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History of The Salvains
Britain was ruled by the house of Plantagenet from 1154 to 1485 A.D spanning the reigns from King Henry II to Richard III. In 1284 A.D. The great survey known as Kirby’s inquest refers to the village of Thorpe Salvin as “Rikenild Torp”, and in later records as “Torp Ryonild”. This name is derived from the Rykenild Way, a roman road found to the west of the village, now called Packman Lane. At the time of the survey, the village now belonged to the Knight Ralph Salvain, from which the name Salvin is eventually derived. In 1339 A.D. King Edward III grants Anketin Salvain “free warren in all his domesne lands of Thorp Salvain” (free warren meant the right to hunt, rear, and preserve game); this is the first time the village is refered to as “Thorp Salvain”.
The Salvains, having become prosperous
, built their family home, the first Thorpe Manor on the site of the present ruin (their coat of arms is shown), although the date of this is not known. This first manor was probably built of wood, and later passed into the hands of the Sandford family who eventually succeed the Salvains as Lords of Thorpe Manor. The Salvains are thought to have left Thorpe around 1400 A.D. either to Doncaster or London, in both of which they had large holdings.
Sir Thomas Osborne becomes Duke of Leeds, and to match his rising fortune, leaves Thorpe for his a palatial home in Kiveton Park. The Thorpe Hall was never again occupied, and fell into ruin.
The Sandfords of Thorpe Salvin
One of the great events of English history was the poll tax of Richard II, 1378 AD. This tax, one on the poll or head of all adults in the kingdom, led to revolts all over the country. There is a surviving record of the tax placed on the inhabitants of Thorpe Salvin; the following is an extract:
“Edmund Sandeforth and Idonia his wife, 20/-,
William Herrynge (smith) ang Magota his wife, 6d.
Thomas Colyere and Felissia his wife, 4d.
Elias Milner (souter, ie, shoemaker) and Margaret his wife, 6d.
William Smyth and Magaret his wife, 4d.
Margaret Laundere (washerwoman), 4d.”
This is the first mention of another leading Thorpe family, the Sandeforths
, or Sandfords, who eventually succeed the Salvains as lords of Thorpe Manor. The Salvain family house stood on the same site as the present ruined hall. Around 1400 AD, the Salvain family left Thorpe, moving to Doncaster or London. The Sandfords then resided in the hall, and becoming prosperous, one of the family, Brian Sandford, had the originall hall pulled down and built the a Tudor manor house in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign.
Thorpe Manor was designed and built by Robert Smythson. He was the master mason at Longleat House in Wiltshire from circa 1568-1572, which in those days included design work. In the 1580′s he moved to Woollaton in North Nottinghamshire and was responsible for several major buildings in the Bolsover region including Hardwick Hall, Hardwick Lodge, Woollaton Lodge, Worksop Manor Lodge, Doddington Hall, Shireoaks Hall and the Hunting Tower at Chatsworth. A memorial to Robert Smythson can be seen in Wollaton Church.
Thorpe Salvin Garden Trail
Set in the countryside on the borders of three counties, the idyllic village of Thorpe Salvin opens its myriad of public and private gardens to the public for a weekend in July.
Three 
times winners of the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Britain in Bloom’ competition and past winner of the ‘Entente Florale’ Europe in Bloom competition, the gardens are all packed with character and prove to be a real treat for enthusiastic gardeners and plant lovers.
Thorpe Salvin also boasts sites of genuine historical interest with the ruins of Thorpe Hall, a magnificent Elizabethan manor house, and a spectacular Norman church.
Over the last 30 years, The Garden Trail has established itself as a popular annual weekend event for visitors, with people coming from all over the country to visit many private gardens, the church and ruin. The money raised pays for the following years planting and provides donations to St. Peter’s Church and local charities.
After many years of competitions culminating in 2002
with representing England in the Small Village category of the Entente Florale and being awarded a Gold Medal, Thorpe Salvin has stopped entering competitions such as Yorkshire in Bloom, however the villagers continue to plant the public areas in Spring and Summer and, adhering to the principals of Yorkshire in Bloom, run the Annual Garden trail. In recent years there has been an increase in permanent planting in order to reduce the workload and ongoing costs.
Before village in bloom started, villagers remember that they had to clean the rubbish from the Coronation Garden for wedding days. In 1980, villagers got together, tidied up the village and graveyard and entered Village in Bloom competition, starting something that really has put Thorpe Salvin on the map.
In 1990 a group of women who had started raising funds by making soft toys and other handcrafts, decided to invest the money in improving the village. They bought some plants with other villagers had a general tidy up, particularly of the graveyard and Coronation Garden. They entered Village in Bloom which in those early days was very different from the competition of today.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Thorpe in Bloom team, the village continues what has become a village tradition, winning Yorkshire Village in Bloom in 2000 and Britain in Bloom in 2001. Plaques recalling the many successes in Yorkshire and Britain in Bloom, and in Europe are displayed in the village pub, The Parish Oven.
In 2001 BBC Gardeners World spent two days producing a six-minute slot for the programme, which was shown the day Thorpe Salvin won Britain in Bloom. Radio Sheffield’s Tony Capstick spent a day recording interviews for his programme. In 2002 Thorpe Hall appeared on the front cover of the Rotherham Tourist Guide.
The Normans, Ivanhoe, and Robin Hood
The name Thorpe derives from the Norse for an outlying farmstead, while Salvin refers to 13th century lord of the manor Ralph Salvain. There are earlier references to the settlement though, including a mention in the Domesday Book as Rynkenild Thorp, part of Roger De Busli’s Laughton en le Morthen estate. This name refers to the settlement’s place on the Roman road of Rynkenild Street, now Packman Lane.
Thorpe Hall
As well as the fabulous gardens, Thorpe Salvin is also home to Thorpe Hall, built in 1570 and said to be the inspiration for “Torquilstone” in the novel “Ivanhoe” by Sir Walter Scott. According to the story, Ivanhoe is imprisoned in Tourquilstone before being released by King Richard the Lionheart and Robin Hood. The now ruined mansion was built for Henry Sandford who died in 1582. Heraldic panels on the gatehouse point to the date of construction being 1565-82.
In 1636, the hall was bought by Edward Osborne. When his descendant Thomas Osborne became Duke of Leeds, he moved out to a grander property in Kiveton Park, and the hall fell into disuse. It was partially demolished in the 1820s, with only the south front now remaining.
St. Peter’s Church
The rectangular-towered parish church of St Peter, a predominantly 12th-century structure with 15th-century additions, is emblazoned with Norman carvings, and has been nominated among England’s 1,000 best churches.
St. Peter’s is remarkable for its handsome Saxon Doorway. In the interior is a very curious stone Font, into which are carved figures representing the seasons of the year. Winter is figured by an old man warming himself before a fire in a chimney; Spring, by one riding out a hawking; Summer by a man reaping corn and bundling it up into sheaves; and Autumn, by a husbandman sowing seed. Other carvings depict the ceremony of Baptism with the parents and sponsors.
The Parish Oven
As one of the Britain in Bloom judges noted on visting Thorpe Salvin, “In the true spirit of the British village everything seems to happen in the church or the local hostelry.” Voted ‘Pub of the Season’ for winter 2007 by the Rotheram Campaign for Real Ale, the Parish Oven offers the best in local food and drink all year round.
Award Winning Gardens and Unique Historic Buildings
Set in the countryside on the borders of three counties, the idyllic village of Thorpe Salvin opens its myriad of public and private gardens to the public for a weekend in July.
Three times winners of the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Britain in Bloom’ competition and past winner of the ‘Entente Florale’ Europe in Bloom competition, the gardens are all packed with character and prove to be a real treat for enthusiastic gardeners and plant lovers.
Thorpe Salvin also boasts sites of genuine historical interest with the ruins of Thorpe Hall, a magnificent Elizabethan manor house, and a spectacular Norman church.
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2011 Garden Trail Update
It’s ten days since the garden trail, and I hope we have all recovered from the weekend. On behalf of the committee, I would like to say a huge thank you to all those involved. To the organisers, especially Ian and Bridget, and the car parkers; the leaflet and sign distributers and the catering teams; ticket sellers and street sweepers… and to those undertaking the many other tasks that I haven’t mentioned – thank you. To Mr & Mrs Maycock for generously allowing us to use their field for the car parking – thank you. And last but certainly not least, to those who opened their gardens, without whom we could not hold such an event, many, many thanks.
The final numbers aren’t available yet, but I believe we took over £3000 in ticket sales, with somewhere in the region of 600 people attending. As usual, attendance was considerably higher on the Sunday, perhaps helped by the better weather.
The refreshments in St Peter’s took somewhere in the region of £500 for the church, and the Courtyard café, another couple of hundred towards Thorpe in Bloom funds.
As was the case last year, the scarecrow competition was a great success, with the winners being as follows:
Family section
1st Angelina Ballerina Alexandra and Isabelle Somers
2nd Alan Crowmarsh Daniel Daines
Teenagers sections
1st Seventies Steve Millie Chesters and Mollie Garfit
We’ll do the official prizegiving as soon as we have the plaques ready. Our thanks to Maureen Sheety for organising the competition.
As yet, we haven’t decided exactly what we will spend the money on, but we are very aware that we need to do some remedial work in Coronation Garden, as the trees there took a battering in the snow last winter. And who knows, we might even get a watering system for the planters alongside Sorby Field.
However, if you have any ideas that would benefit our beautiful village, please contact any of the committee members. We don’t dismiss anything, no matter how off the wall it may sound.
And in a moment of madness, we have already announced that next year, we will hold the garden trail on Saturday & Sunday 21 and 22 July, and the scarecrow theme with be something related to the Olympics. We have never been so organised!!
As ever, comments, ideas and new faces are more than welcome, so do feel free to be involved… we are just a bunch of people who want to make Thorpe Salvin look good for all, and everyone is welcome to play a part, no matter how small.
Lesley Hayes
Chair, Thorpe in Bloom
2 August 2011
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Garden Trail 2011 Photos
This gallery contains 20 photos.
Thorpe Salvin Wins Gold Excellence Award
Thorpe Salvin in Bloom were today presented with the Gold Excellence Award, First Prize in the Rotherham in Bloom ‘Village’ Category. The awards ceremony was held at the Elton Hotel, Bramley, and Thorpe Salvin fought off stiff competition from several other local villages including Harthill, who won Silver.
