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| Dobroyd Castle |
Human fairy tales hardly ever work out but if I was to start telling the tale of John Fielden (born 1822) and his first wife Ruth, it would have some magic in it. John one of the sons of a wealthy mill owner, another John Fielden. His father was a member of parliament and brought about important measures for the workers in the mills, but our John fell in love with a local mill girl called Ruth Stansfield. She said she would only marry him if he built her a castle. They married after five years and he commenced with the building of Dobroyd Castle, which took a time. Ruth was unsure of herself in the society she now lived in, dinner parties and social functions were hard for her. She took to the drink sadly and became an alcoholic in later life. She died at the age of 50 years old. And apparently lies in an unmarked grave at the Unitarian Church.
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| A closer view |
John went on to marry another woman, the exact opposite of Ruth, a socially ambitious woman and he built another house down South, where he was buried.
All of this I read about yesterday after searching for that building I had seen on the other side of the valley. What had happened over its short history was different ownership. Firstly sold by John and becoming a school for emotionally disturbed young boys and then a Buddhist sanctuary. The roof had become rather unstable and it was then sold on to an Adventure centre, where a fire had occurred a few years ago.
Today I should receive a map of the district from Ordnance Survey. Always loved maps the contours of the hills, the history carefully annotated. But according to my granddaughter, it is a 'vertical' half mile walk through the woods to the castle. That comes of living in a valley!
ref; Roots Web
Poor Ruth - you can imagine life was such a struggle for her but John must have truly loved her if he made her dream come true. Never a truly happy house by the sound of it apart, perhaps, from when it was a Buddhist sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteLoved the "vertical" half mile walk through the woods. You'll not be seeking that one out then!
Like you I have always had a love of maps and collected them down the years. The maps of our locale show the history of a nation - the blank canvas of the Eppynt Range, claimed for Army Training in WWII when a whole community was sent packing and their homes destroyed, a landscape dotted with neat squares of pine trees for tanks to hide in or troops. The flooded valleys of the Elan Valley, providing water for Birmingham. Churches serving dispersed communities and bringing people together. The Heart of Wales railway line chugging from Swansea to Shrewsbury . . .
Yes pauper marries prince doesn't all end happily, I feel rather sorry for Ruth, she must have experienced what is happening in the royal family at the moment. It is quite extraordinary how much of the landscape was used for war. In Bath where I used to walk on the downs, the ridge on which the Cromwellian war took place, was overlaid by practice trenches of the world wars later on, temporary war airfields, presumably to protect Bristol.
ReplyDeleteA palimpsest indeed. I enjoyed my Landscape Archaeology course (David Austin) back when I was at Uni. My brain would love some more stimulation like that.
DeleteFunnily enough I don't want to learn anymore, there was a relief when I sorted my books into those kept and those given away Jennie.
DeleteImagine demanding a 'castle' as a condition to a marriage that would seem to have been to her advantage! The online tours of castles and manor houses suggest they'd be cold and uncomfortable places to live--rather like moving into a museum. I'm glad you are finding lanes and paths for walking--here it has been too hot and humid to be outdoors. Soon I'll be grateful for my collection of charity shop sweaters and fleece 'hoodies.'
ReplyDeleteThe seasons do turn quickly Sharon, probably a facet of getting older ;) Perhaps Ruth said she wanted a castle in jest and it took John's fancy. It is the usual Victorian pile of over elaboration and was probably very cold in winter as well.
DeleteEvery time you post it reinforces for me how much you are settling in and how right you were to move on.
ReplyDeleteWell I take what little life I have left and use it as I know best is the answer. Trying not to count the lose of that which I held dear and viewing the future as somewhere to be busy in. I have my family, my sweet daughter would like me to live permanently with her but I still have all my stuff in storage.
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