Cornerstones Guest House in Manchester is just 4miles from the city centre and only 3miles from Dunham Massey Deer Park.
Dunham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon dun, meaning hill; The Manorof Dunham was mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as having belonged to a Saxon Nobleman Aelfward. The Massey half came as a result of the Norman invasion of 1066 when Hamo de Masci became Baron of Dunham and most of the surrounding area to the north, from Dunham and Bowdon as far Baugley to the north west, but only Dunham was given the Barons name; Dunham Masci changing through descendants for several generations to ‘de Masci’, ‘de Mace’, ‘de Macei’, ‘de Mascy’, ‘de Massey. Only to change hands in the early 1400 to the Booth family. Dunhams old medieval hall was destroyed in 1616 when it was rebuilt. The mill and deer park was first mentioned in 1353 however the present mill only dates back to the 1860′s. The river Bollin turned the mill wheel, which as only been restored in recent years, and was the centre of employment in this mainly arable land of the 15^th century.

Formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust since 1976 Dunham as all year round events and one of the main events at this year is the ‘Archaeology Week’ based on the T.V. program ‘Time Team  The Trust  very own Time Team are back, this time to go deeper underground and see what lies beneath the grounds; there’ll exciting excavations for you to take part in together with in depth explanations of it’s history. We already have booking for this event so if your looking for bed and breakfast accommodation close to Manchester and Dunham book as soon as you can as most of the Guest House’s in the area book up for this event.

The Georgian Mansion House at Dunham Massey is filled with paintings, antic furniture and Huguenot (members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France ) Silver. Well know for it’s beautiful gardens, avenues and ponds, the deer wonder free in the grounds posing for the paparazzi.

There’s events throughout the year Staring with some family fun at Easter with the ‘Easter Egg Trail’ sponsored by Cadbury; a Cadbury Egghead is awarded to every child visiting the property, in the play area, lisening to the story teller or having your face painted by the face painter, this continuse thourgh out  the holidays and you can also enter the ‘Design your own Egghead’ competition exclusive to the ‘Easter Egg Trail’.

23^rd & 24^th March: Kitchen Clean

Meet the Conservation team as they spring clean our vast Kitchen,

The house at Dunham Massey is well known for it’s servant’s quarters which have been restored to provide a glimpse of life below stairs.

Throughout the Easter Holidays there’s fun for all the family in the Boredom Busters event.

18^th April:
Is a Garden Open Day

24^th April
‘Grow Your Own’ Weekend

A seed planting weekend with top tips from the resident gardeners.

8^th & 9^th May

Dunham 1710; stepping back in time with period costumes and characters.

May School Holidays

There’s fun for all the family with the Boredom Busters events.

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Part of the Chatsworth estate; at first glance it is mistaken for a typical picture post card English village; the truth is¬† was one of the country’s first designer villages.

Edensor’s life began as a cluster of cottages set aside for the workers of the Chatsworth estate, however in the 1760′s Lanelot ‘Capability’ Brown was commissioned by the owner of Chatsworth Hall to design a park and a number of out buildings and cottages where tossed and the river was rerouted to create the required view. 80 years past when the then Duke of Devonshire engage Joseph Paxton to create the village that stands today; most of the architecture was drawn up by John Robertson of Derby and between them both they knock everything to the ground except ‘Park Cottage’ know as Naboth’s Vinyard in recognition of the owners stubbornness to move when the park was being developed .

The rebuilt village came with a twist of which the Dowager Duchess of Dvonshire was heard to say.

His concept was a work of fantasy, extravagant, not always practical and contributing to a feeling of Victorian eccentricity.

The twist was that they where built in the style of Tudor, Italianate, Norman and Swiss architecture of the day with no two chimneys the same. In the centre is St Peters Church built on the site of a 14^th century chapel incorporating Norman relics and carvings. In the centre of the church lies Joseph Paxton in a tomb said to be bigger that any of the Dukes of Devonshire’s.

Wander round the village to see these beautiful cottages and envy the people who live in them and don’t tell me it won’t cross your mind in wonder, as to how you are able to live in one of them. However there are some drawbacks if you want to paint your cottage you have to consider the fact that all the buildings are individually Listed Buildings in a Conservation Village, within a grade 1 Listed Parkland, in an Inheritance Tax Management Plan, in the National Park in UK, Europe.

Stop off at the post office for a cup of tea, home made lunches or freshly-baked scones and I have heard there’s also picnic baskets available to enjoy in Chatsworth Park.

If you fancy something more substantial the small, market town of Bakewell is just down the road on the banks of the river Wye where you can enjoy the famous Bakewell Tart with custard of course.

Providing bed and breakfast on the south side of Manchester; the Cornerstones Guest House it in a great position for day’s out in the beautiful Peak District.

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