New Berry Hall

Last updated August 17, 2023

New Berry Hall from rear garden circa 1900 NewBerryHall1.jpg — **New Berry Hall** from rear garden circa 1900

New Berry Hall ( 52°24′52″N1°45′16″W / 52.4145°N 1.7544°W / 52.4145; -1.7544 ), on the outskirts of Solihull, England, was built on the estate of the existing Berry Hall Farm (picture), by the son of the successful Birmingham businessman Joseph Gillott in the late 19th century.

Berry Hall Farm, in whose grounds the new hall was built, is a 15th-century half timbered structure which is still in existence today. Joseph Gillott (Jnr.) renamed the original Berry Hall to 'Berry Hall Farm' in order that he could then call his new palatial residence 'Berry Hall'. However, the newer 1870 Hall was always unofficially known as 'New' Berry Hall.

History

The Hall was designed by J. A. Chatwin and built as a gothic style Victorian mansion on the outskirts of Solihull, Warwickshire. Work commenced in 1870 and was completed in 1880, with South and North Lodges added in 1884 and 1905 respectively. The main entrance was via the South Lodge, from Marsh Lane, through vast iron gates designed by Gillott himself; the lock design incorporated pen nib shapes, alluding to the family business that had made them their fortune. The half-mile driveway still exists, though it is now severed by the main A41 Solihull by-pass.

Features

One of the most imposing features of the new Hall was its tower, based on Tom Tower at Christ Church in Oxford. The house had several grand reception rooms including a dining room, drawing room, library and morning room, seven palatial bedrooms, three dressing rooms, two nurseries and one bathroom in addition to a boudoir and gentlemens W.C. There were servants quarters including four servants bedrooms, a back staircase, a lumber room and butlers pantry as well as extensive kitchens and cellarage. The large entrance hall was adorned by a vast oak staircase and contained an ancient chimney piece, allegedly from Kenilworth Castle. All of the interior decoration was carried out by Lamb & Co who were renowned for their work on Royal properties. Stained glass windows were supplied by Hardman & Co. of Birmingham.

The grounds were landscaped at vast expense and included the digging, by hand, of a lake. A few hundred feet from the main hall was built an enormous walled rose and vegetable garden, a significant part of which is still present. Along one side of the enclosure was a huge glass house measuring over 80 feet (24 m) in length, incorporating a vinery and peach and nectarine houses. Outside the walled garden was stabling for seven horses, plus coaches.

At the time of construction, the Hall incorporated the latest in technology and conveniences including a gas generating plant to provide for the cooking and lighting needs of the main Hall. The main hall also had running water allowed for by a large cast iron cistern mounted in the loft space which was filled by a hydraulic ram.

The Owners

Gillott and his family lived in this opulent luxury until his death in 1904 whereupon the estate, which comprised Berry Hall Farm, 'New' Berry Hall, Henshaw Hall and Grimshaw Hall in nearby Knowle, as well as several hundred acres, was sold at auction. Gillott's own son bought 'New' Berry Hall and Berry Hall Farm from the sale for £15,000 but barely outlived his father – dying in 1907. Both halls were again sold, this time to a businessman called William Upton who later that same year shot himself in the porch of New Berry Hall. His wife, who remarried, continued to live at the hall until her own death in 1938. The halls were then sold to a Mr. Harold Tippetts from Sutton Coldfield who planned to renovate and refurbish the Hall including the installation of electric lighting. He was the last owner to enjoy living in the hall. He and his family lived at the property until 1957 when the main hall and both lodges were sold at auction to an undisclosed company purchaser.

Modern Times

After being sold at auction in 1957, 'New' Berry Hall sat empty while its new owners tried to get planning permission to convert the Hall into a hotel. The wrangling over planning permissions was still ongoing in 1959 when a reporter from the Solihull News visited the grounds after reports received from concerned locals. The reporter found that the once immaculately manicured grounds were now very overgrown; but the owners assured him that the interior of the hall was being maintained. Over the next 20 years the once magnificent Hall fell into disrepair and ultimately dereliction, with several planning applications being refused pursuant to restrictions on the development of green belt land and to the listing of the property on Solihull's local list of historic buildings. In many ways the council's attempts at protecting the site ultimately did the most damage to the future of the Hall. It was demolished on safety grounds in the early 1990s, having been severely vandalised and stripped out.

Both lodges also survive today. The South Lodge on Marsh Lane is Grade II listed. The North Lodge, on Hampton Lane, which had stood boarded up and vandalised for many years, sold at auction in June 2006 for £550,000 in derelict condition and has been fully renovated and extended.

The Gillott family was commemorated in the naming of Gillott Close on an estate of new properties adjacent to the South Lodge on Marsh Lane.

In 2017 the company that have owned the site since purchasing it in 1957 had an application approved to cut down trees within 8 metres of the original footprint of the hall and 2 metres around the remains of the walled gardens. The application states that the reason is to open up the woodland and 'possibly rebuild the Hall'.

Related Research Articles

Gidea Park is a neighbourhood in the east of Romford in the London Borough of Havering, south-east England.

Joseph Gillott was an English pen-manufacturer and patron of the arts based in Birmingham.

Boscobel House is a Grade II* listed building in the parish of Boscobel in Shropshire. It has been, at various times, a farmhouse, a hunting lodge, and a holiday home; but it is most famous for its role in the escape of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Today it is managed by English Heritage.

Tudor Grange Academy is a co-educational Academy and technology college located in Solihull, West Midlands, England. Formerly known as Tudor Grange Grammar School and Tudor Grange Secondary School. It was originally a boys' grammar school for around 650 boys. A girls grammar school was built later and both original schools now form part of the current academy.

Bramall Hall is a largely Tudor manor house in Bramhall, Greater Manchester, England. The building is timber-framed and its oldest parts date from the 14th century, with additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. The house functions as a museum and its 70 acres (28 ha) of landscaped parkland are open to the public.

Beaudesert was an estate and stately home on the southern edge of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. It was one of the family seats of the Paget family, the Marquesses of Anglesey. The estate was obtained by William Paget, 1st Baron Paget in 1546; the family's other main seat is at Plas Newydd.

Whitson is a village on the outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located about 7 miles (11 km) south east of Newport city centre on the Caldicot Levels, a large area of coastal land reclaimed from the sea. Administratively, Whitson is part of the community of Goldcliff.

Red Rice is a hamlet and country house in the civil parish of Upper Clatford, south-west of Andover in the English county of Hampshire.

Banks is a large coastal village in Lancashire, England, south of the Ribble estuary four miles (6 km) north-east of Southport. The village is administered by West Lancashire Borough and North Meols Parish Council. It is in the South Ribble parliamentary constituency. At the 2001 census the population of the North Meols civil parish was 3,792, rising to 4,146 by the 2011 census.

Solihull is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands County, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Forest of Arden area. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census, and its wider borough had a population of 216,240 The town is located 8 miles southeast of Birmingham, 13 miles west of Coventry and 18 miles northwest of Warwick.

Elmdon is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the county of West Midlands, England. The population of this Solihull Ward at the 2011 census was 12,067.

Berry Hall Farm is a moated, fifteenth century half-timbered property located on Ravenshaw Lane in central Solihull. Originally named 'Berry Hall' and also known as 'Old' Berry Hall, it was renamed Berry Hall 'Farm' by Joseph Gillott, owner of the Berry Hall estate when he built himself an opulent new home on the estate of the original Hall in the 1870s. Gillott wanted to call his new property 'Berry Hall' and this was his reason for renaming the original 15th-century building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belair Park</span>

Belair Park is a park located in the West Dulwich part of the London Borough of Southwark, southeast London, England. The park grounds once belonged to Belair House, a country villa built in Adam style that is now a Grade II listed building. There are also two other Grade II listed structures within the park: the lodge and entrance gate, and an old stable building.

Kinmel Hall is a large country mansion within Kimnel Park near the village of St. George, close to the coastal town of Abergele, in Conwy county borough, Wales. The hall, the third building on the site, was completed in the mid 19th century for the family of a Welsh mining magnate. In 1929, the property ceased being a private residence; it has since been used as a boys' school, health spa, girls' school, wartime hospital, conference centre and hotel.

Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building and is at the centre of a private estate, surrounded by parkland. The hall was built on the site of an older house in 1608 by the Banastres who were lords of the manor. The hall was extended during the 18th and 19th centuries. Extensions were built for George Anthony Legh Keck in 1832–1833, to the design of the architect George Webster.

Windlestone Hall is a mid-16th century Elizabethan country house, heavily rebuilt in 1821 to form a Greek revival stately home, situated near Rushyford, County Durham, England. The Hall sits within 400 acres of designed parkland. It is a Grade II* Listed building. As of 2022 it is back in private family ownership, with the surrounding estate maintained and conserved by a dedicated heritage charitable trust.

Somerhill House is a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion situated near Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom. It was built for The 4th Earl of Clanricarde in 1611–13. The estate was sequestrated by Parliament in 1645, and restored to its rightful owner in 1660. The building had become derelict by the mid-eighteenth century but was later restored. Somerhill was painted by Turner in 1811. It was bought by a member of the Goldsmid family in 1849 and greatly extended between 1879 and 1897, making it the second largest house in Kent, after Knole House, Sevenoaks.

Wyresdale Park is an English country house and licensed wedding ceremony venue located within the Forest of Bowland, to the northeast of Scorton, Lancashire, England.

Alton Towers is located near the village of Alton in Staffordshire, England. The former country estate was a former seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury. It is now a major theme park in the United Kingdom. In 2012, it attracted 2.4 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom and 9th most visited theme park in Europe. It employs in excess of 2,000 staff members during the summer months.

References

Solihull News – 2 July 1959
Simon Woodfield – New Berry Hall Research Project 1994

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.