Local Facilities
Shopping
The nearest shop is the Hemswell Cliff Post Office. Turn right at the end of our lane, up the hill and straight on at the roundabout. The Post Office is the second building on your right, in about half a mile. A small general store with the usual extraordinary range of day to day necessities.
Uncle Henry’s Farm Shop About 3 miles. Uncle Henry’s has an excellent cafe/restaurant (open daytime only), as well as selling a wide range of local produce. Turn right at the end of our lane, up the hill and left at the roundabout. In 2-3 miles, turn right at the crossroads and follow the Uncle Henry’s signs.
Kirton-in-Lindsey 4miles away. Turn right at the end of our lane, up the hill and left at the roundabout. A historic village (or town, according to its medieval charter), it has two small supermarkets, and a variety of small shops, including a butcher, stationers,
Gainsborough – 8 miles. Turn left at the end of our lane, and keep going, along the A631. A market place, and several streets of small private shops. It also has a new shopping centre, Marshall’s Yard, with a range of the usual chain stores, including an M & S food store. Supermarkets include Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, and Morrisons.
Lincoln – 12 miles. Turn right at the end of our lane, up the hill, and either turn right at the first roundabout (B road route through the villages) or go straight on to the next roundabout and turn right (A15, straight down the path of the old Roman Ermine street). More major county town, with all the usual stores down the town, plus many boutiquey and interesting small shops on the top of the hill and down Steep Hill.
Nottingham – 38 miles. Major regional town.
Cinemas
Lincoln - Odeon multiplex
Scunthorpe – Vue multiplex
The Trinity Arts Centre also shows films.
Attractions In The Area
Gainsborough
Gainsborough Leisure Centre – 25 m. swimming pool, children’s pool, squash, keep fit centre, etc.
Trinity Arts Centre puts on a mixed programme of live performances and films.
Gainsborough Old Hall – a little known gem, a medieval manorial hall.
Bend in the River gallery – pretty avant garde art exhibions
Lincoln
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Castle
Bailgate and the Steep Hill. Roman remains, and medieval city (well equal to the York Shambles).
The Lawn tropical glass houses
Whisby Nature Park and Natural World Centre
Doddington Hall – Elizabethan mansion and gardens
Around The Cottage
The Farm
Hall Farm is still a small working arable farm, growing mainly wheat and oilseed rape. We also have quite a large area of conservation land, mainly grassland. This includes the grass field next to the Old Stables, which is grazed in season by a neighbouring farmer’s dairy heifers.You are very welcome to wander anywhere in this grassland or about the farm.
The Nursery
Hall Farm Nursery is also ours. We grow and retail an enormous range of hardy nursery stock – perennials, shrubs, roses (particularly old fashioned and David Austin varieties), and other plants. We will be happy to show you round it.
The garden
We have developed the 1.5 acre garden over the last 30 years. It is now a starred garden in ‘The Good Gardens Guide’, and has been featured in many local and national magazines. We hold a number of charity open days in the garden, as well as a large sculpture exhibition in June each year. Please feel free to make full use of the garden.
Craft Workshops
We have three craft workshops in the farmyard:
Tim Rinaldi – a crafsman maker of modern furniture.
James Sutton – sculptor in stone.
The Spitfire Forge - Dave Payne and John Walton, artistic blacksmiths.
All of them welcome visitors to their workshops.
The Park
The field next to the Old Stables has been parkland since about 1600. Before that, the village stretched across the field up towards the church. The village was swept away, ruthlessly and illegally, by the largest landowner, in order to allow him to establish the Hall and the park around it.
The site of Harpswell Hall can still be seen in the field round the corner to the right. The visible remains are mainly the large square sunken area that was created in the 18th century as a carriage turning area at the end of up road up to the church. The hall itself stood on the far side of this square, until it burnt down in 1830. The back wall of the Old Stables garden (and one wall of the Old Stables sitting room) were part of the Hall’s kitchen gardens.
The Moat
The moat was dug out round a manor house in the 14th century – a very fashionable thing to do at the time. Its 1.5 acres of water are now stocked with carp, roach and tench. The largest carp taken from it was about 26 lb. – there are a few considerably larger than that, but they have never been landed.
Fishing in the moat is free to occupants of the Old Stable.
The Church
St Chad’s church is always unlocked and open to visitors.
St. Chad was a local Anglo-Saxon bishop. There is clear evidence that the original church was Anglo-Saxon, but the earliest parts of the existing church (the tower and one arcade of arches) are proven to be early Norman. The rest of the church is largely Early English. The stone figure in the right hand aisle (of William Harrington, a 14th century rector of the church) has a splendid green man on the base of the plinth at his feet. On the left wall of the sanctuary is a very good brass, of a knight in armour and his lady, probably of the Whichcotes responsible for clearing the village.
Church services are now only held here about once a month. Details are available from ourselves.
The Old Stables Holiday Cottage
A lovely detached single storey cottage enjoying a private enclosed ΒΌ acre garden with meadow views, within the quiet surroundings of the owners hall, arable farm. beautiful flower gardens (available to visitors), craft workshop and specialist plant nursery. A very smart contemporary interior with polished ash floors, and beautiful furnishings is complemented by signature antiques to offer a splendid home for your holiday and highly suited for the less able visitors. Hemswell Antiques is 1 mile. Medieval Lincoln, 13 miles. Doddington Hall, 14 miles. Sherwood Forest, Rufford Abbey, Grimbsy Fisheries Museum, Hardwick Hall and Gunby Hall are all within an hours drive. Course fishing on the Medieval moat is 500 yards. Pub and restaurant 3 miles, shop 1 mile.
Accommodation Details
Entrance hall. Open plan kitchen/dining room with feature electric stove, sitting area and French doors to patio. Sitting room. Double bedroom with 5' bed and ensuite wet room. Twin bedded room. Bathroom/WC (shower over bath).
Facilities
Linen (duvets) and towels inc
Elec and oil CH inc
TV (Freeview)
DVD
Radio/CD
Microwave
Dishwasher
F/freezer
Auto wm
Highchair
Z bed (for + 1)
Parking
Enclosed garden with furniture
Barbecue
Wheelchair access
Pets - 1 dog max
No smoking
Booking
