Stapleford Park

Stapleford Park is a Grade I listed country house in Stapleford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England, now used as a hotel. It was originally the seat of the Sherard family, later the Earls of Harborough and from 1894, of Baron Gretton.

American fast-food restaurateur and hotelier Bob Payton bought it in 1988 to convert into an hotel. He restored the buildings, according to his obituary "hiring Wedgwood, Turnbull & Asser, Crabtree & Evelyn to decorate its rooms".[1]

St Mary Magdalene's Church in the park was built in 1783 by George Richardson for the 4th Earl of Harborough.[2][3]

Lord Harborough's Curve

The 6th Earl objected to a proposal in 1844 to run the Syston and Peterborough Railway through Stapleford Park along the course of the River Wreake. Its construction would threaten the struggling Oakham Canal of which he was a shareholder. The dispute led to a series of brawls and confrontations between the Earl's men and canal employees on one side and the railway's surveyors on the other with up to 300 involved in each skirmish. The dispute has been called the "Battle of Saxby".[4]

Eventually the railway ran around Stapleford Park in what is known as "Lord Harborough's Curve". The tight bend was a nuisance for the express trains and, later when the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway built a branch to Saxby, the opportunity was taken to reduce the curve with Saxby station being moved in the process. Lord Harborough had died in the meantime and the estate had been bought by Lord Gretton who was more sympathetic to the railway. Ironically, in 1958, the Stapleford Miniature Railway was constructed by the second Lord Gretton in the parkland, as part of a public attraction which also included a Lion reserve. The park and house became a major tourist attraction through the 1960s and 70's. The park though closed in 1982 and was sold to become an exclusive country hotel. The railway and parkland however is still owned by the Gretton family and opens for charity in the summer a few times a year

Stapleford Miniature Railway

References

  1. ↑ Bob Payton's obituary in The Independent
  2. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  3. ↑ Stapleford Park web site
  4. ↑ Kingscott, G., (2006) Lost Railways of Leicestershire and Rutland, Newbury: Countryside Books

External links

Coordinates: 52°45′14″N 0°47′45″W / 52.7540°N 0.7958°W