A Trophy Lost and Found - Thank you Chris Wilson!
On what turned out to be the last blue-sky day of almost a month of exceptionally hot weather in June, I drove up the drive of the Netherwood Hotel. Chris’s clue that there may have been a Charney silver cup displayed somewhere in the public areas had drawn me back to Grange. The approach to the Netherwood has always been impressive, not least the view from the main road where the expanse of the hotel can be seen, underscored by those clipped laurel ‘boxes’. I remembered the impression that many boys and their parents of Charney must have had as they turned into the drive at half-terms in the countless years preceding 1972, the date of the school’s closure.
The hotel and its grounds are unique and owe its existence to one George William Deakin who built it as a private residence, completed in 1893, and its preservation by the subsequent owners who have appreciated its character and the quality of its construction by respecting elements of the building specified by the original architects.
Standing in the entrance hall, I was taken straight back to half-terms in the 1950s with that distinctive smell of birch log fires, cigars and the feeling of understated affluence. But where was the cup? The hotel staff were extremely helpful and soon it was located hiding at the back of a mahogany corner cabinet to the right of the hall window.
The following photographs illustrate the cup and its holders from the year 1890 although it was presented to the school in 1900 by one F. F. Deakin. I had wondered why the trophy had ended its days in a hotel but I was then reminded by the gruff voice of Mr Fawcett that there could possibly be a familial link between the Deakin who commissioned the original house and Deakin the donor of the cup.
My superficial research into the files of Ancestry has not proved this theory but nevertheless I attach a copy of the 1891 England Census for interest’s sake. Astonishingly Mr Deakin was only 30 years old when he and his family first occupied Blawith House as it was first known.
The 1891 England Census records the Deakin family and servants living in the house
The Charney Hall Cricket Challenge Cup (for Batting and Bowling)
There is an anomaly between the date of the presentation of the cup (1900) and the first schedule of the recipients (1890-). Perhaps the awards were engraved retrospectively.
The History of the Netherwood
View from the bottom of the Drive
Near the Car Park
The Terrace with an outstanding view of Morecambe Bay
The memorable Main Entrance
Credits : The Netherwood Hotel and its Staff
Ancestry.com
Photographs : Keith Smith
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Chris Wilson