By Anne Akers
Visitors to the newly-refurbished Calverley Old Hall this weekend were invited to solve one of the historic building’s major mysteries surrounding the double murder of two young boys by their father Sir Walter Calverley in 1605.
The fun challenge was one of the creative responses to the Landmark Trust’s Crafting Cultures artistic brief to involve local people in reimagining the hall’s history. Visitors were invited to examine Sir Walter’s motives and what made him a murderer, with clues and information available throughout the hall.
Throughout the summer a core group of local people met with artists commissioned by Landmark, to produce creative responses to the Calverleys’ story. The result was included textiles, drawings, creative writing and a series of dramatic monologues that tell the story from different people’s perspective. All were available for visitors to experience and enjoy, they could:
- Stand underneath a textiles installation in the Great Hall.
- Listen to the untold stories of the people involved in the Calverley Murders in the Chapel.
- See images and hear voices that try to uncover Walter Calverley’s motivations in the Solar.
- Investigate the detailed carvings on the stone sculpture in the garden which tells the story of the building, our restoration and the activities and events hosted during the project.
- Meet the artist and see the textile weaving artwork created by members of our local community using traditional floor looms, inspired by the colours found around the building.
- Examine the screen printed curtains featuring handmade designs inspired by Calverley Old Hall.
The Landmark Trust is a charity which buys historic buildings and rent the out as holiday lets as a way of preserving them for people to enjoy. It will open later this month, accommodating up to ten guests and so will not be open to the public. However there will be further open days next year. The chapel will also be open to visit and the community garden is available to all.
Calverley Old Hall dates back to the 12th century when the Scot family built a stone and timber house. They later expanded it into a grand stone dwelling and adopted the name Calverley, the family stayed there for the next 500 years.
The family rose in wealth and status, building the magnificent Great Hall in the 1480s, adding Tudor features in the 16th century. Their fortunes fluctuated , eventually moving to the nearby Esholt Hall in the 18th century. The Hall also had mixed fortunes after that, being used as a farm, then as cottages, and was damaged by fire and later fell into disrepair. The Grade 1* building was placed on Historic England’s At Risk register and was bought by Landmark who carried out major renovations thanks to a £1.6million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and donations. The total cost of the renovations was £5.1million.
Read more about the Calverley murders here.