Book Launch - in costume. l-r: Kay Collins, Gill Hollis, Clive Wood, and Peter Field.

Clive Wood had been collecting pictures and information about Rushden Hall for most of his life.

He was a founder of the Amenities Society, founded to save Rushden Hall in 1960s when it was under threat of demolition. The Hall had fallen into a poor state and was on the verge of dereliction.

An enthusiast for architecture, Clive has become an authority on the building. He had collected as many photographs as he could, and newspaper clippings.

One of the most exciting things he had done was to interview the daughter of the last family to live there.

Violet Jeanne Sartoris was born in 1878, and was 93 when Clive taped his interviews. It certainly painted a picture of times long gone when we transcribed it to add to the book.

In 1999 there was an effort to open a Museum in Rushden, and Clive was a founder of this too. This opened in 2006 in the building on the site of the old stable block of Rushden Hall. I had also joined the museum by then.

During work days Clive would often tell us about the Hall and its history. Jim and Gill Hollis also joined the team, and together with my husband John, the four of us would listen to Clive's tales. Jim started to collect newspaper clips on the Hall, whilst researching at Rushden Library, and passed them to Clive.

So Clive's collection was growing, and he kept talking about writing a book. We all offered to help.

Sadly in 2014, Jim died after a short illness. He had typed a lot of articles on the hall and they were collected together into a folder.

The Book

In 2015, Gill asked us if we would work on the book together, and we all agreed. In her office, Clive, John and I met Gill to decide how to proceed. Clive would write the introduction and do a "tour" of the hall, room by room. I scanned in the photographs. Gill began typing Clive's notes. We spent many hours assembling piece by piece onto the computer, arranging the photos where Clive thought each should fit, and eventaully it was coming together.

On July 6th 2016 Clive wanted us in Tudor costume for the launch, so we hired costumes. The launch took place at the Hall, and Peter Field, chairman of the museum, joined us.

Today The Hall is the pride of Rushden Town Council, who have offices there. It is the venue for several groups who meet there. During the summer months the park is used for the Party in the Park event in July, and the Hall has an occassional Art exhibition, a family party, or a society event. The Hall has become a place for weddings, with the beautiful grounds making an excellent backdrop for photographs.