Chatsworth - Sowters Stone

[Lennon]

Long shot - but here goes. I am trying to find information on the Sowters Stone which is located in a place called Stand Wood in Chatsworth Gardens in Derbyshire. There is an aqueduct, designed by Joseph Paxton, and there is a waterfall just behind it, and the stone that is the lip of the waterfall is called the Sowters Stone. Have contacted Chatsworth Gardens and waiting for them to get back to me, and have googled like crazy and nothings coming up. Anyone know anything about it or where to look? Thanks :)

[Quizmonster]

I don't know if this is relevant, but the word 'sowter' is an obsolete form of 'souter' - itself now pretty-well out of date - meaning a shoemaker or cobbler. I've never seen the stone, but it occurs to me that it might be shaped something along the lines of a cobbler's last. That is the device onto which he fits shoes for repair, so is the stone vaguely shoe-shaped? If not, my apologies for wasting your time.

[Lennon]

Hi QM! Thanks for posting and don't be silly about wasting time. :) Erm, I haven't seen the stone either - my Grandad went there and tried to see it but its so overgrown, its like the Krypton Factor to get to it!! Its not one of the attractions to visit in Chatsworth. I don't think it is shoe shaped though - one of the people my Grandad spoke to said that they think it was just named after the Sowters as a 'gift' of sorts between Parish's - hope that makes sense. While we're here, my surname also comes from the saddling trade and my long ago relatives actually saddled King Henry VIIIs horses! :)