CHILDREN from a Denbighshire primary school have revisited historic Pool Park Estate to see how renovation work is progressing.
Pupils from Ysgol Gellifor in Ruthin first visited the country estate, originally built as a deer park for Ruthin Castle, in Spring last year as part of their history lessons.
They explored the 26-acre grounds, inspected the former coaching house where the estate’s horses would have been kept and heard about the history of its famous manor house, which dates back to 1824.
Pool Park Estate, which has a history dating back centuries, is owned by Andrew and Louisa Godfrey of the Godfrey Group, who want to restore a number of properties on the estate for leisure and hospitality purposes.
Just before their Easter holidays, children from the school’s infant class returned to find out what has been happening over the last 12 months. As part of their local learning, children from reception, year one and year two met Louisa Godfrey, a former headteacher, for a detailed tour.
Ben Lindquist, Headteacher of Ysgol Gellifor, said: “The children were really excited to be returning to Pool Park Estate and to be meeting up with Louisa again.
“Following the visit last year, they’ve been enthusiastic to go back and curious to see what changes have been made.
“The children were surprised to see the new offices that have been built to replace the old boiler house and had lots of questions for Louisa.
“This time around, it was safe enough to go inside the main house and up the beautiful staircase to peek inside some of the rooms and to enjoy the amazing views across the gardens.
“The children were fascinated about the story of the beautifully carved life-sized hand-carved wooden angels that originally took pride of place at the head of the staircase.
“They were intrigued that the 3ft high angels face each other, but one has its eyes open and another its eyes closed. It was great when Felix and Oscar pretended to be the angels, and opened and shut their eyes to match them.
“We also got the chance to explore the woods in the grounds. Being able to get involved in local history like this is very exciting for the children and we’re looking forward to returning in the summer for a picnic.”
Louisa Godfrey said: “We were delighted to welcome sixteen children and three teachers from Ysgol Gellifor back to Pool Park.
“The children are working on a ‘through the keyhole’ project and they thought we’d be the perfect place to visit. They were delightful, and so engaged and excited about what we want to do to transform the mansion and its grounds.
“They loved the idea of it being transformed into a holiday place and were interested in what sort of jobs could be created and wondered if some of them might grow up and come and work here one day, which would be amazing.
“They were a little surprised that not much had changed in the house, but we explained that we can’t do anything yet because we’re waiting for planning permission from Denbighshire County Council.
“Our primary aim for Pool Park is to sympathetically restore both the Manor House and the gardens to their former state and to preserve the wonderful history of this site so that generations may appreciate it for years to come.
“It was a gorgeous moment when Felix and Oscar pretended to be the angels keeping watch at the bottom of the stairs. We also hid some Easter eggs in the old library for them to find.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming them back regularly so they can see the progress. We’re also keen for more local schools to come and visit us as it’s a brilliant way for teachers to bring important local history to life.”
Until being rescued by Andrew and Louisa Godfrey, Pool Park was last occupied as a home by Sir Ernest Tate, president of the sugar refiners Tate and Lyle.
If your school is interested in a trip to Pool Park Estate, please contact Louisa at [email protected] or visit the Pool Park Estate website.
