Quenby Hall facts for kids

Quenby Hall is a beautiful old house in Leicestershire, England. It's built in a style called Jacobean, which was popular in the early 1600s. Experts say it's one of the most important houses from that time in the area. It's a special building, listed as Grade I, and its gardens are also protected.

Location

Quenby Hall is found near the villages of Cold Newton and Hungarton. It's about 7 miles (11 km) east of the city of Leicester. You can get there easily from the A47 road by turning towards Hungarton at Billesdon.

History of Quenby Hall

The Ashby Family

The Ashby family first owned land in Quenby way back in the 1200s. By 1563, they owned the entire area. They then started to change the land around the village.

Quenby Hall was built between 1618 and 1636 by George Ashby. He was a very important person in Leicestershire at the time. The Ashby family had lived in the Quenby area for centuries. There might have been an older house on the spot before the current one was built. A clock on the house shows the year 1620. The building was finished in 1636.

The house has an 'H' shape and sits on a hillside. It has three floors and a very flat roof.

George Ashby's son, also named George, took over the house. His grandson, another George Ashby, was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire. He was known as 'Honest George Ashby the Planter' because he planted so many trees at Quenby. He passed away in 1728.

Later, in the mid-1700s, Quenby Hall went to his great-nephew, Shukburgh Ashby. He was also an MP for Leicester and a member of the Royal Society, a famous group for scientists. The Ashby family owned Quenby Hall until 1904.

Later Owners

In 1904, a woman named Rosamund Greaves bought the house. She worked hard to restore many of the original Jacobean features inside. Her son sold Quenby Hall in 1924 to Sir Harold Nutting. He was known for bottling Guinness and later became a master of the Quorn Hunt, a famous fox hunting group.

The de Lisle family bought Quenby Hall in 1972. They also did a lot of restoration work. In 2005, they started a cheese-making business on the estate. This allowed the family to live in the house full-time. The cheese business stopped in 2011. In late 2013, the de Lisle family put Quenby Hall up for sale.

Stilton Cheese Production

For a long time, Stilton cheese was not made at Quenby Hall. But in 2005, after 250 years, cheese production started again on the estate. This business continued until 2011.

Film Location

Quenby Hall has even been a star on the big screen! Part of the British film A Cock and Bull Story, which came out in 2006, was filmed at the Hall.

Images for kids

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  The Hall from the south-west