ASTLEY Hall or Damhouse is a hidden gem -- a striking building in a wonderful location.

Today Damhouse can be viewed in all its splendour but things weren't always so tranquil. But for the persistence of tireless campaigners probably the finest building in the whole of Journaland would have been lost forever -- a victim of progress in the last decade of the 20th century.

But Damhouse lives on, thanks to Morts Astley Heritage Trust and its staunch supporters.

For Trustees John and Sylvia Tonge, who live near Damhouse at the hub of the village conservation area, recording Astley's past has been a labour of love. They have produced three excellent pictorial history books of the area but their latest work Astley Hall Damhouse is quite different.

It covers nine centuries and details everything from the occupants of the manor house, an intriguing family tree, and a wealth of facts relating to its use as a private residence, its conversion to a sanatorium and the present day.

The Tonges detail the fight to save the Damhouse after it became redundant as a hospital and the grant-funded £2 m refurbishment.

And no story would be complete without the tale of Astley's ghostly Grey Lady -- a sobering thought for locals contemplating a late night Ley shortcut down by the "Sanni wall"!

Astley Hall Damhouse is available now, price £7, from Blackmoor Post Office, Manchester Road, The Paper Shop, 231 Church Road, Astley from Damhouse or the authors at 259 Church Road, Astley, M29 7ET. Mr and Mrs Tonge can send copies by post (£8.36 including p & p).

They also have copies available of their previous publications: Pictorial Astley, Second Pictorial Astley and Astley and Her Neighbours.