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Archiver > RICHMOND > 1998-04 > 0892260904


From: Jean Ladd <>
Subject: Re: [RICHMOND-L] Ashton Keynes
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 19:15:04 -0700


William --

Thanks for the interesting story about your finding the ancestral home.
I guess sometimes it does pay to listen to a woman! You must have gotten
a feel of how prominent the Richmonds must have been in their heyday
there.

It seems we were told not many of the Richmonds still live there. Do
you remember if that would be true? It does seems to me however, that
they still have some type of celebration in the town. No doubt you
heard about that if it's still happening.

Thanks, again, for the interesting story. We had a guided tour of the
church when the caretaker came to lock it for the evening. He even
opened up the storage room and brought out some of the pulpit access-
ories which they don't leave out except during services. No doubt since
the church is not locked, they know in time they'd probably be taken
by a visitor.

Hope you're hearing from some others about their visits there.

Sincerely,

Jean Ladd

Oklahoma City

At 08:32 AM 4/10/98 -0800, you wrote:
>My experience visiting the ancestral home was this: I went to Ashton
>Keynes armed with a xerox copy of the home from the book. After wandering
>around looking for it for a while, I came to the conclusion that the Old
>Manor in ruins must be what was left of the house. Just before leaving
>town I decided to look around a bit, and my girlfriend with me said, "Why
>don't you ask someone."
>
>Being a man, I said, "I'll find it on my own if it's still standing.
>Besides, 100 years later, who around here would know where the Richmond
>house had been." As we were driving by a hedge I saw a little dog running
>down a long, curved driveway with a woman in the distance calling for him.
>My girlfriend said, "Why don't you ask her?" So I relented.
>
>As I timidly walked a few steps up the private driveway behind the dog, the
>lady said, "You must be one of those American Richmonds!" Sure enough.
>Mrs. Threlfall, her family, and her little dog, named Richmond, lived in
>the newer (17th century) half of the ancestral home. They gave us a tour
>and surprised us by offering their place as a B&B. Later they introduced
>us to their neighbors, who lived in the older (15th century) half of the
>house and who regularly used it as a B&B.
>
>The differences of the two halves of the one big mansion amazed me - the
>little doorways you had to stoop to enter in the older section of the
>house, contrasted with the enormous doorways you could ride on a horse
>through in the newer section, built after the family had made its fortune,
>just before John Richmond had to leave England.
>
>William
>
>
>
>

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