Brodsworth Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brodsworth Hall |
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| Type | Country house |
| Location | Brodsworth |
| OS grid reference | SE 50595 07044 |
| Area | Doncaster |
| Built | 1861–1863 |
| Architect | Philip Wilkinson |
| Architectural style(s) | Italianate |
| Owner | English Heritage |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Brodsworth Hall | |
| Designated | 5 June 1968 |
| Reference no. | 1191614 |
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Brodsworth Hall is a beautiful old country house. It is located near Brodsworth, about 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. This grand house is a fantastic example of a Victorian country home. It looks almost exactly as it did when it was built in the 1860s.
A young London architect named Philip Wilkinson designed Brodsworth Hall. He was only 26 years old at the time. Charles Sabine Augustus Thellusson asked him to design the house. Charles inherited the estate in 1859. The original estate was built in 1791 for Peter Thellusson. Brodsworth Hall is a very important historical building. It is known as a Grade I listed building.
Contents
History of Brodsworth Hall
The story of Brodsworth Hall begins long before the current house was built.
Early Owners and Changes
In 1713, George Hay, 8th Earl of Kinnoull, bought the Brodsworth estate. He rebuilt the house in the Georgian style. However, he lost a lot of money in a big financial crash called the South Sea Bubble in 1720. Because of this, he had to take a job as an Ambassador far away.
His second son, Robert Hay Drummond, who later became an Archbishop, moved into the estate instead. He made many improvements to the house and its gardens. After he died in 1777, the house was empty for a while. In 1790, the estate was sold to Peter Thellusson.
The Thellusson Family and Their Wealth
Peter Thellusson (1737–1797) came from a banking family in Geneva, Switzerland. He moved to England and became a director of the Bank of England. In this role, he provided loans to people who owned large farms, called plantations, in the Caribbean. When some of these owners could not pay back their loans, Thellusson gained interests in these plantations. He also became involved in importing tobacco and sugar.
Peter Thellusson wrote a very unusual will. His family tried to challenge it in court, but they were not successful. His large fortune was put into a special trust. It was not to be touched for three generations. This meant the money would grow for a long time before anyone could inherit it.
Building the New Hall
Eventually, two people inherited parts of Peter Thellusson's fortune. One was the 5th Baron Rendlesham. The other was Peter's great-grandson, Charles Sabine Augustus Thellusson. In 1859, Charles inherited half of the money and the Brodsworth estate.
The Georgian house on the estate was old. So, Charles decided to tear it down. He then commissioned the beautiful house we see today. It was built very quickly, between 1861 and 1863. Charles was also a big fan of sailing. He ordered four yachts, and two of them were the biggest in the world at the time! He was also an important local official, serving as High Sheriff of Yorkshire from 1866 to 1867.
Charles and his wife Georgiana had four sons. Sadly, all of them died without having children. This meant the house passed from one son to the next. The third son, Charles Thellusson, made a deal to lease the rights to the coal under the land. He also rented land for building Woodlands model village. This village was built to house the miners who worked in the nearby Brodsworth coal mine. He even paid for the construction of All Saints Church for the village in 1913. He was also the one who brought electric lights to the hall.
Later Years and English Heritage
After the First World War, it became very expensive to run large houses like Brodsworth Hall. The owners had to close off parts of the house. When the youngest son, Augustus Thellusson, died in 1931, the house went to his nephew, Captain Charles Grant-Dalton. He also served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire from 1942 to 1943.
The last person to live in Brodsworth Hall was Sylvia Grant-Dalton. She was Captain Grant-Dalton's wife. For 57 years, she tried to fix the leaking roofs and problems caused by land sinking from nearby coal mining. After she died in 1988, her daughter, Pamela Williams, gave the Hall and its gardens to English Heritage in 1990.
The furniture and other items inside the house were bought by the National Heritage Memorial Fund. They were then given to English Heritage. It was decided to keep the interiors "as found." This means they were not replaced or fully restored. Instead, they were carefully preserved. This allows visitors to see how a grand Victorian house gracefully aged over time.
The House and Gardens
Brodsworth Hall was designed in the Italianate style by Philip Wilkinson. It is built from ashlar limestone, some of which came from the estate itself. The roofs are made of lead and slate. Interestingly, some of the stonework, windows, and interior fittings were reused from the older house that stood here before.
The building has a T-shape. The servants' quarters form the long part of the 'T'. The main part of the house, where the family lived, is a two-story rectangular building. It has nine bays (sections) on its front. The house has more than 30 rooms. These range from grand reception rooms with their original furniture to the areas where the servants worked.
The house is surrounded by beautiful Victorian gardens. These gardens are still used today for special events, especially during the summer months.
Art and Sculpture Collection
Brodsworth Hall is also famous for the art collection of Charles Sabine Thellusson. He collected many paintings and sculptures. A large part of his collection includes Italian sculptures. He bought these at a big art show called the Dublin International Exhibition in 1865.
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in South Yorkshire
- Listed buildings in Brodsworth
