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DERBYSHIRE DID YOU KNOW?

The Royal Connection

Chatsworth House is a stately home in Derbyshire. It has been owned by the same family, the Cavendish family, since 1549. Sir William Cavendish was the first owner although it was his wife, Bess Hardwick, who designed the house. Sir William died in 1557 but when the house was finished, Bess lived there with her fourth husband, George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury.

After Mary, Queen of Scots, fled south in 1567 and sought the protection of her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I, The Earl of Shrewsbury was asked to look after Mary. She was then kept in various castles and manor house in the middle of England until her execution in 1586. During this time she and Elizabeth never once met, The main reason for keeping her inland and on the move was simply so that nobody could abduct her and easily transport her to the continent to become a serious threat to Elizabeth.

Mary was brought to Chatsworth several times and stayed in the apartment on the top floor above the main hall, now cunningly known as the Queen of Scots rooms. Bess Hardwick would sit and sew with Mary for long periods and they both worked on the Oxburgh Hangings, a needle work which hangs in Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk and are again aptly named. Chatsworth House has been chosen in some surveys as England's favourite country house.

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Derbyshire Eats

Bakewell is a town in Derbyshire and so, even without looking at the photograph, you can probably guess what is coming next. Correct, the Bakewell Tart. It actually developed as a variant to the Bakewell Pudding in the 19th century. Bakewell Pudding is a dessert which consists of a flaky pastry base, a layer of jam and a topping of an egg and almond paste. There is a story, almost certainly not true, that the pudding was made by accident when a Mrs Greaves left instructions for her cook to make a jam tart. Instead of mixing the jam, egg and almond paste all together, the cook spread a layer of the egg and almond paste on top of the jam. It was, so it is said, a resounding success.

An actual Bakewell Tart is different. It is a shortcrust pastry shell filled with jam which is covered with a frangipane (sugar, eggs, butter and almonds) topping. Once cooked, flaked almonds may be sprinkled on the top. It is said that three shops in Bakewell claim to own the original recipe which, to me, would indicate at least two of them are telling fibs.

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Derbyshire VIPs

Seven random people who were born in Derbyshire in the last 100 years:-
The late Tim Brooke-Taylor (Comedian - one of my ten funniest people), Ellen MacArthur (Sailor), Sir John Hurt (Actor), Hilary Mantel (Author), Richard Roberts (Nobel Prize Winning Physicist), Jack O'Connell (Actor) and Sat Baines (Chef and Restaurateur).

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Richard Remembers

Whilst this is yet another of my never-stayed-in only-driven-through counties, my memory is far more recent; a mere six years which when you reach your early seventies is nothing. I had gone on a holiday to Southport in Lancashire with my daughter and my granddaughters. On the drive back to Essex, on a lovely crisp and sunny February day, we suddenly found ourselves in the Peak District National Park and I was stunned. The scenery was amazing and, not surprisingly, we drove up and down hills having the most incredible views.

The area became the very first National Park in 1951 and has, over the following years been joined by another nine areas of outstanding beauty within England. The Park attracts millions of visitors each year and, being in the middle of an industrial area, it is estimated that 20 million people live within an hour of the Peak District.

I think this was perhaps the reason I was surprised. I thought of the Midlands as being an area where the Industrial Revolution had taken hold and so didn't expect such sheer beauty. Now I know better and can't wait to go back and explore in more detail. By the way, the only town in the National Park is the aforementioned Bakewell and yes we did pop in to a local shop and buy one.

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Owlbut's Birdwatch

The golden plover is a medium-sized bird with very distinctive gold and black feathers in the summer. In winter the black changes to buff and white. They are quite shy birds, especially when breeding and they stand very upright and run in short bursts. They will eat worms, beetles and insects. In summer, during the breeding season, they can be found in the Peak District of Derbyshire and also in North Yorkshire and further south in Devon. In winter they move to lowland fields and form large flocks. The largest numbers appear between November and February when there may be as many as nearly half a million Golden Plovers. There are about 50,000 breeding pairs resident in England.

They are about 30 cms in length with a wingspan of roughly 70 cms. They can weigh between 160 and 280 grams. As you can see, the feathers are multi-coloured and, I think, really pretty. Also looks a bit like they are wearing a hat. Their legs are brown and they have a medium, black beak.

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Two extra sections, "It Happened Here" and "Now That's Weird", will appear on 17 March 2025