WEDDINGTON CASTLE - An Online History
ARCHIVED UPDATES 2005 - 2007
In this section you can find details of all updates made to the Weddington Castle website; from its establishment in 2005 to the end of 2007. For more recent updates click the "Up" button to the left. To return to this page from any of the links below, simply press the 'Back' button on your browser.
Click on the links below to access the updates from the relevant year:
| 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
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28th December 2007 |
New artwork of the 'Fox & Crane' restaurant (formerly 'The Grove') added to 'Picture Gallery' of The Grove... This building - probably the oldest significant surviving historical building in Weddington after St James' Church - was purchased by AR Cartwright Ltd builders in December 2007. It is scheduled to close as a restaurant on 17th January 2008, and it is rumoured that the building is to be either converted to flats or turned into a retirement home. Please check back here for updates on this. |
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13th December 2007 |
Updates to the history of Weddington Castle relating to the tenant William Cooper in the 1860s, added |
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11th November 2007 |
CASTLE SHOP: following a recent refresh of the Castle Shop, one or two items are showing the error message "Please enter an amount greater than zero" when the 'Buy Now' button is pressed. These items are still available, this is just a glitch which our technical team are working on to resolve. To purchase these items in the meantime, simply email: shop@weddingtoncastle.co.uk with your requirements. Postage on these items will be free to make up for any inconvenience. Please bear with us whilst we update the Shop: this update will ultimately lead to a wider range of better quality products, and a wider choice of items. Thank you! |
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23rd October 2007 |
CASTLE SHOP: unfortunately the "Canvas Bag" item is no longer available for purchase, as this has been discontinued by our supplier |
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9th October 2007 |
Pictures of Bond Gate Theatre (1904) and Abbey Street (1918) added to 'Picture Gallery', of Nuneaton Town |
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8th October 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of Weddington Hall: colour 'framed' postcard Picture of Bridge Street c.1908, added to 'Picture Gallery', of Nuneaton Town |
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6th October 2007 |
Photo of a fancy dress ball, 1906, added to 'Picture Gallery', of Nuneaton Town Five interior photograph of Arbury Hall added to "Other Local Halls" |
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5th October 2007 |
Information booklet on Hartshill Castle added to "Other Local Halls" |
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4th October 2007 |
Early Postcard of Nuneaton Market Place added to 'Picture Gallery' |
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3rd October 2007 |
New image added to 'Key People' of Alderman Edward Melly with his ceremonial chain |
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1st October 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of Nuneaton Market Place, from a 19th century drawing |
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30th September 2007 |
Additional information on the 1832 murder in Weddington, of Polly Button by Joe Danks added to 'Appendices' section, including more details of the crime and of local legends such as the 'Polly Button stone' and 'skipping rhymes'. |
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26th September 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of Nuneaton Edwardian limerick postcard |
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24th September 2007 |
Letter from William Seymour, Gardener to Lionel Place, Esq, dated 21st January 1826, added to "Castle History" section. Link to local poet Michael Drayton's poem, Poly-olbion (1613), added to "Hartshill Castle" and "Humphrey Adderley" pages. |
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23rd September 2007 |
New section on the Manor Court, Nuneaton, added to the "Other Local Halls" section. |
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12th September 2007 |
Three new paintings added to Miles Sharp section of "Key People": 'Oil on Canvas', 'Oil on Canvas: verso' and 'Ploughed Field and Trees'. |
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7th September 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of Weddington Castle: colour postcard c.1910 |
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4th September 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of a Nuneaton Girl and Jack Russell, c.1910-1915. |
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3rd September 2007 |
Article on fire at Astley Castle added to "Other Local Halls" and "Ghosts" sections. |
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2nd September 2007 |
Update on risk register status of Hartshill Castle added to "Other Local Halls". |
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29th August 2007 |
Broken picture links in "The Parts of a Manor House" section fixed |
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28th August 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of Weddington Castle: "Photo of the Castle, by Mr Young, printed in the Nuneaton Evening Tribune 22/04/87" |
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22nd August 2007 |
Nuneaton & Warwickshire report detailing Astley Castle status as a building "at extreme risk" added to Astley Castle section of "Other Local Halls". |
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14th August 2007 |
Page added to 'Appendices' section, relating to the trial of Joe Danks for the murder of Polly Button in Weddington in 1832. |
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13th August 2007 |
Details of local murder in 1832 of Polly Button by Joe Danks in Weddington Meadows added to 'Post-Adderley History' page of 'Timelines' section. |
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27th July 2007 |
Early colour postcard, 1905, added to St James' Church section of "Picture Gallery". |
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23rd July 2007 |
Update added to 'Henry Cunliffe Shawe' entry in Key People section, regarding Office of High Sheriff of Warwickshire. |
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14th June 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of "Nuneaton Market Place, original photograph from pre-1909". |
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12th June 2007 |
Link to "Castles on the Web" website added to "Links" section. |
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11th June 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of "Nuneaton Borough Band: Army Recruitment Poster 1914". |
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9th June 2007 |
Updates made to www.weddingtoncastle.co.uk between 2005 and 2006 are now listed in 'Archived Updates 2005 - 2006' page. Higher quality image of Weddington Castle postcard, 1906 added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
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5th June 2007 |
New image added to 'Picture Gallery' of Weddington Castle: "Weddington Castle from the Garden", a drawing by early Victorian artist Ann Mowbray, 1831. |
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4th June 2007 |
Local resident's account of sightings of a local ghost from the Castle (Joe Danks) added to "Ghosts of Weddington" section. |
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3rd June 2007 |
Two new images added to 'Picture Gallery', of Weddington Village: "Weddington's new Church Hall", and "Swinnerton's Heritage". |
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29th May 2007 |
Link to "Lost Heritage" website added to "Links" section. |
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28th May 2007 |
Updated history on Weddington Castle as a WWI Red Cross Hospital added to "Castle History" section. Updated information on nurses in a photograph of Weddington Castle as a WWI Red Cross Hospital added to 'Picture Gallery' |
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27th May 2007 |
One new painting image added to the 'Miles Sharp' entry in the Key People section: "Woodland Landscape". |
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24th May 2007 |
Early colour postcard added to Caldecote Hall section of "Other Local Halls". |
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18th May 2007 |
An 1893 watercolour image of Griff House by Patty Townsend, and a Guided Tour leaflet of George Eliot country, added to Griff House (George Eliot) section of "Other Local Halls". |
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17th May 2007 |
Various new images added to Photo Galleries: Early postcard of Old Nuneaton, c.1910 |
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15th May 2007 |
Three new images added to 'Picture Gallery', of Nuneaton Town: 'The Elms', 'St Nicholas Church' and 'St Mary's Abbey & Ruins'. |
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14th May 2007 |
Due to technical problems, all images and link buttons recently disappeared from the section 'The Parts of a Manor House'. These have now been restored. If you encounter any more technical problems with this website, please let us know by emailing: help@weddingtoncastle.co.uk |
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12th May 2007 |
Three new early images added to 'Picture Gallery', of images of Nuneaton Town. One new image added to Riversley Park section of the 'Picture Gallery'. |
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9th May 2007 |
New section added to 'Picture Gallery', of images of Nuneaton Town during the Castle's era. |
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7th May 2007 |
Update on Eleanor Grace Shawe added to 'Henry Cunliffe Shawe' entry in the Key People section. |
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26th January 2007 |
Two new painting images added to the 'Miles Sharp' entry in the Key People section, both being "A Warwickshire Village Scene, 1941". |
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15th January 2007 |
Weddington Castle brings in the New Year by becoming top of the pile! www.weddingtoncastle.co.uk is now the top listing for keyword searches on "weddington" or "weddington castle" in the UK and International versions of reknowned search engine www.google.com... |
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15th December 2006 |
Rare early photograph of The Old Rectory, Caldecote, added to 'Other Local Halls' section. Caldecote Hall is visible in the background. |
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9th December 2006 |
Early colour postcard of Riversley Park (oval design) added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
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9th November 2006 |
Several new houses have been built behind the new Church Hall off Church Lane. The access road has been named "Swinnerton's Heritage". The Swinnerton family were major farmers in the area. Robert Swinnerton lived at The Grove in the C19th and there is an impressive memorial for the Swinnertons in St. James Churchyard. It is heartening (to a degree) that even modern housing developments in Weddington seek to recognise the heritage of the area in their road naming schemes. |
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31st October 2006 |
Scene from Riversley Park bandstand in the 1920s, added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
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10th October 2006 |
Two rare line drawings of Weddington Castle ("Front Entrance" & "Garden Facade") added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
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9th September 2006 |
Additional images added to the 'Miles Sharp' entry in the Key People section, relating to the painting "A Warwickshire Farmyard". |
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28th August 2006 |
Links to the Weddington Castle website added to the 'Nuneaton' entry on Wikipedia - the premier online encyclopaedia. |
| 23rd August 2006 | Undated postcard of Riversley Park added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 2nd August 2006 | Pictures of King Edward I coin as found in Weddington, added to 'Castle History: 1100 - 1300AD'. |
| 14th July 2006 | Postcard of Arbury Hall added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 13th July 2006 | Colour postcard of Riversley Park (1913) added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 29th June 2006 | Property documents relating to the
sale of Weddington Castle and Castle estate lands to Percy Howe,
builder, have kindly been lent to Weddington Castle Online by Kevin
Purchase, a local
resident. These have been added to the 'Appendices' section
('Sale Deeds').
Scan of Percy Howe's signature, early plan of Castle Road and a map (dated from the 1920s, featuring the Castle grounds and outbuildings, including the Summer House) added to 'Picture Gallery'. Scan of Arbury Priory added to 'Other Halls & Castles' section. |
| 28th June 2006 | 'Tags' added to all images in
website (i.e. a brief description of the picture will appear when you
hover your mouse pointer over it). Section on Hinckley Castle added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 21st June 2006 | Tamworth Castle added to
'Other Local Halls' section. Picture of Mary Bagot, wife of Sir Richard Newdigate added to 'Other Local Halls' section. Postcard and 1940s drawing of 'South Farm' added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 14th June 2006 | Sepia postcard of Arbury Towers
(postmarked 1941) added
to
'Other Local Halls' section. Annoying glitch on Homepage 'Enter' button finally sorted out! |
| 13th June 2006 | Several illustrations from 'The Graphic Illustrated' 1881, added, featuring Arbury Hall, Arbury Lodge, Astley Church, Griff House, and Nuneaton Market Place. |
| 12th June 2006 | Colour postcard of Attleborough
Road (circa 1920) added
to
'Other Local Halls' section. Colour postcard of Arbury Hall added to 'Other Local Halls' section. Engraving of Astley Castle (1814) added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 11th June 2006 | Colour postcard of "The Old Nullat, Arbury" added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 19th May 2006 | Postcard of Weddington Castle (1912) added
to
'Picture Gallery' section. Colour postcard of Griff House (1911) added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 31st April 2006 | Colour postcard of Arbury Hall (1908) added to 'Other Local Halls' section (3rd picture in gallery). |
| 28th April 2006 | Self portrait of Arthur Devis added to the 'Key People' section. |
| 27th April 2006 | New image of Miles Sharp oil colour added to the 'Key People' section. |
| 23rd April 2006 | PDF document of 'Nuneaton's Gold Belt Project' in Riversley Park added to the 'Links' section. |
| 22nd April 2006 | Old postcard of Arbury Hall added to 'Other Local Halls' section (8th picture in gallery). |
| 21st April 2006 | Entry on local artist Miles Sharp
added to 'Key People'
section. Section on Fillongley Hall added to 'Other Local Halls' section. Colour postcard of Riversley Park bandstand, picture of Edward Melly, photo of Melly on the bandstand and multiview postcard of the Park added to 'Picture Gallery'. Picture of old Nuneaton Railway station added to 'Old Attleborough - An Imaginary Trip'. |
| 20th April 2006 | Photograph of the Atherstone Hunt
(9/11/1908) at Caldecote Hall added to
'Other Local Halls' section. New photograph of Maxstoke Castle added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 10th April 2006 | Excerpt on Weddington from Kelly's Directory of Warwickshire, 1896 added to 'Appendices' section. |
| 9th April 2006 | 'Weddington Walk' section completed. This details walks around Weddington and Caldecote, taking in many features of the former Castle estate. |
| 5th April 2006 | Excerpt on Weddington from A History of the County of Warwick, 1947 added to 'Appendices' section. |
| 4th April 2006 | Old photograph of Weddington Farm
added to 'Other
Buildings' picture gallery. Multiview postcard featuring Riversley Park & Arbury Lodge added to 'Riversley Park' picture gallery. |
| 3rd April 2006 | Images added to 'Weddington Castle', 'Riversley Park' and 'Arbury Hall' picture galleries. |
| 23rd March 2006 | Colour postcards of Arbury Lodge and South Farm added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 20th March 2006 | Astley and Adderley family crests
added to
'Picture Gallery'. Postcard of Griff House added to 'Other Local Halls' section. Postcard of Arbury Park (Summer's Bridge) added to 'Other Local Halls' section. Links to Someries Castle and Tamworth Castle added to 'Links' section. |
| 4th February - 19th March 2006 | Two watercolours of Weddington Hall by local artist Miles Sharp (1897 - 1973), were featured in an exhibition at Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery ('Moments in Time'). Whilst these paintings are in the ownership of the Museum, copyright issues mean unfortunately we cannot feature images of them on this website. This exhibition also featured a painting of Arbury Farm. |
| 20th February 2006 | Postcard of Oldbury Hall added to 'Other Local Halls' section. |
| 18th January 2006 | Weddington Castle has now been recognised by English Heritage and an entry added on their Pastscape web site. This also contains an updated entry for Weddington Village and cites www.weddingtoncastle.co.uk as its source. To read the Castle's entry click here. |
| 12th January 2006 | Postcard of Riversley Park Museum and War Memorial added to 'Picture Gallery' section. |
| 6th January 2006 | Postcard of Riversley Park in the
1950s added to 'Picture Gallery'
section. 'Other Halls & Castles' section moved from Picture Gallery to Main Menu. |
| 30th December 2005 | New photographs added to
'Picture Gallery'
section. These include new images of Sandon Park, Cleaver Walk &
Gardens, Castle Road and the site of the Castle Icehouse.
New layout added to 'Picture Gallery' section. Weddington Village split into 2 sections and section added for Riversley Park images. |
| 23rd December 2005 | Rare colour print of Weddington Castle added to 'Picture Gallery'. This lithograph is by an unknown artist and dated 1840. |
| 22nd December 2005 | 100MB extra webspace added to
Weddington Castle website - this will allow us to continue to expand
throughout 2006!
"Old Attleborough - An Imaginary Trip", by Peter Lee, added to 'Other Halls and Castles' section. "The Grove" page added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 21st December 2005 | Additonal interior and exterior photographs of the Fox & Crane added to the 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 18th December 2005 | Colour image of Weddington Castle
added to the 'Picture
Gallery'. Interior and new exterior photographs of the Grove / Fox & Crane added to the 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 15th December 2005 | Holding page for
'Weddington Walk'
section added (due for completion early 2006). Minor updates added to 'Castle History: 1928 - present day'. New picture of Hereward the Wake added to 'Key People' section. |
| 17th November 2005 | New pictures from the archives of
local historian Alan Cook added to the
'Picture Gallery' section (The Grove,
Grove Cottages, Weddington Village and Weddington Gardens).
Pictures of 'Griff House' and 'South Farm' added to 'Other Halls and Castles' section. |
| 16th November 2005 | New pictures and updated history for 'Higham Hall' added to 'Other Halls and Castles' section. |
| 14th November 2005 |
'Castle Plans' section added to
website, featuring Robert Lugar's architectural plans of the Castle.
Castle floor plans added to
'Picture Gallery'. 'Nuneaton Priory' page added to 'Other Halls and Castle' section. 'St James' Church Archaeological Evaluation 2000' added to 'Appendices' section. |
| 13th November 2005 | New pictures added to 'Other
Halls and Castles' section (Arbury Hall, Astley Castle, Griff House and Maxstoke Castle). Postcard of Riversley Park added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 30th October 2005 | Oil painting of Maxstoke Castle added to 'Other Halls and Castles' section. |
| 28th October 2005 | 'A Short History of Maxstoke Castle' microsite added. |
| 27th October 2005 | New pictures added to 'Other
Halls and Castles' section (Griff House and Maxstoke Castle). Postcards of St James' Church and Riversley Park added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 23rd October 2005 | "Weddington Castle - a history" is now available to buy on a CD-ROM. Click here for details. |
| 22nd October 2005 | New pictures added to 'Other
Halls and Castles' section (Attleborough Hall, Arbury Hall,
Caldecote Hall and Griff House). Colour postcard of Weddington Road in 1900s added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 9th October 2005 | New pictures added to 'Other
Halls and Castles' section (Astley Castle, South Farm and Arbury Hall). New picture of St James' Church added to 'Picture Gallery'. Scan of the signature of Henry Dewes of Weddington Castle added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 7th October 2005 | English Heritage have contacted Weddington Castle to inform us that they shall be updating their online database records Weddington, St James Church and the Castle in the next couple of months. This update will be based upon the information and research contained within this site. A link to the English Heritage site will be added as soon as the update is completed. |
| 1st October 2005 | Link to www.ecastles.co.uk added to 'Links' section. |
| 25th September 2005 | The official Caldecote Hall website (www.caldecotehall.co.uk) now features a 360° 'virtual tour' of the Hall and grounds. |
| 3rd September 2005 | Additional historical text added to 'Oldbury Castle' in 'Other Halls and Castles' section. |
| 1st September 2005 | New pictures added to 'Other
Halls and Castles' section (Caldecote, Griff House, Camp Hill
Hall and Arbury Hall).
Cover of 1644 sermon added to 'Richard Vines' history. |
| 12th August 2005 | Scan of original entry of Weddington/'Watitune' in Domesday Book, along with modern English transcript, added to 'Castle History' section. |
| 11th August 2005 | Will of Humphrey Aderley, 1598, added to Appendices section. |
| 10th August 2005 | New photographs and updated
historical text added to 'Other Halls & Castles' section. Various typographical and grammatical errors corrected. |
| 8th August 2005 | Caldecote Hall microsite added. |
| 1st August 2005 | Weddington Castle makes the press! www.weddingtoncastle.co.uk is featured in small article in "Heartland Evening News", Nuneaton's local paper. Click here to read the article. |
| 2nd July 2005 | 'Updates' section added. |
| 1st July 2005 | Scans of Castle Owners' wills added to 'Appendices' section. |
| 3rd June 2005 | Hosting changed to LCN. |
| 16th May 2005 | New Castle postcard image added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 9th April 2005 | Link added to Caldecote Hall website. |
| 5th March 2005 | 'Parts of a Manor House' website added to 'Appendices'. |
| 17th March 2005 | 'Other Halls and Castles' section added to 'Picture Gallery'. |
| 15th March 2005 | BTDesign Award awarded to www.weddingtoncastle.co.uk. |
| 3rd January 2005 | www.weddingtoncastle.co.uk launched. |
