We have a have a long and interesting history in Northumberland. Nina, is a relative to Charles Thorp, who was the Rector of the parish of Ryton and later Archdeacon of Durham.

Thorp was an anti-slavery campaigner and regarded education as necessary for everyone as a means of improving lives and livelihoods. He helped establish the oldest university in West Africa, and towards the end of his life in 1861, he established a free school in Ryton that continues to bear his name, the Thorp Academy.

In the 1840s Thorp acquired the tenancy of the nearby Farne Islands, where he restored the tower on Inner Farne, named ‘Prior Castell’s Tower’ after the name of the monk that originally built it. He also employed a wildlife warden to protect threatened bird species; the idea that conservation was important was decades ahead of its time. He personally bought the islands in 1861, a year before his death, and in 1924 his family donated the islands to the National Trust.

Thorp purchased Charlton Hall (the now award-winning wedding venue) which remained within the family for around 200 years until Nina’s father sold and moved down south. The family kept hold of the farming land, where Nina and her family continue to breed their flock of 100 texel sheep and look after the guests of Blossom Plantation.