Mirehouse
History
Mirehouse was built in 1666 by Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, who sold it in 1688 to his agent, Roger Greg. The Greg family and then their descendants, the Storys owned the estate until 1802 when Thomas Story left it in his will to John Spedding.
The Spedding family, who still own the house, have enlarged the house several times, with the last major changes occurring in the 1960s, when extensive renovation work was carried out, and in the 1980s, when the ground floor and grounds were opened to the public. The grounds now include a bee garden, a wild flower meadow, a "poetry walk", squirrel island and adventure playgrounds.
The Spedding family had strong links to a number of poets, including Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Southey, Edward FitzGerald and Thomas Carlyle. In celebration of these poetic links, an annual Poetry competition is now held.
References
- ^ "Mirehouse , Bassenthwaite - 1326263 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Mirehouse & Gardens". Cumbria's Living Heritage. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ Reynard, Keith (2003). Directory of Museums, Galleries and Buildings of Historic Interest in the UK. Routledge. p. 1289. ISBN 978-0851424736.
- ^ Spedding, Captain John Carlise D. (1909). The Spedding family. With short Accounts of a few other families allied by marriage. Cumberland and Westmoreland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. p. 98.
- ^ "Adventure playground". Mirehouse. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ "The Words by the Water Mirehouse Poetry Competition" (PDF). Ways with words. Retrieved 5 August 2018.