Two of our TDCS committee members attended a First Aid course in August 2016, held at the offices of the Tame Valley Wetlands Project at the Hams Hall Environmental Centre, close to Lea Marston in North Warwickshire.
This centre now lies within the busy Hams Hall Distribution Park, but when it was set up it was in the grounds of the Hams Hall Power Station which for most of the Twentieth Century dominated the local skyline with its massive cooling towers and employed many residents of Tamworth and District. The centre was established within the walled garden of the former mansion of Hams Hall, once home to the celebrated politician and benefactor Charles Bowyer Adderley, 1st Baron Norton (1814 – 1905).
One of our attendees took the opportunity to capture for us some images of this tranquil spot hidden away amidst the bustling Distribution Park, and with its poignant relics of past times.
(Photos: David Biggs)
Rural heritage: Historic Lea Ford Cottage (featured in the main photo above) was relocated to the walled garden in 1977, but sadly is currently unused.
The garden walls are the only reminder that Lord Norton’s stately mansion of Hams Hall once stood here.
The plaque takes us back to the long-gone days of Hams Hall Power Station. The oak tree in contrast still thrives.
The Environmental Studies Centre pond provides a lovely focal point.
If you have any memories of the site in its various incarnations we would love to hear from you.
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