A Weekend Break

Earlier this month my friend M and I had a very nice 3 night stay at Alvaston Hall in Nantwich.

A Grade II listed Victorian property, Alvaston Hall is a lovely half-timbered country house  just five minutes from the Cheshire riverside town of Nantwich. 

The grounds are pretty, it would be lovely to sit outside in the summer.

This was our second good deal with Crusader and Warner holidays. We like these deals because coach travel is included in the price.

Our accommodation was in a chalet rather than the main hotel but that suits us, we have a chalet each with everything we need, an en-suite, a warm room and a comfy bed.

The gardens just outside our rooms.

With loads of amenities there is something for everyone - swimming pool, spa, sauna, jacuzzi, snooker, yoga, archery, workshops, walks, bowls, entertainment every night, and films. And of course lots of food! Most of which is very good.

We had a day trip to the lovely city of Chester.

Eastgate clock is the second most photographed clock after Big Ben

The Cathedral is impressive

A few of the many lovely carvings on the pews.


The Consistory Court dealt with a wide range of cases including heresy,
non-payment of church dues, defamation, witchcraft and clerical absenteeism.

1664 Elizabeth Sutton versus Maria Williams for saying that Sutton was "a rotten queene and her son a lousy bastard". The libel was proved and Williams had to pay costs.
1667 Mary King versus Ellana Harrison. King accused Harrison of saying that she was a "false theef and had robbed my cupboard and she might have had a bastard for her deserts". 
So not only was Harrison defaming King by saying that she was a thief but was also guilty of immoral behaviour. Harrison was found guilty and had to pay a fine and the cost of repairing the cupboard.
1670 Margey Halliwell versus Eliza Edwards for calling her a "hairy hermaphrodite". Depositions were taken and the case was dropped.
1682 Elizabeth Sutton versus Mary Seale for slander. Seale was found guilty and was forced to do penance and pay a fine.

The Cathedral is being replicated with LEGO bricks, 300,000 to date. Visitors pay £1 for a brick.

The model base measures 4m x 2m. Some ‘special features’  have been built too,

such as the Grand Organ, the Quire Stalls and the War Memorial. 

How cute is the library

Lots of lovely little alleyways

The Rows are continuous half-timbered galleries, reached by steps, which form a second row of shops above those at street level along Watergate Street, Northgate Street, Eastgate Street and Bridge Street. The Rows are unique in the world to Chester, and nobody is quite sure why they were built in this way. They have been the subject of much speculation.

Two explanations I like are: Chester has suffered from a series of fires. In 1278 the fire was so severe that almost the entire town within the walls was destroyed. It has been suggested that following this fire, the owners were ordered to make their ground floors fireproof, leading to the stone-lined undercrofts. From this, the suggestion has been made that there was "a general undertaking by the citizens of Chester to improve the commercial potential of their property by providing two-level access for customers"
The other explanation: 
In his book "Wild Wales" published in 1862 the writer George Borrow makes the following claim "All the best shops in Chester are to be found in the rows. These rows, which you ascend by stairs up narrow passages, were originally built for the security of the wares of the principal merchants against the Welsh. Should the mountaineers break into the town, as they frequently did, they might rifle some of the common shops, where their booty would be slight, but those which contained the most costly articles would be beyond their reach; for at the first alarm the doors of the passages up which the stairs led, would be closed, and all access to the upper streets cut off from the open arches of which missiles of all kinds, kept ready for such occasions, could be discharged upon the intruders, who would soon be glad to beat a retreat. !!

The next day  we visited the Emma Bridgewater factory

Lots of lovely pretty kitchen and tableware

They have a workshop where customers choose an item from pots, plates, cups and saucers, or bowls to decorate. You then leave the item for the shop to bake and they post it to you. I would have liked to have a go but we didn't have enough time. We were finishing the day visiting a garden centre and outlet shops.

We're looking for our next weekend away now :-)

~ Be warm and well ~ 

Polly x