Stapleford Park

One of those places to pop and have a look at if you are passing is Stapleford Park just outside Melton Mowbray and on the way back into Rutland. It is the location of the luxury Stapleford Park Hotel, a grade 1 listed building, which has both a golf corse, spa and a sporting estate.

Thankfully you don't have to be staying at the Hotel to have a look around, as the grounds contain a Church belonging to the Church Conservation Trust which looks after churches that are no longer in use but are of historical interested. The church in this case being the family Church of St Mary Magdelene.

The church was built by the fourth Earl of Harborough. and it entered via  a tall, gracious tower, and above the door there is a carving in the shape of a peacock’s tail, the family crest. Once inside the building feels cool and spacious and you notice the oak pews that face each other across the aisle, unlike the more conventional forward pews you find in many churches. The monuments in the church are amazing, especially that of the first Earl of Harborough in a Roman toga with his wife and young son, that was carved by the Flemish-born sculptor Rysbrack, opposite this a 17th century tomb chest to Lord Sherrard, showing his eight children at prayer. 

The whole place is worth a visit just to see the grounds and the church. If you want to stay in the hotel you will have to get saving as the rooms are expensive but then Hotel is stunning inside and I should imagine it would be an experience of a lifetime for many.