The Clapham family returns to Austwick Hall
HISTORICAL links have been maintained at Austwick Hall.
Four generations of the Clapham family visited the hall - where their ancestors lived from 1846 to 1926 - to plant a tree in the gardens.
But this was no ordinary tree.
On October 23, 1877, Sarah Clapham planted a purple beech to celebrate her husband’s 40th birthday. The tree thrived for more than 100 years but recently had to be felled because of a fungal infection.
Luckily the current owners, Eric Culley and Michael Pearson, found a seedling from the original purple beech, which was planted by Lauren, Sarah Clapham’s great, great grand daughter, to commemorate her family’s links with Austwick Hall.
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