Welsh Society

LOUGHBOROUGH Welsh Society began its autumn schedule this week with a fantastic presentation from guest speaker Margaret Thirlwell.

A very appreciative audience was most interested to hear Margaret’s thoughts on Beaumanor Hall. Since she retired, Margaret spends some of her time showing visitors around the Hall, and encouraged Society Members who have not been to come along and spend some time at the Hall and Gardens.

Beaumanor belongs now to the Leicestershire Education Authority and much of the time caters for conferences and meetings of various descriptions. And of course it does cater for weddings and has restaurant facilities offering a good meal service.

Also the grounds of the hall can accommodate “camping” groups of Scouts etc. as well as hosting groups of school children on various educational visits.

The present hall was built between 1842 and 1848 by William Perry-Herrick, and took so long as William kept changing his mind as to the decor etc. Originally due to cost

£10,000, it eventually ended up costing £37,000. The original Hall had no piped water and no electricity. William lived there with his Sister Mary Ann, and eventually married

Sophia Christie who was some 37 years younger. They had no children; and had separate sleeping and bathroom quarters at each end of the house. William died in 1876 peacefully at home after returning from an outing with the Quorn Hunt.

At the time of his death he owned some 6,000 acres of land, and loved to look out of the windows, where all he could see, he virtually owned. At his funeral, the shops were shut, houses drew their blinds and the streets were lined with crowds of people. His sister died in 1871,

leaving Sophia to run the estate; which she did for some 40 years.

She was loved both by the servants and the local people, to whom she was a well known benefactor. Sophia was teetotal and did not allow pubs to be built on her land.

Most of the servants were women, and men were employed in the gardens, where some younger males with learning difficulties were also employed.

The hall was used during World war Two as headquarters for the military as a listening post, and was in close contact with the main secret work at Bletchley Park.

The huts in the ground used by operatives (mostly women employed in six hour shifts) are still there today.

The hall was sold to the M.O.D in 1946, but the furniture was sold separately, so that there is very little of the original left. And some of the ornate ceilings and other fine decor was ruined during their occupation.

Margaret continued to inform the members with a brief description of the hall in its present state, floor by floor and showed numerous photos and leaflets etc. which were of great interest.

During a brief question and answer session, it would seem a further desire was aroused among the members, indicating a possibility to take up the invitation to tour the hall in detail at some future point.