The Adderley Heritage Trail is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund but it is being managed by a group of dedicated volunteers who meet every two weeks to make sure things run as planned.
The project is split into two phases: a construction phase which will see the creation of a website to host the Geoff Butter Collection and the creation of a walking trail around the historic sites in the village with interpretation boards at key locations.
Phase two will provide a series of activities for people in the parish. There will be a series of story telling workshops for young and old alike. we will be working with the Oral History Society to train volunteers to capture personal histories from members of the community. We are very excited about the curriculum project which brings together Keele University with the school, the children and volunteers to create a lasting legacy for young children everywhere. We have hopes that the work with Keele will also provide access to a Phd project which will work with the Shropshire Archive and maybe bring some new insights into the history of Adderley.
The Geoff Butter Collection is already inspiring people to think about the history of our parish and we see the beginnings of a History Society which we hope will grow as more and more people become involved. Adderley has a fascinating history from its Saxon roots when Eldreedeli (a clearing in the woodlands) was held by Eric The Wild. Eric was finally defeated by Roger of Montgomery and it 1066 he held the four manors of Adderley, Shavington, Spoonley and Cloverly. At that time the population consisted of four tenant farmers and two herdsmen.
Adderley was the largest of the settlements and became a stop on the salt route from Nantwich so that a market was held here. The market cross originally stood close to Frog Hall on what is now Rectory Lane and it is believed that the remains of the market cross form the base of the sud dial which you can see outside St Peter’s Church.
All of this and we’re only just beginning. With so much more to come we’re very excited to be able to bring the Geoff Butter Collection to everybody.
Geoff Butter invited me to attend your event yesterday but I was unable to come. I research the history of the Cheswardine Estate and the Hudson, Donaldson and Donaldson- Hudson families who used to live at Cheswardine Hall. I visited Geoff a few weeks ago because of my interest in Hersey Muriel Corbet who was married initially to John Donaldson-Hudson. However it is reputed that his father, Ralph, had an affair with Hersey resulting in John being disinherited by his father. I am most impressed by your collective efforts and am encouraged to do something similar for Cheswardine. You could Google ‘Cheswardine Manor’ which is my own website.