The Weddington Grove
(also known as The Grove, The Weddington Hotel,
The Weddington and the
Fox & Crane).
This mini-site details the history of The Grove, a large residence on the Castle estate with strong historical associations with Weddington Castle (you can find about the Castle by clicking on the links to the left).
Click on the links below to find out more about The Grove:
The Fox and Crane (1996 - 2008)
Local Press Reports on the closure of The Fox & Crane
The history of the Grove is inextricably linked to that of Weddington Castle, its former neighbour (the Castle was demolished in 1928 to make way for the Castle Road/Shawe Avenue estate). It is rumoured that the Grove was built on the site of a former farm house, and certainly by the turn of the C19th it had evolved into an impressive residence in its own right, spanning five levels, with extensive grounds and stables.
In 1911 the owner of Weddington Castle: Henry C. Shawe died, and was buried in Weddington churchyard (Shawe Avenue in Weddington is named after him). His son Henry Nigel Pole Shawe inherited the estate but went to live in The Grove, whilst the Castle became a Red Cross Hospital during the First World War.
During this time, H. N. P. Shawe proceeded to sell off many of the Castle lands - including the Castle itself, which was converted into flats in 1922 before being demolished in 1928. He continued to live at The Grove after this time however, until the building was granted a licence in 1934 and became the Weddington Hotel (it took its license from an old fashioned pub at 5 Abbey Street, The Pheasant. The license was transferred to The Weddington Grove when The Pheasant closed). This was to be the beginning of over 70 years of the building being a focus of Weddington's local community as a licensed premises, being known variously The Weddington Hotel, The Weddington Pub and the Fox & Crane.
A number of mysteries have
surrounded this building over the years... rumours of secret tunnels have
abounded for years, and to the rear of the the building is an apparent tunnel
(now situated in the back garden of a private residence - see the picture
gallery) that locals believe once went all the way to Caldecote. Although given
the distance it is more likely that this was a storage tunnel, or perhaps a
tunnel that once led to the Northern Castle Lodge (now demolished). Rumours of
a tunnel from the Grove to the Castle appear to have been borne out when a
tunnel was discovered (and
bricked up) in 1996 when the building was converted
into the Fox & Crane in 1996, again this may have been a storage tunnel.
As with much of Weddington and the former Castle grounds, rumours of ghosts abound, and indeed the Grove's final licensee, who resided in the former servants' quarters of the Grove, reported hearing ghostly footsteps in the corridors at night....
Perhaps most tantalising are a set of photographs discovered hidden under the floorboards wrapped in newspaper. Whilst the newspapers date from 1962, it is obvious that the photos are much older. They depict various poses of a middle-aged man dressed in formal Edwardian dress, along with two young girls in dress of the same era. It is likely that these images depict the former owner Henry N. P. Shawe and his family. These images were framed by the owners nd placed on the staff canteen walls, although they were later taken down as the staff felt that the eyes of the subjects were following them around the room...! (these images can be seen in the Picture Gallery)
The
Fox and Crane
(1996 - 2008)
After 70 years as a public house and several name changes, this building was until recently known as 'The Fox and Crane'. The change in name at this time was been attributed to the discovery of a tile during the building's renovation in 1996, which depicted a Fox and a Crane - a reference to one of Aesop's Fables (click here for the Fable). Despite the change in usage of this building the interior and exterior were sympathetically maintained, and one still gained a sense of the grandeur of this former house and what remain of its grounds. A number of images of the interior and exterior of The Fox & Crane can be found in the Picture Gallery.
It is fitting that this impressive building - the last significant remnant of the Castle's history which shaped Weddington so much over the centuries - was the centrepiece of the Weddington community for over 70 years as a public house. The Fox & Crane closed for the final time on Tuesday, 15th January 2008.
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 closed two days earlier than scheduled on 15th January 2008, and on 19th March planning permission was registered for the building to be significantly extended and converted into 6 apartments (to include demolition of toilet block, existing extensions and old annex buildings) with 18 more dwellings to be built in the grounds. Local newspaper reports can be found here and full details of the planning application can be seen here.
Recent activity has not been encouraging. A local meeting for residents to voice their concerns over the development, planned for 16th July 2008, was cancelled when Cartwright pulled out at the last minute.
Cartwright said they were going to review their plans and modify their level of
alteration to the Grove. A possible reaction to the recent housing slump.
Previous to that there was a fire at the empty building. Fire engines were
called and burnt objects were strewn on car park. The now derelict site has also
seen a lack of security guards recently, resulting in skate boarders playing on
the site. All this is a far cry from the heyday of the Grove as a centre of the
Weddington community - or the 'new focus for Weddington' which was predicted in
a recent article by the local Heartland Evening News...
Picture Gallery - click here to access pictures of The Grove through its history
I would like to express my sincere thanks to both Gemma Reid (the last licensee of The Fox & Crane) and Ben Dodds for their help, time and patience in answering my questions and allowing me access to the building, at a time when the closure of the Fox & Crane was having a major impact upon their own futures.
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