Orchard Farm History
A Question Mark Hanging Over April
…April is a Significant Month… We have two significant anniversaries in April. Many of you will remember my father, Douglas, who died on April 8th 2004, nine years and a couple of days ago. Fewer of you will know, unless we’ve already told you, that April 3rd marked the day we had owned Orchard Farm for [...]
Social Media Networking
…Who will join our Google+ Circles?…Yesterday at 7.30 am (had to get that in) I was in Chesterfield, 40 minutes’ drive away, to attend a Breakfast Briefing’ on ‘What’s New in Social Media’. It was stimulating, fast moving and very informative, presented by someone whose life-work it is: he really knows and lives for his [...]
Bert Broomhead’s View of Parwich in 1950
Painted from just behind Orchard FarmIdly watching the Antiques Roadshow at Chatsworth tonight we were intrigued when the daughter of an artist called Bert Broomhead (who up until that moment we had never heard of) produced a rather beautiful picture of Parwich painted in 1950. John had recorded the programme and was able to ‘rewind’ [...]
The History of Orchard Farm
Orchard Farm is one of the older buildings in a village full of old buildings, with parts of it dating back probably to the 1600s, if not earlier. Since then it has been developed and ‘improved’ over the centuries; the stonework bears tantalising evidence of a fascinating mixture of building styles. The oldest part of [...]
The Story of our holiday cottages: The Reality
Marion’s father, Douglas, finally moved up to his new home in October 1999. Her settled in very quickly and happily, having already made a number of good friends in the village. His quarters were completely self-contained but we shared our dining room which could be accessed from either end. Tom’s Barn wasn’t really ready until [...]
The Story of our holiday cottages: The Birth
Transition traumas and triumphs: Looking back on it now the process seems to have happened quite quickly, but it did not at the time. We agonised over how to achieve the best possible use of our redundant farm buildings. We needed a self-contained ‘house’ for Marion’s father, Douglas, next door to ours; next door to [...]
The story of our holiday cottages: The Dream
First Stage: In April 1983, having bought Orchard Farm – a wreck (but with exciting potential) with its derelict farmhouse and almost as derelict barns and outhouses, our one and only thought was getting it habitable – with plenty of ideas, a very limited budget, and Peak Park rigid planning restrictions. We had the builders [...]
Why Douglas?
And Why Douglas? Marion’s father Douglas, whom many of our ‘older’ guests will remember, used to live here. From a Lowland Scots family, he actually grew up near Lichfield, used to holiday in the Peak District and spent all his working life in Africa, where Marion grew up… Hence the Derbyshire/African mix in Douglas’s Barn [...]
Why Tom?
Why Tom indeed… The previous owner of Orchard Farm was Tom, a character well liked in the village but a complete stranger to soap, hammer, paintbrush or any home improvements. He was renowned also for his pack of boss-eyed dogs which local children apparently found rather frightening. After years of dogs and neglect the house [...]
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Tom’s Barn Availability
Douglas’s Barn Availability
