Errwood Hall
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The ruin of Errwood Hall is a popular tourist destination in the scenic upper Goyt Valley within the Peak District of England.
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[edit] History
Errwood Hall was built in the 1830’s by Samuel Grimshawe, a wealthy Manchester businessman, and was occupied by the Grimshawe family for the next hundred years. The hall was the centre of a thriving estate of over 2000 acres (800 ha), consisting of several farms, a school, a private coal mine and the hamlet of Goyt's Bridge. The family planted many specimen trees including an abundance of azaleas and rhododendrons.
Samuel’s grandchildren were the last members of the family to live in the hall, which was then used as a youth hostel for a few years until it was demolished in connection with the construction of the Fernilee reservoir in 1934.
[edit] The Hall and Estate Today
Of the Hall, only the foundations to ground floor level, and a few sections of wall now survive. These have been consolidated and are in the care of the Peak Park Authority. On a hilltop a few hundred yards to the west of the hall ruins is the family graveyard, restored by North West Water in the 1980’s.
To the north of the Hall is a small shrine or chapel, erected by the Grimshawe family to the memory of Miss Dolores de Bergrin, a Spanish aristocrat who was the teacher at the estate school and who died on a visit to Lourdes. The shrine is still regularly used for private acts of devotion.
The rhododendrons planted by the Grimshawes have flourished and now have to be strictly managed.
The hall and the surrounding area is one of the most visited parts of the Peak National Park, and is the starting point for many popular walks in the upper Goyt Valley. In recent summers it has also been the venue for a number of unofficial music festivals and rave parties.
[edit] Literary Reference
The hall is the scene of the climax of the fantasy adventure The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner
