East Lodge embarks on local history project

Owners of the multi award-winning hotel and restaurant, East Lodge of Rowsley, are embarking on a journey of discovery to learn more about the history of the building and the grounds, and are calling on the help of local residents to piece together its past.

Set amongst the rolling landscapes of the picturesque Peak District national park, East Lodge was formerly the hunting lodge of Haddon Hall. It has been a hotel for over 25 years, and the current owners the Hardman family know that the area is steeped in history.

Staff at East Lodge have been trawling through local historical archives to see what they can unearth, but they also want the help of the local community, as East Lodge director, Iain Hardman explains:

“There is a wealth of history here, all around us and even below our feet. We know so little about the history of East Lodge, but what we do know makes us thirsty for more information. We believe that Maud Levett’s ghost is reported to ‘haunt’ one of our rooms, and etchings by her dating back to 1898 can clearly be seen in the window in that particular room. She is a friendly ghost and has never caused any real problems; many guests have seen her over the years and some people even book into that room specifically to see if they will have a ghostly encounter!

“We want the local community to help us by reporting any anecdotes they have about East Lodge’s history, and drawing to our attention any documents, photographs etc that may be of interest as part of a history project. If we manage to piece together the full history of the building as we hope to, we aim to publish a leaflet for guests to be able to read up on the history and heritage of this magnificent place.”

If you have anything to add to the East Lodge history project, you can e-mail idh@eastlodge.com or call Iain Hardman on 01629 734474.

A Prize Draw will take place sometime in 2010 for members of the local community that have contributed to the East Lodge history project. The winner will receive a mid-week overnight stay for two, courtesy of East Lodge, as a thank you for taking part in the project.

East Lodge is owned by the Hardman family and has picked up a number of important accolades in recent years; East Lodge has again achieved the coveted AA “Inspectors’ Choice” accolade with three red stars for 2009/10, placing it within the top 150 hotels in the UK. East Lodge was named “Small Hotel of the Year 2008/09” at the East Midlands Tourism awards, and then went on to become a silver Winner as “Hotel of the Year 2009/10” at the national finals - renowned as the tourism Oscars. In 2007/08 East Lodge was named “Derbyshire Restaurant of the Year” and also scooped the Condé Nast Johansens “Most excellent service” & “Readers choice” awards.

For further information on East Lodge, visit www.eastlodge.com
ENDS

Photograph and caption:
Iain Hardman at East Lodge

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Tel 0114 275 6996 / 07930 697773

EL031 – History project