| Harvington Hall | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location in England | |
| General information | |
| Type | stately home |
| Location | Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 52°22′04″N2°10′51″W / 52.36778°N 2.18083°W |
| Owner | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham |
| Website | |
| www | |
Harvington Hall is a moated medieval and Elizabethan manor house in the hamlet of Harvington in the civil parish of Chaddesley Corbett, southeast of Kidderminster in the English county of Worcestershire.
It is open to the public. [1]
Harvington's moat and artificial island can be traced back to the 13th century, older than the bulk of the 14th-century building work that survives behind a layer of bricks. [2] The Hall's centre block was probably the “solar” of a typical H-shaped timber-framed building. [2]
Adam de Harvington (Herwynton), Chancellor of the Exchequer, lived and, probably, died there in March 1344. [2] After his death, the estate was passed into the hands of the 11th Earl of Warwick and, in 1529, was sold to a wealthy lawyer, Sir John Pakington. [2]
Sir John Pakington's great-nephew, Humphrey Pakington, inherited the estate in 1578, who transformed this manor with the features that are most notable today. [2]
Though the Hall's scale is large in the present day, it is currently only about half of its original size as two additional wings were demolished in around 1700.
Humphrey was a Catholic during the time of the harsh Elizabethan penal laws against Catholicism in England. Humphrey was a recusant, which means that he refused to abide by the practices of the Church of England, such as attending the church service on Sundays, a refusal that was extremely costly financially. [2]
In 1585, it became illegal for a Catholic priest to set foot in England, which prompted Humphrey to construct numerous priest holes (or "priest hides") in the Hall for the protection of Catholic priests or followers. [2] These priest holes have remained till today. Most notably, some of them were the handiwork of the master carpenter Nicholas Owen, a Jesuit lay brother. [2]
Humphrey died in 1631 and left the Hall to his wife, Abigail, as the dower house. When Abigail died in 1657, she left the Hall to her daughter, Lady Mary Yate, who died in the Hall in 1696 at the age of 85, [2] outliving her son and grandson. [2] The Hall was inherited by her granddaughter, another Mary Yate. Mary was married to Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court in Warwickshire, [2] the son of Sir Francis Throckmorton. Sir Robert had little use for Harvington Hall and demolished two wings. [2] In the 19th and early 20th centuries, most of the furnishings were stripped, leaving Harvington in a bare and dilapidated state. [2]
In 1923, Mrs Ellen Ryan Ferris (1870–1955) purchased and gave Harvington Hall to the Archdiocese of Birmingham. [2] Ferris was the mother of Robert Grant Ferris, who was Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1970 to 1974 and later became Lord Harvington. [2]
In 1958 Harvington Hall, and its attached east bridge, was Grade I listed. In 2001 a moatside garden was replanted, including medicinal herbs mentioned in Elizabethan letters from John Halsey to Elizabeth Pakington at Little Malvern Court in Worcestershire. [3]
Baddesley Clinton is a moated manor house, about 8 miles (13 km) north-west of the town of Warwick, in the village of Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England. The house probably originated in the 13th century, when large areas of the Forest of Arden were cleared for farmland. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the house is a Grade I listed building. The house, park and gardens are owned by the National Trust and open to the public; they lie in a civil parish of the same name.
A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were several Catholic plots designed to remove her and severe measures were taken against Catholic priests. Many great houses had a priest hole built so that the presence of a priest could be concealed when searches were made of the building. They were concealed in walls, under floors, behind wainscoting and other locations and were often successful in concealing their occupant.
Sir Francis Englefield was an English courtier and Roman Catholic exile.
Chaddesley Corbett is a village and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. The Anglican and secular versions of the parish include other named neighbourhoods, once farmsteads or milling places: Bluntington, Brockencote, Mustow Green, Cakebole, Outwood, Harvington, and Drayton.
Coughton Court is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
John Gerard was a priest of the Society of Jesus who operated a secret ministry of the underground Catholic Church in England during the Elizabethan era. He was born into the English nobility as the second son of Sir Thomas Gerard at Old Bryn Hall, near Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire.
Nicholas Owen, S.J., was an English Jesuit lay brother who was the principal builder of priest holes during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and James I of England. Owen built many priest holes in the buildings of English Catholics from 1588 until his final arrest in 1606, when he was tortured to death by prison authorities in the Tower of London. Owen is honoured as a martyr by the Catholic Church and was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.
Hugh Tootell was an English Catholic historian. He is commonly known under his pseudonym Charles Dodd.
Sawston Hall is a Grade I listed Tudor manor house in Sawston, Cambridgeshire dating from the 16th century. It has many fine features, such as the magnificent Great Hall complete with Elizabethan panelling and a large Tudor fireplace with fireback dated 1571. The house also has its own panelled private chapel which has an 18th-century decorated plaster ceiling and wonderful stained glass windows. On the first floor there is a long gallery and a bedroom where Queen Mary I is rumoured to have slept.
Sir John Lyttelton was an English nobleman, politician, knight, and landowner from the Lyttelton family during the Tudor period.
Sir John Pakington of Aylesbury was a courtier in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He was a favourite of Elizabeth's who nicknamed him "Lusty Pakington" for his physique and sporting abilities. Away from court he held a number of official positions including Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1595 and in 1607.
Hindlip Hall is a stately home in Hindlip, Worcestershire, England. The first major hall was built before 1575, and it played a significant role in both the Babington and the Gunpowder plots, where it hid four people in priest holes. It was Humphrey Littleton who told the authorities that Edward Oldcorne was hiding here after he had been heard saying Mass at Hindlip Hall. Four people were executed and the owner at that time barely escaped execution himself due to the intercession of Lord Monteagle.
Grafton Manor was established before the Norman Conquest. Grafton means "settlement at or near the wood" and may indicate a role in woodland management within a larger estate, for instance.
Sir Henry Bromley was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1584 and 1604. He was twice imprisoned for his political activities, the second and most serious occasion in the aftermath of the Essex Rebellion. Restored to favour in the Jacobean period, he was vigorous in suppressing the Gunpowder Plot.
Westwood House is a stately home, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, England. It has been subdivided into twelve self-contained apartments. The house has origins as an Elizabethan banqueting hall with Caroline additions and is a Grade I listed building. It was for several centuries the seat of the Pakington family. Situated west of Droitwich, it lies in the centre of its former estate, Westwood Park, which is Grade II listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Rushbrooke Hall was a British stately home in Rushbrooke, Suffolk. For several hundred years it was the family seat of the Jermyn family. It was demolished in 1961.
Padley Hall was an Elizabethan great house overlooking the River Derwent near Grindleford, Derbyshire, England. The remains of the hall today are mostly just foundation walls. The site is a protected Scheduled Monument. Not to be confused with 17th-century Padley Hall near Ripley.
Michael William Hodgetts was an English Catholic historian who became a leading expert on priest holes and on Harvington Hall.
