park at Leagram was passed to their distant relations the Weld family of Lulworth. It was the Welds who gave Stonyhurst to the college that runs the place today: it's open to the public during the summer school holidays and the house and gardens are well worth a visit. The Weld family still own the estate that once included the deer park, and reside at Leagram Hall: they are supporting the Leap in the Park project.

Sir Richard and some of his descendants will appear in our soon to be published report - so look out for his portrait! Thanks to Graham Cooper for arranging the visit and the photography today.