Kelham Hall

Last updated
Kelham Hall
Kelham Hall.jpg
TypeHouse
Location Kelham, Nottinghamshire
Coordinates 53°05′28″N0°50′43″W / 53.0912°N 0.8452°W / 53.0912; -0.8452
Built1859–1861
Architect George Gilbert Scott
Architectural style(s) Gothic Revival
Owner John Manners-Sutton
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameKelham Hall
Designated13 June 1973
Reference no.1045982
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameGazebo and garden wall at Kelham Hall
Designated19 September 1985
Reference no.1045983
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameFormer Monastic buildings adjoining Kelham Hall
Designated8 November 1990
Reference no.1045944
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameLodge and Gateway at Kelham Hall
Designated19 September 1985
Reference no.1369984
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameSeven garden urns at Kelham Hall
Designated19 September 1985
Reference no.1178868
Nottinghamshire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Kelham Hall in Nottinghamshire

Kelham Hall is a country house designed by George Gilbert Scott. It is in the village of Kelham, Nottinghamshire, England.

Contents

It is protected as a Grade I listed building. It stands in 52 acres of parkland. The "Former monastic buildings and chapel", adjoining Kelham Hall, which "had been converted to offices and function room", have been Grade II listed since 1990. [1]

History of the estate

Kelham Hall was originally the home of the Manners-Sutton family (a family connected to the Dukes of Rutland, the Marquess of Granby, and Viscount Canterbury) of Averham. [2]

The Kelham estate was first acquired by William Sutton from the Foljambe family. "On 5 May 1647, King Charles I surrendered at the end of the English Civil War at nearby Southwell and was held at Kelham Hall for several days afterwards." [3] The Hall was upgraded by William's son Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton after the Civil War. This first house was destroyed by fire in the reign of William and Mary.

Its replacement was built c.1730 by John Sanderson for Bridget, the Duchess of Rutland, the only surviving child of the second Lord Lexington. She had married John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland and their descendants would be known by the name of Manners-Sutton. This building was also destroyed by fire on 27 November 1857, during the Victorian era when the owner was in Italy, and would again be rebuilt.

Present building

Not long after the fire, "a new Kelham Hall, of magnificent proportions, and of an architectural beauty far superior to that possessed by its predecessors, either at Kelham or Averham was erected in the Italian style..." [4]

Architecture

The third and present Kelham Hall "is considered a masterpiece of high Victorian Gothic architecture, entirely asymmetrical, with a gloriously irregular skyline, and crowning 'grandiloquent' towers." [5] It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1863. The listing (1973, updated in 1990) included this summary: "Gothic revival style. 1859-61 ... Incorporates service range, 1844-46 by A. Salvin ... Service range in Renaissance revival style. Brick and ashlar with ashlar dressings, gabled, hipped and pyramidal slate roofs" and that it had been modified in the 19th and 20th century. [6]

20th century history

C. S. Jagger's Kelham Rood (1927-29), now in London St-john-divine-kelham-rood.jpg
C. S. Jagger's Kelham Rood (1927–29), now in London

The Manners-Sutton family then ran into financial difficulties and the Hall was sold to the Society of the Sacred Mission in 1903 and run as a theological college. It was occupied by military forces during World War I. The Great Chapel "was dedicated in 1928 and was a masterpiece. It was almost square with a great central dome, (62 feet across and 68 feet (21 m) high), the second largest concrete dome in England. A few visitors said it reminded them of Stonehenge – massive, austere and mysterious." [7]

A bronze sculpture, known as 'the Kelham Rood', depicting Christ on the Cross accompanied by figures of St John and the Virgin Mary was commissioned from the English sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger to adorn the chapel in 1927, and was completed in 1929. "The main accommodation building at the front of the Hall was completed in 1939 to house the Monks and the theological students but its first occupants were a garrison of the 'Blues' cavalry and also Texas and Oklahoma oil men who were involved in drilling for oil at the nearby Eakring oilfield." [3] The Hall was again occupied by military personnel during World War II.

The Society of the Sacred Mission theological college closed in 1972 due to declining numbers. [8] The chapel was desanctified.

In 1973, the Hall became the head office of Newark and Sherwood District Council. Jagger's Kelham Rood sculpture was removed and re-erected at Willen Priory in Milton Keynes, where it stood in the garden until 2003 when it underwent restoration and was moved to the Church of St John the Divine, Kennington, in London.

21st century history

Kelham Hall was sold to Jonathan Pass in 2014 [9] who formed a private company, Kelham Hall Ltd; he had previously held a temporary leasehold on the ground floor. In May 2015 Newark and Sherwood Concert Band moved its rehearsal base to Kelham Hall and now rehearses there weekly in the Dome.

The new owner took full possession after Newark & Sherwood District Council moved out of Kelham Hall into a new building close to Newark town centre in 2017. [10]

The Hall was to become a prestigious hotel, conference centre and health spa, according to Jonathan Pass, managing director of Kelham Hall Ltd. [11] [12] Initially, Pass began redeveloping Kelham Hall & Country Park into a venue for weddings and conferences; [13] that use commenced after planning consent was obtained. No overnight accommodation was offered. [14] [15]

The conversion to a hotel was not completed; an October 2019 news item indicated that Averham, Kelham and Staythorpe Parish Council had some objections to such a large hotel, since the previous application had proposed 71 bedrooms. [16] By June 2020, however, another news source stated that the building was "ready to be used as a 103-bed hotel and spa with full planning consent to do so". [17] Also in June 2020, the Corporate Hotels division of Christie & Co began to market Kelham Hall for sale with a guide price of £10 million, as a development opportunity: "a chance to create what could be one of the best hotels in the country". [18]

After the former operators of the wedding and entertainments venue went into administration in June 2021 with cancellations of weddings due to COVID-19 restrictions, in September 2021 the Hall was being promoted as being under new ownership, renamed as The Renaissance at Kelham Hall, continuing as a wedding and entertainments venue. [19] [20] [21]

In 1865 Gilbert Scott reused many of the design details of Kelham Hall on a much larger scale for the façade of the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras railway station in London, completed in 1876.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newark and Sherwood</span> Non-metropolitan local government district in Nottinghamshire, England

Newark and Sherwood is a local government district and is the largest district in Nottinghamshire, England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal borough of Newark with Newark Rural District and Southwell Rural District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Nottingham Halls of Residence</span>

This is a list of halls of residence on the various campuses of the University of Nottingham in Nottingham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haddon Hall</span> Country house in Derbyshire

Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it has been described as "the most complete and most interesting house of [its] period". The origins of the hall are from the 11th century, with additions at various stages between the 13th and the 17th centuries, latterly in the Tudor style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwell, Nottinghamshire</span> Cathedral town in Nottinghamshire, England

Southwell is a minster and market town in the district of Newark and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, England. It is home to the grade-I listed Southwell Minster, the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. The population of the town was recorded at 7,558 in the 2021 Census. The town is on the River Greet and is located geographically 9 miles (14 km) west of Newark on Trent, 15 miles (24 km) north-east of Nottingham, 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Mansfield and 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Worksop.

Averham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 187, increasing to 294 at the 2011 census. The village is just west of Newark-on-Trent. Staythorpe Power Station is south-west of the village.

Upton is a small village in Nottinghamshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Southwell, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Newark and 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Hockerton; it lies on the A612 Nottingham-Newark road. In 1889, the village was described as sitting on a bend in the main road, "on the summit of a hill which commands a fine view of the Trent Valley.... The church, which is a prominent feature in the landscape, has a substantial Perpendicular tower crowned by eight pinnacles, and having in the centre a lofty master pinnacle which rises above its neighbours, and so adds materially to the effect."

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

Kelham is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire about 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Newark on a bend in the A617 road near its crossing of the River Trent. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 207.

Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton was a Royalist MP in 1625 and 1640.

The Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM), with the associated Company of the Sacred Mission, is an Anglican religious order founded in 1893 by Father Herbert Kelly, envisaged such that "members of the Society share a common life of prayer and fellowship in a variety of educational, pastoral and community activities". Its motto is Ad gloriam Dei in eius voluntate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A617 road</span> Road in England

The A617 road runs through the northern East Midlands, England, between Newark-on-Trent and Chesterfield.

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

Eakring is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. Its population at the 2011 Census was 419. There was sizeable oil production there in the mid-20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Central Hall</span> Building in Liverpool, England

The Grand Central Hall is on 35 Renshaw Street, Liverpool, England. It is now the site of the Liverpool Grand Central Hotel, Hall and Grand Bazaar Food Hall. The building is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary Magdalene Church, Newark-on-Trent</span> Church in Nottinghamshire, England

St Mary Magdalene Church, Newark-on-Trent is the parish church of Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England. It is dedicated to Mary Magdalene and is the tallest structure in the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Michael and All Angels, Averham</span> An Anglican church in Nottinghamshire, England

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Averham is a parish church in the Church of England in Averham, Nottinghamshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles I's journey from Oxford to the Scottish army camp near Newark</span> 1646 event, during the English Civil War

Charles I of England left Oxford on 27 April 1646 and travelled by a circuitous route through enemy-held territory to arrive at the Scottish army camp located close to Southwell near Newark-on-Trent on 5 May 1646. He undertook this journey because military Royalism was all but defeated. It was only a matter of days before Oxford would be fully invested and would fall to the English Parliamentarian New Model Army commanded by Lord General Thomas Fairfax. Once fully invested it was unlikely that Charles would be able to leave Oxford without being captured by soldiers of the New Model Army. Charles had been in contact with the various parties that were fielding armies against him seeking a political compromise. In late April he thought that the Scottish Presbyterian party were offering him the most acceptable terms, but to gain their protection and finalise an agreement Charles had to travel to the Scottish army that was besieging the Royalist-held town of Newark. When he had arrived there he was put under close guard in Kelham House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staythorpe</span> Civil parish in England

Staythorpe is a hamlet and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newark Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Newark, Nottinghamshire, England

Newark Town Hall is a municipal building consisting of a town hall, assembly rooms and a market hall in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.

David Howard Nicholas Allenby SSM, was an English clergyman in the Anglican Church and a member of the religious order the Society of the Sacred Mission. He held the position of Bishop of Kuching from 1962 until 1968, and thereafter was an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Worcester.

References

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.