Berrington Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Berrington Hall |
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West front of Berrington Hall
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| General information | |
| Type | House and Gardens |
| Architectural style | neo-Palladian |
| Town or city | Leominster, Herefordshire |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 52°16′08″N 2°43′17″W / 52.2690°N 2.7214°W |
| Construction started | 1778 |
| Completed | 1781 |
| Client | Thomas Harley |
| Management | National Trust |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Henry Holland |
Berrington Hall is a beautiful country house found about 3 miles (5 km) north of Leominster, in Herefordshire, England. For much of the 1900s, it was the main home of the Cawley family.
This grand house was designed in a style called Neoclassical. This means it looks back to ancient Greek and Roman designs. The architect, Henry Holland, created it between 1778 and 1781 for a man named Thomas Harley. From the outside, the house looks quite plain, but inside, it has very detailed and elegant rooms.
Berrington Hall holds many interesting collections. You can see the Elmar Digby furniture collection and paintings by artists like Thomas Luny. There's also the Charles Paget Wade costume collection, which you can see if you arrange a visit. You can also explore the "below stairs" areas. These are the rooms where servants worked, like the Victorian laundry and the Georgian dairy.
Since 1957, Berrington Hall has been looked after by the National Trust. It is open for everyone to visit, including its lovely gardens.
Berrington Hall also features the very last garden design by the famous landscape architect, Capability Brown. A special part of the garden is the ha-ha wall. This is a hidden ditch that keeps animals out but doesn't block the view. It was carefully repaired in recent times. There's also a lake called Berrington Pool, which is a special place for nature.
History of Berrington Hall
Berrington Hall has a long and interesting past. For many years, since 1386, the Cornewall family owned the estate. But in 1775, they sold it to Thomas Harley. Thomas Harley was a successful banker and had even been the Lord Mayor of London in 1767.
Harley decided to build a brand new house on the estate. This is the Berrington Hall we see today. He finished building it between 1778 and 1781. He then let his daughter, Anne, and her new husband, George Rodney, live there. George was the son of a famous naval leader, Admiral Rodney. After Thomas Harley passed away, the Rodney family owned the house for 95 years.
In 1901, a businessman from Manchester named Frederick Cawley bought the estate. He later became Baron Cawley. In 1957, Frederick Lee Cawley, the 3rd Baron Cawley, gave the house to the government. The government then passed it on to the National Trust, which cares for historic places. Lady Cawley, the Baron's wife, continued to live in the house until she passed away in 1978.
In 1959, Berrington Hall was given a special status as a Grade I listed building. This means it is considered a very important historic building in England.
