Above: It’s sad to see the ruins closed off – I think for the first time since the hall was demolished in the mid 1930s.
It’s the end of June and the ruins of Errwood Hall have just been fenced off. Chris from Forestry England thinks the restoration work needed to repair the damage caused by vandals and make the stonework safe could take two months (see previous post). He explained:
“As anti-social behaviour in the countryside has reached epidemic proportions, with the Goyt Valley being especially prone to this due to its location and proximity to major urban centres.
“We are working with our partners at UU and PDNPA to start to try and reduce this particularly at the Goyts Clough Quarry end of the valley where we have some major issues that impact on the water quality and continue to attract negative behaviour.
“Dealing with this is draining our resources both in terms of time and budget which could be better spent on more positive projects. It’s going to be a long road but we need to try and break the cycle of mindless vandalism and reduce the countryside’s appeal for certain members of society.”
Chris said they’d been planning the work for some time but had been forced to wait for the tracks leading up to the hall to be reinforced:
“I had tendered the repairs to the Hall in late 2022 but due to erosion on the track leading up to the Hall the contractor couldn’t get there, and it was quickly becoming apparent that even 4WD vehicles would struggle. There are several partners who also use the track, so I had to await the repairs before taking the repairs forward.
“I have been able to secure over £20k for the repairs and they will be carried out by a local company that specialise in that work so hopefully this can help in a preserve it and provide a starting point for other works.
Above: This photo was taken looking down the track towards Errwood Hall car park. The track to the left leads to the ruins. Thankfully it doesn’t look like this section will be resurfaced.
“The track repairs are also linked to the continued removal of the larch within the valley as part of the Statutory Plant Health Notice issued several years ago and there are several sites that we have not been able to tackle due to access and constraints like gas mains and deep peat. The aim is to plan the removal the remaining larch before it becomes a tree safety issue for the visiting public which is happening in other areas.
“Sadly, with the explosion of tree diseases over the past couple of decades there will be a whole host of trees that will start to die in the valley and my aim it to try and retain some of them as long as possible as they support a wide range of species. A good example of these are the Sweet Chestnut trees in and around Errwood Hall which are declining at a rapid rate and will make some paths dangerous to use in the future.
“There are also some mature larch up that valley that will need felling to ensure public safety, I aim to try and leave some in to decline naturally as there are amazing habitats but as you can appreciate this is a bit of a balancing act in a very busy valley.”
The work begins!
Update: 24th August 2023: Chris from Forestry England has messaged to say: “The contractors are on site starting the repairs and this is likely to take around five weeks. If folks can keep their eyes peeled for thieves, it will help them immensely as thieves are targeting contractors across the region.”
Which hopefully means that the fencing around the ruins will be removed by the end of September.
Update: 15th September 2023: Contractors Clive (left) and his son Darren from Worsley Restoration pictured at the ruins this afternoon. They think it will take another four to five weeks to finish, depending on the weather. So perhaps the end of October before the fencing is removed.
How to ruin a countryside legally – drive huge ugly tracks through. These will take decades to soften. Cut down the lovely gnarled ancient chestnut trees, which are in no danger of falling on anyone. The fencing off of Errwood might be necessary for repairs to take place but it’s a depressing sight. It doesn’t even look much like it needs repairing – I’m only here occasionally over the years but it doesn’t look any different to when I first saw it.
It’s such a shame that Errwood Hall was not preserved in the first place and used once again, sadly buildings like this have deteriorated all over the UK as the money is always spent elsewhere, even though there is money which is always miraculously found for other much less deserving things – This once magnificent building has just been left and now is seen as a troublesome ruin – If this had been closer to more urban areas then more than likely would have been used for some type of accommodation, which would have fared better than it has done now.
My good friend David took me to visit this area in 2010 and we have visited again 28th July 2023 – My goodness, I was saddened and shocked how it has been left to overgrow, trees felled for so-called health & safety reasons and as for tree diseases which are natural, if humans get a disease do we put them down, beautiful Rhododendrons all removed, awful and not in keeping stone rubble road created, rubbish not removed, hence no one really keeping an eye on this area at all – Rather a pity people who wish to save what is left of Errwood Hall did not do it much sooner and protect this area of the Goyt Valley better including the Shrine and the Burial Ground of Samuel Grimshawe et al.
I hope whoever is actually doing work on and around this area gets on with it and doesn’t leave Errwood Hall surrounded by ugly metal fencing as when we were there which was morning time, there was no one doing any work so, it begs the question how long is this eye-sore of a fence going to stay erected and when is any work going to be done including clearing the area and preserving it, which I hope has not been left too late.
Once again, what a waste of public money. The once enjoyable walk has been ruined for what? To repair a ruin that has not changed in over 50 years. The way they have cut back good trees and just dumped them to one side. Someone needs to be taken to account for this.
The trees are not ‘good’. It’s necessary to fell diseased larch, rhododendrons and horse chestnut (ash too) to prevent further spread of disease. Take a closer look at the larch, for example, and you will see they are dying off.