The Stockerton walk part 3

Pictures by Muddy Boots, vague commentary by Tony Attwood.

If you have further information to add on the commentary please do forward it so details can be expanded.

This first picture is the manor house at Stockerton.   It was built in the late-18th-century and is a grade II listed building, which I believe that the inhabitants can play with the inside but not the outside.

The Manor of Stockerston was owned by the Boyville family in the 15th century and eventually passed to the family of the High Sherrif of  Leicestershire.

However as with so many country houses the family became impoverished during the civil war and the estate changed hands in the late 17th century before being  demolished at the end of the 18th century when the present house was built.   Various owners and tenants have lived there since including the families of various high sherrifs of Leicestershire.

The gates however maintain a certain splendour and announcement of importance and finance, no matter what the interior of the stately home might reveal for anyone able to get inside.

It is a technique still beloved of grand families of yesteryear – although of course the house has now changed hands and new owners are within.

Moving onto the walk, the way marker below is something that I needed a little help on being a townie.

This, I am told, is a triangulation station or trig point which was used for geodetic surveying with the metal plate on top a theodolite mounting point and are shown on OS maps as a small triangle. Modern Global Positioning technology has now superseded trig points but they remain a valuable landmark for hikers.”

So now I know.

The above right and subsequent pictures of an elderly gentlemen (who gave his permission for the photographic recordings to be made) was carrying out the ancient skill of fence making, made by weaving and pruning live saplings.

The effect of recording this disappearing art was partially lost by the fencer wielding a modern chain saw rather than a cutting tool handed down through the generations!

The final picture shows the completed section of fence.