Slack Hall - CELF ancient estates & houses Traditional Geocache
Slack Hall - CELF ancient estates & houses
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
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A series of caches at the sites of notable ancient Norman estates within the Chapel-en-le-Frith area.
This cache is not suitable for children as this is on the verge of a busy road, please take care. The cache is not in a wall. Park off the Castleton Road, there are side roads either side of Slack Hall.
The area around Chapel-en-le-Frith is noted for the high proportion of great houses. These are sited on the remnants of the estates carved out by the foresters and other workers within the Royal Forest. A charter of 1222 lists the men whose family names are still evident in some of the halls, mansions and houses in this cache series.
The area in which Slack Hall was built is believed to have derived its name from the old Derbyshire word ‘slack’ meaning dip or hollow.
The Hall you see before you is 17th century. A newer Slack Hall was built in 1835 in the valley below when the new turnpike road from Chapel to Sheffield was constructed through the Hall garden.
The Lingards owned Slack Hall in the 17th and early 18th century. During that period the area around Slack Hall became a Quaker stronghold. It was a particularly difficult time when the law required regular attendance at the established C of E church. As non-conformists they were continually ‘harried’. In 1682 John and Mary Lingard were ‘reported’, along with many of their neighbours for not attending church for 21 days. Two years later, John now dead, his widow and all who attended a ‘service’ at Slack Hall, were heavily fined. When they didn’t pay the fine their homes were visited by bailiffs who seized goods to the value of the fine. After the Toleration Act 1689 the worst persecutions ceased but nonconformists were still discriminated against.
As Quakers were not permitted to be buried on consecrated ground, John Lingard requested that his body ‘should be decently buried in the burying place at Slack Hall’. This graveyard, with a headstone to a John Lingard, can now be seen inside the gates at the Chestnut Centre behind the Hall, it is a picnic area.
After the newer hall was built in a “commanding, elevated position” nearer to Chapel-en-le-Frith, the ‘old’ Slack Hall became a farmhouse and was licensed for a time as " The Ram" to serve thirsty travellers on the Turnpike Road. The tenant of the farm was said to be more interested in farming than selling beer to travellers, restricting them to one drink and telling them when they had finished that one drink at a time was enough and they must go about their lawful business!
Slack Hall still continues as a working farm.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur hfhny fhfcrpgf sbe uvqvat cynprf ner jbegu rkcybevat.