Nether
Alderley
This unconsidered hamlet,
less than 2 miles south of Alderley Edge, does not have to be
searched for, it is only necessary to step out of the rush of
traffic on the A34 into a well-heeled tranquillity.
It's lilac-time in Nether
Alderley.
I suppose it is elsewhere,
also, but it seemed more apparent there ...
... with swallows and house
martins swirling above the meadows and even a swift or two putting
in an appearance.
The crossroad with the A34
is the obvious place to bail out of the traffic ...
... but just round the corner
heading south is Nether
Alderley Mill, with a small parking area in front. This unusual
and distinctive structure gives no clue in its exterior as to
what lies within and beyond, other than it is called a mill. Built
prior to 1591 by Thomas Stanley of the family that produced the
Earls of Derby who effectively ruled most of Cheshire, Lancashire
and the Isle of Man in their heyday.
...
Hidden from exterior view
is the mill dam complete with a necessarily aggressive pair of
breeding swans. The stream feeding the dam is, in itself, insufficient
in volume to drive a mill. Hence the Elizabethan solution of impounding
the flow to provide sufficient volume for a day's work and to
be replenished during the night-time.
The dam wall and the mill
building were designed and constructed simultaneously with the
back wall of the mill being integral with the dam wall. Some slight
leakage is now occurring, not bad though for 400 years! The flow
of water from the dam drives not one but two 12 foot overshot
wheels with a combined drop of 25 feet.
The mill was in commercial
production until 1939 and then rotted through neglect until the
property was gifted to the National Trust and renovation could
begin. The plaque on the beam commemorates and dates that renovation
to the period 1967-70.
The contrast of the red
sandstone of the walls with the heavy Kerridge stone roofing flags
can be seen here.
The Stanleys of Nether Alderley
Hall, which Thomas had built on an island made from the spoil
excavated to increase the volume of the reservoir, were also benefactors
of the parish and its church.
These attractive cottages,
by no means the only attractive ones to be found in Nether Alderley,
lie across the A34 and on the way to church.
At the entrance to the churchyard
is another striking building, the Old School, now used as the
Village Hall and constructed of materials similar to the Mill.
The stone commemorates the
founding of the school in 1628 by Hugh Shaw and subsequent endowment
by Thomas Dean de Park in 1694. Education of the children of the
parish continued here until 1908.
Immediately facing the Old
School building is The Yew Tree; very large and very old - estimated
to be about 1200 years old.
Continued
in Part II
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