Hill Hall (Essex)

Last updated
Hill Hall Hill Hall, Theydon Mount (geograph 3375471).jpg
Hill Hall

Hill Hall is an Elizabethan mansion located in Theydon Mount near Epping, Essex, England. Although owned by English Heritage, the building consists of many private apartments. [1] It is a Grade I listed building. [2]

Contents

The importance of Hill Hall lies in two features. Firstly, it has some of the earliest classical decoration on any surviving building in Britain - the tiers of columns and friezes on the courtyard walls and the use of 'giant' column (that is, rising through two storeys) on the exterior facades. Secondly, the 1969 fire destroyed most of the interiors but not, miraculously, a series of wall paintings on the first floor completed more or less when the house was built in the late 16th century. There are an unusual survival of classically inspired mural paintings. [3]

History

The house was originally built for Sir Thomas Smith during the reign of Elizabeth I to replace a 12th-century house on the same site. Construction was carried out over several intervals (1567–68, 1572–73) interspersed between Smith's stints as ambassador to France. [4] In his will, Smith mentions that Richard Kyrkebye or Kyrbie was the chief architect and builder of Hill Hall, according to the "plat" or plan he had given to him. Some of the furnishings at Hill Hall in 1578 were listed in the will of Lady Philippa Smith, including beds made of French walnut wood in the Great Chamber, Gallery, and Green Bedchamber. [5]

The hall stands in 50 hectares (120 acres) of parkland designed by Humphrey Repton.

The Smith, later Bowyer-Smyth, family remained in occupation until the mid 19th century.

Hill Hall subsequently became a prisoner of war camp during World War 2. Pregnant women from the east end of London were also evacuated from London during the early part of World War II and babies were also born there. [6] Later, Hill Hall became a women's prison until a fire in 1969. It has since become part of the Heritage Trust. Limited tours are available to see the internal period wall paintings described by Croft-Murray of the British Museum as the most important survival of Elizabethan decorative figure painting in England. [2]

According to local legend, Hill Hall was once the site of a duel between seven brothers, for the hand of a beautiful girl. Every brother was killed. It is also allegedly the haunt of a phantom black dog. [7] [ importance? ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenilworth Castle</span> A castle in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England

Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England, managed by English Heritage; much of it is in ruins. The castle was founded during the Norman conquest of England; with development through to the Tudor period. It has been described by the architectural historian Anthony Emery as "the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant for its scale, form and quality of workmanship".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyme Park</span> Grade I listed building in Cheshire East, UK

Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Cheshire, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Smith (diplomat)</span> 16th-century English scholar and diplomat

Sir Thomas Smith was an English scholar, parliamentarian and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wollaton Hall</span> Historic house museum in Nottingham, England

Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuildings. The surrounding parkland has a herd of deer, and is regularly used for large-scale outdoor events such as rock concerts, sporting events and festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palladian architecture</span> Style of architecture derived from the Venetian Andrea Palladio

Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and the principles of formal classical architecture from ancient Greek and Roman traditions. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Palladio's interpretation of this classical architecture developed into the style known as Palladianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shardeloes</span> Country house in Near Amersham, Buckinghamshire

Shardeloes is a large 18th-century country house located one mile west of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, England. A previous manor house on the site was demolished and the present building constructed between 1758 and 1766 for William Drake, the Member of Parliament for Amersham. Shardeloes is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicheley Hall</span> House in Chicheley, Buckinghamshire

Chicheley Hall, Chicheley, Buckinghamshire, England is a country house built in the first quarter of the 18th century. The client was Sir John Chester, the main architect was Francis Smith of Warwick and the architectural style is Baroque. Later owners included David Beatty, 2nd Earl Beatty and the Royal Society. Chicheley Hall is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hadleigh Castle</span> Grade I listed castle in the United Kingdom

Hadleigh Castle is a ruined fortification in the English county of Essex, overlooking the Thames Estuary from south of the town of Hadleigh. Built after 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, the castle was surrounded by parkland and had an important economic and defensive role. The castle was significantly expanded and remodelled by Edward III, who turned it into a grander property, designed to defend against a potential French attack, as well as to provide the King with a convenient private residence close to London. Built on a soft hill of London clay, the castle has often been subject to subsidence; this, combined with the sale of its stonework in the 16th century, has led to it now being ruined. The remains are now preserved by English Heritage and protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramshill House</span> Grade I listed English country house in Hart, United Kingdom

Bramshill House, in Bramshill, northeast Hampshire, England, is one of the largest and most important Jacobean prodigy house mansions in England. It was built in the early 17th century by the 11th Baron Zouche of Harringworth but was partly destroyed by fire a few years later. The design shows the influence of the Italian Renaissance, which became popular in England during the late 16th century. The house was designated a Grade I listed building in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobham Hall</span> A manor house in Kent

Cobham Hall is an English country house in the county of Kent, England. The grade I listed building is one of the largest and most important houses in Kent, re-built as an Elizabethan prodigy house by William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham (1527–1597). The central block was rebuilt 1672–82 by Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox (1639–1672).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holkham Hall</span> Large 18th-century Palladian country house in Norfolk, England

Holkham Hall is an 18th-century country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the 1st Earl of Leicester by the architect William Kent, aided by Lord Burlington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorndon Hall</span> Grade I listed building in the United Kingdom

Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and 25 miles (40 km) from central London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horham Hall</span> Manor house in On the boundary between Thaxted and Broxted in Essex

Horham Hall may refer to the timber-framed late mediaeval hall in Thaxted, England, or to the brick hall built in its place by Sir John Cutte in the early 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiddlers Hamlet</span> Human settlement in England

Fiddlers Hamlet is a hamlet in the civil parish of Epping, within the Epping Forest District of Essex, England, and is 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east from the market town of Epping, separated by farm and fields. The M11 motorway runs 300 yards (274 m) to the east, with Junction 7 for Harlow being 4 miles (6 km) to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theydon Mount</span> Human settlement in England

Theydon Mount is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. The village is notable for the Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion, Hill Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epping, Essex</span> Town and parish in Essex, England

Epping is a market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, it is 17 miles (30 km) north-east of Charing Cross. It is surrounded by the northern end of Epping Forest, and on a ridge of land between the River Roding and River Lea valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prodigy house</span> Architectural term for large and showy Tudor and Jacobean houses, typically in England

Prodigy houses are large and showy English country houses built by courtiers and other wealthy families, either "noble palaces of an awesome scale" or "proud, ambitious heaps" according to taste. The prodigy houses stretch over the periods of Tudor, Elizabethan, and Jacobean architecture, though the term may be restricted to a core period of roughly 1570 to 1620. Many of the grandest were built with a view to housing Elizabeth I and her large retinue as they made their annual royal progress around her realm. Many are therefore close to major roads, often in the English Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bata shoe factory</span> Factory in East Tilbury, England

The Bata shoe factory in East Tilbury is what remains of an industrial estate in Essex, England, which produced shoes for over 70 years. Founded in 1932 by Tomáš Baťa, the factory was "one of the most important planned landscapes in the East of England" in the 20th century. The factory closed in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coopersale</span> Village in Essex, England

Coopersale, also termed Coopersale Common, is a village in the civil parish of Epping, within the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 1019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coopersale Street</span> Human settlement in England

Coopersale Street is a hamlet in the civil parish of Epping, within the Epping Forest District of Essex, England, and is 1,300 yards (1,000 m) east from the market town of Epping, separated by farm and fields. The M11 motorway runs 600 yards (500 m) to the east, with Junction 7 for Harlow being 3.5 miles (6 km) to the north.

References

  1. "Hill Hall". English Heritage. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 Historic England. "HILL HALL AND ATTACHED SERVICE WINGS TO NORTH AND WEST (1123963)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  3. "Hill Hall and Attached Service Wings to North and West, Theydon Mount, Essex".
  4. Girouard, Mark (2009). Elizabethan Architecture: its rise and fall, 1540–1640, p. 176. Yale University Press, New Haven and London. ISBN   978-0-300-09386-5.
  5. F. G. Emmison, Elizabethan Life: Wills of Essex Gentry and Merchants (Chelmsford, 1978), pp. 39–45.
  6. Birth certificate of M J Bowles 9 April 1940
  7. Ash, Russell (1973). Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 246. ISBN   9780340165973.

51°40′27.18″N0°9′9.1″E / 51.6742167°N 0.152528°E / 51.6742167; 0.152528