On the 25th of March this year the Longshaw Estate in the Peak District will be celebrating eighty years of being looked after by the National Trust. This will be marked by a number of displays and talks taking place on the estate throughout the year. As part of these celebrations, the Trust is asking for those with any memories, memorabilia or photographs to get in contact and join in remembering 80 years of public access to the Longshaw Estate.
With its long and varied history, Longshaw has something of interest for everyone. It was originally part of the Duke of Rutland’s shooting estate, with Longshaw Lodge as the accommodation. It is also the home of the Longshaw Sheep Dog Trials, reputed to be the oldest continuous sheep dog trials in the country. There are ancient trackways, guide stones and old quarries to explore, as well as the diverse range of habitats from heather moorland to ancient woodland, with the ever popular Burbage Brook leading down into Padley Gorge.
The Duke of Rutland’s 11,533 acre estate was put up for sale in 1927, and Sheffield Corporation purchased 3,200 acres for water collection purposes. The 747 acres originally acquired by the National Trust were purchased from the Corporation following a public appeal by CPRE. The land was first opened to the public on Easter weekend 1928 and was patrolled by volunteer wardens, with working parties from rambling clubs helping to maintain the estate. The necessary funds having been raised, the deeds were handed it over to the National Trust at a ceremony on 27 June 1931. The Lodge was used as a guest house by the Holiday Fellowship until 1960 and then turned into private flats. The Longshaw Estate was the first piece of open countryside in the Peak District to be acquired by the National Trust, a year before the mass trespass on Kinder Scout and twenty years before the formation of the Peak District National Park.
So come and visit the Longshaw Estate and experience this key part of the history of the National Trust and the Peak District as a whole.
Please contact the Longshaw Estate Office on 01433 631757 with stories or information, and for details of events throughout the year visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/peakdistrict
