Around Ancient Ashbourne

Up'ards and Down'ards in Ashbourne

Thursday 13th January 2022

Not pretty, but a flippin' good start for a brawl!

Our drives into Ashbourne from every direction were stunning! Where the sky was clear, frosty grounds sparkled in the sun, local ponds were semi-frozen, paths were a bit slippery... and Janice was on trial!  She made a good start having replied to the wrong group  message (setting tongues wagging), turned up a bit late but, to be fair had tramped across the fields to reach Pam and Helen, just in time for coffee.

 

The trusty trio set off on Helen' J's version of the Ashbourne Town's Heritage Trail. We start at the famous Gingerbread shop and learned that it was originally an inn; as was most of Ashbourne, back in the day.. The famous Gingerbread recipe was allegedly brought over from a French PoW billeted during the Napoleonic Wars.  This impressed Pam, as did

 Helen's ability to read ( a definite triumph given the circumstances!)

We arrive at  Ashbourne's Premier Inn, umm., I mean  the Green Man Hotel, a premier coaching inn from the 1750s. With the controversial statue head now removed from the sign linking the two pubs, we had to settle at looking at the pictorial history.

It's ok Bambi, you're safe behind me...

We're not quite sure of the Cheddar Gorge link but ancient history says that 'Ceodor' means a dark cavity or pouch, perfect for selling cheese.  It also does a rather good coffee.

Oh look, the Gingerbread bake is following us around!

Are we sure this is the best preserved 17th century building in town? 

We continue to find lots of almshouses. Here be the Clergy Widows Almshouses from 1770  built for entertainment for the four widows of the four clergymen of the Cof E. 

We're not sure what was more entertaining; what took place or that the bricks were handmade and expensive.

Lovely handbag, Pam!

Next along the street, we find  Pegge's almshouse.  We know it is hers because the 'rebus' says so: 

Three pegs and a chevron, her family crest.

 

An original 17th century emoji

And finally we come to Owlfields almshouses, still in use today by people of diminutive height.  

 

The perfect place for Pam, but sadly not for Janice.

We now come to facts about QUEGS!  Opposite the original school is/was an imposing Gentleman's House known as The Mansion.  It was initially famous because Dr Samuel Johnson used to visit;  probably where he wrote bits of our first dictionary. More interestingly for us was that Mrs Ball, wife of the Head of QUEGS in 1946 took in girl boarders and the fees were paid directly to Major Ball..... until DCC got wind of it! 

Look, no traffic.

We set off to St Oswald's Parish Church.  It's just as well it has a very tall spire, 65m  to be exact, as Helen M phoned and needed to know where we were. We were still there by the time she arrived. To help Helen J, whose eyesight didn't work in the church (not until she took her sunglasses off anyway!) Janice read out a lot of information.   This is what she said:  There's a history of cocaine in Ashbourne 

and this is what it does to you....

Or did she mean there were a lot of Cockayne's in the history of Ashbourne? Who knows, couldn't hear properly with my mask on.

Gargoyle guarding the fire extinguisher

A knotty issue

The famous, and impressive, East window.

Guess what Helen M saw...

Three Babes and a couple of Gingerbread bakes!

We now climb the steps, fortunately not iced up, to the aptly named Bellevue Road.  Sadly the old Ashbourne Hospital from 1848 has been demolished but not before making its patients' records public. Named and shamed? for having a 'weak mind' or 'rheumatism' to name a few...

We overlook the old police lock up... perhaps because they call it a gaol, and set off down a 'tunnel' and end up in the market place.  We learn that buildings with long crofts were built over in the 18th century as Ashbourne's population expanded. And so climate change started when the 'yard' arrived.  25 'yards' housed 750 people, a quarter of the townfolk.  Most yards had a pub which obviously, everyone frequented!  

No tigers in Tiger Yard

 But this photo will be sent to Bangladesh, where there are tigers.

We sit briefly in the market place, once famous for bull fights, performing troupes and the selling of wheat, horses, sheep and pigs.  After the fire of 1252, the market place was made smaller, and the houses bigger... tourism was on its way.  Luckily the fish and chip survived the fire of 1252.

And we round off the walking tour outside the old Town Hall where James was declared King of England, Wales and Scotland in 1745 and Bonnie Prince Charles was on his way to Swarkestone-of-previous blog.

By this time, we have definitely earned our lunch and head off to find Charlotte who has bagged the biggest table in the restaurant.  Sadly other babes couldn't make it today, and we spent special thoughts for those who need hugs. 

And so we settle in for a good old catch-up and re-cap:  Covid, Long Covid and now Epic Covid (other jabs are available, especially as one gets older); best coffee houses in town; the downfall of powerful men by women with handbags!; and the old favourites, of work (?) and holidays! 

Helen M playing 'piggy-in-the-middle'... (it says so!)

But the big question was... has Janice passed the test? Well, as long as she doesn't muddle her messages, remembers not to wave her walking stick about whilst pointing out bits of interest and can open the blog, she might be ok! 

Our pathetic bird list for the day:

greylag geese

canada geese

pheasant (live and braced!)

robin

wren

blackbird on a nest!!