Gainsborough Old Hall | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 53°24′02″N0°46′39″W / 53.400657°N 0.777578°W |
OS grid reference | SK8132090012 |
Built | 1471–1484 |
Architectural style(s) | Tudor |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Designated | 4 April 1964 |
Reference no. | 196291 |
Gainsborough Old Hall in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire is over five hundred years old and one of the best preserved medieval manor houses in England. [1]
The hall was built by Sir Thomas Burgh in 1460. The Burghs were rich, flamboyant and powerful. Gainsborough Old Hall was not only their home, but also a demonstration of their wealth and importance. Burgh was a benefactor to Newark Church and also the founder of the Chantry and Alms House at Gainsborough. In 1470, the manor was attacked by Sir Robert Welles over a clash about lands, status, and honour, but it was not severely damaged. In 1484 Thomas entertained King Richard III in his hall. [2] Henry VII intended to raise Thomas to the pre-eminence of a Barony, but no second writ was issued, nor was a patent.
In 1510, Thomas Burgh's son, Edward Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh, was incarcerated at the Old Hall after being declared a lunatic, never having attended the House of Lords. He died in 1528, leaving his eldest son Sir Thomas as head of the family. He was regarded as 1st Baron Burgh, de jure 3rd.
Henry VIII visited Gainsborough twice: once in 1509, and again in 1541 with his fifth wife, Queen Catherine Howard. The Queen was accused of indiscretions both at Gainsborough and Lincoln, and she was later executed. Catherine Parr, by this time widowed twice (Edward Burgh having died in 1533), became Henry's sixth wife. [3]
When Thomas, the fifth Lord Burgh, died without an heir, the Hall was sold in 1596 to William Hickman, a merchant from London, who made many improvements, especially to the east wing. William and his mother Rose supported John Smyth and the Separatist movement, and allowed them to meet and worship in the hall from 1603 until they sailed to the low countries to find religious freedom and establish the Baptist movement. The Hickman family continued to play a prominent role in the development of Gainsborough, and many became local members of Parliament. Sir Neville Hickman invited John Wesley to preach in the Great Hall several times in 1759, and in 1761 and 1764. [3] [4] [1]
In 1720 a new house was built at Thonock on the edge of the town and the Old Hall became unoccupied. It remained in the family and was used for a variety of purposes.
Architecturally, the Old Hall has changed very little over the years. It is principally a timber framed building, giving a characteristic 'striped' or 'black and white' appearance. On the north-east corner is a brick tower. A splendid view of the town is available after a fifty-nine-step climb to the top.
Today, the Hall with its elaborate timber roof survives, with a kitchen which is possibly the most complete medieval kitchen in England. The kitchen still contains many original features, including two open fireplaces, each large enough to roast an ox, and two bread ovens served by a third chimney. [3]
The Hall contains a great number of "witches' marks", thought to prevent against evil, and curses carved into its walls. There are also many burn marks, to protect against fire. [5]
The tower of the Old Hall is supposedly haunted by the Grey Lady, thought to be the daughter of the Lord of the Manor, who fell in love with a poor soldier and planned to elope with him. Her father discovered the plan and locked her away in the tower, where she died from a broken heart. According to local legend, the girl's spirit still wanders the tower, endlessly waiting for her lover to arrive. [6]
The house was looked after from 1949 by a volunteer group, The Friends of the Old Hall (FOHA), who saved the building and first opened it to the public. Sir Edmund Bacon gave it to the nation in 1970. [7] The house is now owned by English Heritage and is open to the public as a museum. It is listed as Grade I for Heritage Protection. [4] The Friends organisation still exists, and provides volunteer guides and other expertise. [8]
Tattershall Castle is a castle in Tattershall, Lincolnshire, England. Since 1925 it has been in the care of the National Trust.
Harlaxton Manor is a Victorian country house in Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, England. The house was built for Gregory Gregory, a local squire and businessman. Gregory employed two of the leading architects of Victorian England, Anthony Salvin and William Burn and consulted a third, Edward Blore, during its construction. Its architecture, which combines elements of Jacobean and Elizabethan styles with Baroque decoration, makes it unique among England's Jacobethan houses. Harlaxton is a Grade I listed building on the National Heritage List for England, and many other structures on the estate are also listed. The surrounding park and gardens are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. It is now the British campus of the University of Evansville.
Ashby de la Zouch Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The castle was built by William, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV, after 1473, accompanied by the creation of a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) park. Constructed on the site of an older manor house, two large towers and various smaller buildings had been constructed by 1483, when Hastings was executed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The Hastings family used the castle as their seat for several generations, improving the gardens and hosting royal visitors.
Gainsborough is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population was 20,842 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 23,243 in 2019. It lies on the east bank of the River Trent, 18 miles (29 km) north-west of Lincoln, 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Scunthorpe, 20 miles south-east of Doncaster and 39 miles (63 km) east of Sheffield. It is England's furthest inland port at over 55 miles (89 km) from the North Sea.
Edward Fiennes, or Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln KG was an English landowner, peer, and Lord High Admiral. He rendered valuable service to four of the Tudor monarchs.
Hylton Castle is a stone castle in the North Hylton area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally built from wood by the Hilton family shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066, it was later rebuilt in stone in the late 14th to early 15th century. The castle underwent major changes to its interior and exterior in the 18th century and it remained the principal seat of the Hylton family until the death of the last Baron in 1746. It was then Gothicised but neglected until 1812, when it was revitalised by a new owner. Standing empty again until the 1840s, it was briefly used as a school until it was purchased again in 1862. The site passed to a local coal company in the early 20th century and was taken over by the state in 1950.
Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor house two-thirds of a mile (1 km) east of the village of Hoghton, Lancashire, England, and stands on a hilltop site on the highest point in the area. It takes its name from the de Hoghton family, its historical owners since at least the 12th century. The present house dates from about 1560–65. The building has been called the "third most haunted house in England".
Bratoft is a small hamlet in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) east from Spilsby, 2 miles (3 km) west from Burgh Le Marsh, and south from the A158 road.
Rufford Old Hall is a National Trust property in Rufford, Lancashire, England. Built in about 1530 for Sir Robert Hesketh, only the Great Hall survives from the original structure. A brick-built wing in the Jacobean style was added in 1661, at right angles to the Great Hall, and a third wing was added in the 1820s.
Doddington Hall is, from the outside, an Elizabethan prodigy house or mansion complete with walled courtyards and a gabled gatehouse. Inside it was largely updated in the 1760s. It is located in the village of Doddington, to the west of the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England.
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire.
Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh of Gainsborough,, de jure 5th Baron Strabolgi and 7th Baron Cobham of Sterborough, was an English peer. In 1513 he was knighted on Flodden Field, where he was one of the King's Spears, a bodyguard of King Henry VIII. He later became Lord Chamberlain to Anne Boleyn. He was also one of the twenty-six Peers summoned to the trial of Anne Boleyn in May 1536.
Edward Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh of Gainsborough, de jure 4th Baron Strabolgi, was an English peer.
Gunby Hall is a country house in Gunby, near Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, England, reached by a half mile long private drive. The Estate comprises the 42-room Gunby Hall, listed Grade I, a clocktower, listed Grade II* and a carriage house and stable block which are listed Grade II. In 1944 the trustees of the Gunby Hall Estate, Lady Montgomery-Massingberd, Major Norman Leith-Hay-Clarke and Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, gave the house to the National Trust together with its contents and some 1,500 acres of land.
Louth Park Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Lincolnshire, England. It was founded in 1139 by the Bishop Alexander of Lincoln as a daughter-house of Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire.
Thorington Street is a large hamlet on the B1068 road, in the Babergh district, in the English county of Suffolk. The hamlet is part of the civil parish of Stoke-by-Nayland, and is located in between the villages of Stoke-by-Nayland and Higham.
Sir Thomas Burgh was an English gentleman.
Sir Edward Burgh was the eldest son and heir to Sir Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh and his wife Agnes Tyrwhit. He is known for being the first husband of Catherine Parr, later queen of England. 18th-century historians have mistaken him for his grandfather, the elderly, Edward Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh.
Morton is a suburban village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 1,325. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Gainsborough on the River Trent and forms part of a built-up area with the town.
Sir Willoughby Hickman, 3rd Baronet (1659–1720) of Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincolnshire was a British landowner and politician who sat in the English House of Commons between 1685 and 1706 and in the British House of Commons from 1713 to 1720.
Lindley P. (ed), (1991), Gainsborough Old Hall, Occasional Papers in Lincoln Archaeology and History, No.8. Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology, ISBN 0904680967