Dunham Massey was re-built in the early 18th century by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington. He had inherited an older mansion from his father, which was in a terrible state of repair.
'Old' Sir George Booth, 1st Baronet built the first mansion on the site in the early 17th-century.[4][5][6] However, the house remained uncompleted by the time of his death and was only completed after the Civil War in the later 17th century by his grandson, 'Young' George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer. He inherited family debts, and spent a considerable amount of energy investing in the future of Dunham Massey Hall; he planted trees to sell for timber, and worked to recoup unpaid debts.[7] The mansion's service courtyard dates from c.1721.[2] The clock tower is inscribed with that date, suggesting that was when improvements were made to the stables. In the 1730s, John Norris was brought in to redesign the whole mansion by the 2nd Earl of Warrington, with a design of brick façade accentuated by bays and a stone centrepiece.[8]
The 6th Earl died in 1845, and his grandson, George Harry Grey, inherited and became the 7th Earl of Stamford. He married twice, first to Elizabeth (Bessie) King Billage, a shoemaker's daughter from Cambridge; the second to Catherine Cocks, a circus performer. However, the local gentry rejected his choices of wife, which led him to leave Dunham Massey and move to Enville Hall. The house was managed by Robert Cox, Catherine's nephew, and rented to tenants for periods in the subsequent fifty years.[7] The descendants of Catherine's niece Sarah Letitia Cox, still occupy Enville Hall today.[9][failed verification]
The 7th Earl died in 1883, and his cousin, the Reverend Harry Grey inherited the title of 8th Earl of Stamford, but never lived at Dunham. At the time of his inheritance, he was living in South Africa, having left England due to alcohol and gambling addictions.[7] He married three times: his first wife Susan Gaydon died in 1869; his second wife Annie Macnamara died in 1874.[10] His third wife, Martha Grey, Countess of Stamford, a Khoekhoe woman, was the daughter of a freed, formerly enslaved, woman.[11] She and the 8th Earl married in 1880. They had two children already, John and Frances, and their third, Mary, was born after they married.[12] Despite their marriage being recognised by South African law at the time, it was not recognised under English law. This meant that at the 8th Earl's death in 1890, his son, John, could not inherit, and the title passed to William Grey, 9th Earl of Stamford, who was the nephew of the 7th Earl.[13] He inherited the title, but no assets, until the death of the 7th Countess, Catherine Cox, in 1905.[10] With his wife, Penelope Theobald, they led a programme of restoration for the house.[7]
The house was modified in 1905–1908 by architect Compton Hall, and by interior designer Percy Macquoid, in preparation for its reoccupation by William Grey, 9th Earl of Stamford. However, the 9th Earl died in 1910, just as the family was due to move in. Until these modifications, the southern front of the building had 11 three-storey bays; in order to make the building look more 17th-century in style, the third, fourth, eighth, and ninth bays were reduced to two stories with dormers, and a centrepiece of three bays was added, with columns each side of the central bay as well as stone pediments.[2]
William Grey died in 1910 and was succeeded by his son, Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford, who donated the house, its contents, and the 3,000-acre (1,200ha) estate to the National Trust at his death in 1976. At the time it was the trust's most generous bequest in its history.[7]
Stamford Military Hospital
A ward inside Dunham Massey Hall as reconstructed in 2015
During World War I, Penelope Grey, Countess of Stamford, wife of the 9th Earl of Stamford, made the house available to the Red Cross as a military hospital, becoming known as the Stamford Military Hospital from April 1917 to January 1919. It hosted 182 injured soldiers who had suffered injuries and needed medical care, but not life-threatening, ranging from gas poisoning to bullets in the brain. The hospital was run by Sister Catherine Bennett. Lady Stamford's daughter, Lady Jane Grey (later Turnbull), trained as a nurse at the hospital.[14][15][16]
From 1 March 2014 until 11 November 2016, the main ward at Stamford Military Hospital (known as "Baghdad"), along with the operating theatre, nurses' station and the recreation room were recreated to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the start of World War I,[15] along with actors playing the role of characters who worked, lived and recovered at the hospital.[16][9]
Dunham Massey contains one of the most significant collections of Huguenotsilver, largely collected by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington. During his 64 years at Dunham Massey, he accumulated over 1000 pieces of silver. One sixth of the original plate remains at Dunham Massey, with much of the collection being dispersed by the Countess of Stamford and Warrington (who died in 1905), widow of George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and Warrington (died 1883).[17] The 10th Earl, Roger Grey, expended much money and effort in returning family heirlooms originally from Dunham Massey.[18]
There is a fine collection of oil paintings and watercolours. The relief wood-carving of the Crucifixion by Grinling Gibbons, which hangs in the Library, is the earliest known work by the 17th-century wood carver. It is on this piece of work he was working when he was discovered by John Evelyn in 1671. A group of paintings of the house and estate, known as the Harris Views, showing the 1730s mansion, were described by Simon Jenkins as "the most remarkable topographical survey of any country house and its grounds to remain in situ." There is also one painting is from 1690 by Adrien van Diest showing the earlier Elizabethan mansion. Another significant work in the art collection is an Allegory of Time by Guercino.[19]
The chapel has oak panelling, pews and reredos.[2] The silk wallcoverings in the chapel are a modern recreation, based on the original silk fabric, made in 2015–16.[23] The double courtyard house is built of Flemish bond brick, stone dressings, and a roof of Westmorland and Welsh slate.[2]
The Carriage House, south of the kitchen courtyard, is Grade I listed. It has a clock turret, which displays a date of 1721.[24]
Also south of the hall are the stable buildings, also Grade I listed. They probably date from 1721, but the west side was extended in the 18th century.[25] The Stables Restaurant is located in the upstairs of the South Stables, with an ice-cream parlour below.[26]
The oldest surviving building on the Dunham Estate is the watermill, possibly dating back to 1616. Originally built as a corn mill, it was later converted to a saw mill. It is Grade II* listed.[27]
As of 2012, the gardens housed over 700 plant species, as well as 1,600 trees and shrubs; it hosts the largest winter garden in Britain.[30] The Winter Garden has many snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells.[32]
During the Second World War, the eastern part of the estate was requisitioned for use first as a US Army camp and later repurposed as Dunham Massey POW Camp.[33]
Listing and ownership
The stately home was designated a Grade I listed building on 5 March 1959.[2] It has been owned by the National Trust since the death of the 10th and last Earl of Stamford in 1976.[30] Over 439,000 people visited the site in 2020/21, making it one of the National Trust's top ten most popular sites; it was also the only site whose visitor figures increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.[34]
Altrincham is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Manchester, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Sale and 10 miles (16 km) east of Warrington. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 52,419.
There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Booth, one in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The 1916 creation remains extant, the 1835 creation became extinct in 1896 and the 1611 baronetcy has been dormant since 1797. The senior line of the first creation was elevated to the peerage as Baron Delamer and Earl of Warrington.
Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and younger brother of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk ; Suffolk was executed for treason in 1554 forfeiting his titles.
George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer, was an English landowner and politician from Cheshire, who served as an MP from 1646 to 1661, when he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Delamer.
Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington PC was a Member of Parliament, Privy Councillor, Protestant protagonist in the Revolution of 1688, Mayor of Chester and author.
Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouses and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Hall and Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust since 1976. Dunham Massey is in the historic county of Cheshire, but since 1974 has been part of Trafford Metropolitan Borough; the nearest town is Altrincham. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 475.
Bowdon is a suburb of Altrincham and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.
George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington was an English peer and landowner, who amassed a fine collection of silver.
Stayley Hall, also known as Staley Hall, is a Grade II* listed building in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, England.
George Harry Booth-Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and 3rd Earl of Warrington was an English cricketer, landowner and peer, who sat on the Whig benches in the House of Lords.
George Harry Grey, 5th Earl of Stamford, styled Lord Grey from 1739 to 1768, was a British nobleman, who additionally became a peer of Great Britain as Earl of Warrington in 1796.
George Harry Booth-Grey, 6th Earl of Stamford and 2nd Earl of Warrington, styled Lord Grey from 1768 to 1819, was a British peer and parliamentarian.
Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford was an English peer, styled Lord Grey from 1720 to 1739.
Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford was an English peer.
Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford was an English peer.
Nathaniel Booth, 4th Baron Delamer was an English peer who served as Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords from 1765.
Bradgate House is a 16th-century ruin in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England.
Enville Hall is an English Tudor country house in the village of Enville, Staffordshire. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Dunham Massey Hall sundial is a lead sculpture depicting a kneeling Black man holding a sundial on his head. It was created during the early 18th century, and until 2020 stood outside Dunham Massey Hall, a stately home in Cheshire, England.
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