TRAVEL
To The Manor Born S
pringtime in England is my favourite season as nature wakes up from its winter slumber ready to restore the
palette of the earth. The trees are sprouting green shoots while spring fl owers burst into bloom to add colours on the landscape. T e atmosphere is intoxicated with fresh and crisp yang energy. What better way to enjoy the joys of spring than to wake up in a cosy room with big picture windows overlooking a vista of green meadows with a river meandering through it. Swans glide on the sparkling water while geese flock together in the morning dew basking in the sun. A couple of Canada geese are squabbling over the best spot to roost. The morning orchestra has begun with each bird joining in the dawn chorus. Today I am playing the ‘lady of the manor’ as a guest in the splendid historic Stapleford Park, a stately home in Leicestershire, which was once owned by various landed gentry who were wealthy land owners in the
50 FENGSHUIWORLD | JULY/AUGUST 2011
past. Today it is a luxury country hotel where each room has a name dedicated to some famous brand or person. Mine is the Warner room, light and spacious with Warner’s traditional prints and fabrics. I imagine what it must be like to be a lady of this grand stately home in days gone by. She must have had a squadron of servants to cater for her every need and beautiful clothes to wear. Her social calendar must’ve been busy with entertaining friends enjoying sumptuous dinners or partaking in country pursuits. Back to planet earth, sadly, I have
to get dressed without any servant. Not quite decked out in finery as a gentry lady would, I am in jeans and trainers, all set to explore this elegant country estate. As I stand on the commodious landing lit up by a beautiful dome-shaped skylight, I admire the grand wooden stairways sweeping into the hall below. I could visualise in my mind’s eye the echoes of the past. T e lords and ladies of the manor may have been long gone,
By Helen Oon
but their energy and spirit live on in the very fabric of the house. Houses and buildings are not just brick and mortar, they absorb the energy of the residents past and present. T ere is good energy here and the house has been loved and nurtured in the past. In the hallway, family crests of the historic residents, all of distinguished peerage, adorn the wall. T e present owner has a deep respect for its rich heritage and has faithfully maintained the original features and look of the place following a recent refurbishment.
Echoes of the Past Stapleford Park estate stretches back to
the days of King Arthur. It had passed through a succession of owners. In 1403, Robert Sherrard, a descendant of William the Conqueror, bought the estate from the Earl of Lancaster. T e Sherrard family who later became the Earls of Harborough owned the stately home for 484 years, improving and extending the house. In 1894, Lord Gretton, a wealthy brewer, acquired
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