Great Whitley and the Down Syndrome Angel

Great Whittley Hall, now, alas, a stately ruin

Great Whitley is a most impressive ruin, particularly as there are display boards all over the building with photographs of what it was like before the great fire of 1935 reduced it all to a crumbling shell. Out in the grounds the fountain still sends a jet of water 100 feet into the air, a reminder of the glory that once marked the property.

Somehow the family chapel escaped the fire and is now used as a parish church, inconguously magnificent for the much depleted congregation. I gazed with bored interest at the gilded plasterwork and the fine-art panels in the ceiling - and then did a double-take: surely there was something wrong with one of those charming little cherubs?

I consulted and then bought the guide book. There was indeed something wrong, both with him and with another cherub who, at first glance appeared to have a most peculiar anatomy. (You'll have to visit and buy the guide book yourself if you wish to discover how the unfortunate cherub's deformity is described.)