Click here to read my introduction.The medieval Stuffins.Charles Paget built Stuffynwood Hall for his son, Joseph in 1857.Joseph Paget occupied the hall from 1857 to his death in 1896. Henry Hurt who lived and worked on the Stuffynwood estate, was the famous actor, John Hurt's grandfather.In 1881 Leonard Jacks visited Stuffynwood Hall and recorded the event. Here is his account.St Chads was built in 1876 by Joseph Paget and dedicated to St Chad. He originally built it Derbyshire side of the river Meden overlooking Pleasley Vale but a dispute with the Rev. Dr. Quilter of the Holy Trinity Church, Shirebrook caused him to dismantle and rebuild it Nottinghamshire side of the Meden, in the Diocese of the Bishop of Lincoln.The Markham family at Stuffynwood Hall.Mansfield Markham married Beryl Clutterbuck but the marriage ended in divorce and a Royal scandal involving Queen Mary's son, Prince Henry.Lady Lucy Markham's great-niece is Sheréll Cunningham-Swales who shares more than the same African upbringing......Sir Arthur Markham's death on August 5th 1916 at Newstead Abbey was attributed to the Byron Curse by the New York Times.....During WW1, Arthur Markham campaigned to bring home the under-age soldiers but was stonewalled by the war office.The life of Lady Lucy Markham.Who lived at Stuffynwood Hall after the Markhams left in 1907? Click here to visit the old site if you are having technical problems with the new dynamic content.25 images taken in and around the Stuffynwood. Each image will rotate automatically with a 5 second delay. The licensed music is an excerpt from Beethoven's 6th Symphony, 5th Movement.35 images of winter scenery in and around Stuffynwood. Each image will rotate automatically with a 5 second delay. The licensed music is an excerpt from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Winter pt2 Largo.Henry Hollins became unpopular after his treatment of a local family under his employment. The case became so public that maybe someone took revenge by burning down the Upper Mill in the early hours of Christmas Day, 1840......On April 3rd 1573 a man found hanged was taken down, impaled with a stick and buried at Pleasley crossroads........In 1859, Thomas Spowage, coachman at Stuffynwood Hall was charged with attempted murder......
The group of photographs rotating above, are of Arthur Markham's family taken on the occasion of Joyous Markham's first birthday in July 1902. Sir Arthur Markham, baronet, lived at Stuffynwood Hall from 1898 to 1907. He was elected Liberal MP for Mansfield in 1900. Seated right in the family group, is his wife, Lady Lucy (nee Cunningham) who became a famous London charity fund raiser & socialite as well as a popular hostess for the Liberal Party. Sat next to Lucy is her sister in law, Liberal Party activist for social reform, Violet Markham. Seated left is Charles Paxton Markham whose coal, iron & steel and shipbuilding companies had no less than 100,000 employees! Charles is also pictured in the rear yard of Stuffynwood Hall sat in the car, which I have identified as a very early Daimler. The car had no registration plate, which confirms the photograph is pre-1903. Standing left is Arthur Markham who is also pictured holding Joyous at the front of the hall and also seated on the lawn. Sadly, Joyous died in Warsaw during childbirth at the age of 28, where she was wife to Count Edward Raczynski, whom, between 1979-1986 served as the President of Poland in exile and lived to the grand old age of 101. The lady standing to the right is Rosa Markham, Arthur's mother and daughter of Sir Joseph Paxton, the man who famously designed the Great Exhibition Centre (Crystal Palace) that opened in 1851. After successfully growing giant lily pads in the glass houses of the Chatsworth Estate, where he was head gardener and close friend of the Duke of Devonshire, he noticed that the plant could support the weight of a child. He copied the design of the plant's webbing and built a spacious 'glass house' incorporating a roof made of an expanse of glass & steel that became the forerunner of the National Exhibition Centre.

More local history at www.kings-mill.co.uk