History
Cortijo del Inglés is a landmark in the Alpujarras. The unique location allows for astonishing views over the complete Alpujarran valley.
Natural well and threshing circle
Although it's difficult to find proof, it is likely that parts of the cortijo are very old. The track just south of Cortijo del Inglés is a historical Phoenician trade route over the summits of the Sierra de la Contraviesa and it has, which is rare at over 1100m, a continuously running natural well.
At the well, which has ancient cloth-washing boards made from slate, there is a threshing circle dating back to around the year 1100, which was used to treading out grain in the period before the Moorish kingdoms. This structure, which is unique in its size of 28m diameter, is made up of a pattern of stone floor pies where smaller farms were allowed to put their grains for threshing. The size of the floor makes clear that even in the period before the Moorish rule, Cortijo del Inglés was an important farm for the area.
Architecture
The traditional architecture of the building has been restored as much as possible during the renovations by using chestnut beams, slate and cane. Remnants of the oldest walls of the building in the bodega, which is built into a mountain, are preserved. These walls were composed of just mud and earth without any cement. The old walls are still clearly visible in the bodega.
During the 1920’s the Cortijo’s fame increased, especially in English-speaking countries, due to the famous novel South from Granada written by Gerald Brennan who lived close by in a village called Yegen. Chapter 11 of the novel deals with the function at the time of Inglés, which was the home of a Scotsman. At this stage we are still trying to find out if the name Inglés refers to English from this period or a name of a person called Inglés.
The area
The Alpujarras is an area in the south of the province of Granada. The summits of the Sierra de la Contraviesa, where the Cortijo is located, offers stunning view of Mulhacén, the highest mountain (3479m) on the Spanish mainland. The valley of the Alpujarras was formed by erosion of the uplifted plateaus by the river Guadalfeo.
Geology
The geology in the area is composed of predominantly marine sediments which were compressed and curved due to the collision with the African plate and formed metamorphic rock like schists, dolomite, slate and marble.
Micro climate
Due to the altitude of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the predominantly westerly atmospheric currents, there is a whole range of micro climates in the area. The western part is relatively humid and green, with very steep gorges due to fluvial erosion, whereas the eastern side towards Almería is very dry and in fact contains Europe’s driest area, the Sorbas basin. In the Sorbas basin, which is a real desert in Europe, the surroundings of the town of Tabernas holds the reputation for many famous filmsets, like Once Upon a Time in the West and A Fistfull of Dollars. The old filmsets still exist and are now theme parks.