Chillington Hall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chillington Hall
front view
General information
Architectural style	Georgian
Town or city	Brewood, Staffordshire
Country	England
Completed	1724
Client	Giffard family
Design and construction
Architect	Francis Smith

Chillington Hall is a beautiful country house in England. It is built in the Georgian style. You can find it near Brewood, a town in Staffordshire. The house is about four miles northwest of Wolverhampton. For a very long time, Chillington Hall has been the home of the Giffard family.

This important house is a Grade I listed building. This means it is a very special historic building. It was designed by famous architects. Francis Smith worked on it in 1724. Later, John Soane added his designs in 1785. The lovely park and lake around the house were created by a famous landscape designer called Capability Brown.

A Look Back at Chillington Hall

Early Days and First Homes

The history of Chillington Hall is very old! It was even mentioned in the Domesday Book. This was a big survey of England made in 1086. The land at Chillington was first owned by a person named William FitzCorbucion. Later, his grandson gave the land to Peter Giffard, whose family still lives there today.

The house you see now is actually the third one built on this spot. In the 1100s, there was a stone castle here. You can still see a small part of this old castle in the cellars of the current house. Next to the castle was the first family home.

Building the Current Hall

In the 1500s, a new house was built by Sir John Giffard. He was an important person who served as the High Sheriff of Staffordshire five times.

The current Chillington Hall began to take shape in 1724. Peter Giffard started this big project. He pulled down parts of Sir John's old Tudor house. He replaced the south side of the house with a new design. This new part had three floors and was made of red bricks with stone details.

The Park and Gardens

Around 1725, Peter Giffard planted a long line of oak trees. These trees formed the original path leading up to the house. He probably used many trees that were already there.

Later, in the 1770s, the famous landscape designer Capability Brown got involved. He designed the beautiful park and the lake. These are located to the south of the house. He created them for Thomas Giffard the elder.

Protecting Historic Buildings

There are many other old and important buildings on the Chillington estate. Some of these are also listed buildings, like the old dovecote (a building for doves) and the stable block. These buildings were once on a list called the "Buildings at Risk Register." This list helps to find and fix historic buildings that need repair.

Good news! These buildings were removed from the list in 2009. This happened after they were carefully repaired. The restoration work started in 2008. It was led by John Giffard, who used to be the chief police officer for Staffordshire.

See also

• List of Grade I listed buildings in Staffordshire
• Listed buildings in Brewood and Coven