Two National Trust Houses: Mr Straw's House and Stoneywell Cottage

These two National Trust Houses in the East Midlands are both worth a visit. They invite an interesting contrast!

Mr Straws House was left to the National Trust in 1990 when William, the last member of the Straw family, passed away at the age of 92.

No.7 Blyth Grove in Worksop is a semi-detached house built circa 1905. It is a relatively large house befitting a well-to-do family that made its money from a grocers shop. The Straw family moved into the house in the early 1920s. The house and contents remained largely untouched from 1932 when William senior, the father of the house died suddenly whilst gardening. His wife Florence died seven years later.

Although fascinating, there is something decidedly stifling about this abode that has been stuck in a timewarp since the 1930s. Even the calendar in the dining room still reads 1932, and William Straw Snr’s pipes and tobacco pouch are still hanging up there.

Everything is decorated in browns, and piles of hoarded letters and papers are stacked around the piano in the drawing room. The parents’ bedroom has layers of clothes preserved between the bedclothes and the bed has been laid over with newspapers to preserve its contents.

*****

An altogether different experience awaits those who visit Stoneywell House in Charnwood, Leicestershire.

Although the road past Stoneywell is very familiar to me, any passer by would be completely unaware that the large stone house is hidden behind a dip in a hill a short walk from the roadside.

Built at the end of the 19^th century, Stoneywell is in the Arts and Crafts style, and being constructed of local stone, it is meant to give the impression of growing naturally out of the landscape. It originally had a thatched roof that was destroyed by a fire. However, the local slate helps the appearance of the house to blend in with the surrounding countryside. (Slate from nearby Swithland is characteristic of the Charnwood area). 

One of the quirky delights of this house is that you can exit an upstairs bedroom window and step onto the ground outside without injury, because the house is built on a slope.

the bedroom window

The home belonged to Leicestershire industrialists, the Gimson family, and was designed by architect Ernest Gimson as a summer residence. The interior is light, airy, and uncluttered. It reminded me a lot of Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge with its muted and calming colour palette of natural wood and white walls. One of the rooms even has an Orkney Chair like the one at Kettle’s Yard.

Orkney Chair (to the right) in the sitting room

The grounds are also very beautiful, retaining the natural look of the Charnwood landscape with its granite rocks, ferns, and surrounding woodland.

If you want to visit either house, you will need to book a tour. Stoneywell is approached by a mini bus that carries you from a nearby car park.

Further reading: Mr Straw’s House, 1993 (reprinted 2011), National Trust

Chesters Thompson, Simon, and Groves, Anna, 2015, Stoneywell Cottage, National Trust

Mr Straw's House

Stoneywell

Punch and Judy

These colourful Punch and Judy puppets are from an exhibition I saw in Scarborough. A bizarre tale of domestic abuse and Mr Punch's near comeuppance, Punch and Judy shows are a tradition of village fetes and seaside entertainments that stretch back to the 1600s.

The Funny History of Punch and Judy (from the John Styles Collection) sets out the familiar scenario which ends with Mr Punch convincing Mr Ketch the hangman to put his head through the noose.

The exhibition at Scarborough had the familiar Punch and Judy characters as well as some other glove puppets from children's fairy tales such as Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Remembering Larry Grayson

What a pity that the William White public house in Nuneaton has closed down. Apparently the place had an infestation of vermin. "This place is alive!" Larry Grayson would have exclaimed with disapproval. Larry Grayson was William White, and, possibly Nuneaton's most famous inhabitant since George Eliot.

The pub used to display some Larry-related artwork on one of the walls.

There are other clues regarding Grayson's connection dotted around this Midlands town. The streets of terraced houses where William White grew up. The working mens clubs where he performed for many years before becoming a household name and television star. A small permanent exhibition of Larry's theatrical items is on display in the museum on the park.

In 2016 there was a touring exhibition devoted to Larry at venues in Nuneaton and Bedworth. The latter was created to coincide with the first biography of Grayson, Seems Like a Nice Boy, written by his nephew Mike Malyon.

Larry Grayson's talent should not be underestimated. In his early ITV series he manages to get away with some relatively anarchic humour. This is not always asexual camp. Take a look at some of his early ITV sketches and you'll see what I mean.

Yet at the same time he was able to endear himself to millions of television viewers. This demonstrates how broad minded his family audience of the 1970s and '80s was.

His particular talent was that he managed to be utterly endearing and bizarre in equal measures. His monologues verge on the nonsensical. It is difficult to actually say what the content is of some of his stand up sketches. In the Music Hall tradition, they consist of pieces of idle gossip about his ailments and his imaginary friends, Everard, Slack Alice and Apricot Lil. Even the mention of the name 'Everard Farquharson' will elicit squeals of delight from his audience. 

He was also very down to earth.  The very essence of a working class Midlander.

Here's a picture of yours truly with Larry at a public appearance in Loughborough...

Souvenir book of matches from public appearance in Ashby, 1980s

Larry is buried in the cemetery next to the train line that passes through Nuneaton. His real name William S. White, and his stage name are carved on the memorial stone.

• Further reading: Malyon, Mike, 2015, Seems Like a Nice Boy, Apex Publishing