Staunton Harold Estate
"For position, Staunton Harold, the house and the chapel, are unsurpassed in the country - certainly as far as Englishness is concerned" Pevsner, The Buildings of England.
Staunton Harold Hall & Estate Bulletin No 67 - 3rd January 2012
2012 - an important year for England, and also for Staunton Harold. It is the centenary of our 'Grand Plan'.
The tenth Earl Ferrers died at Staunton in 1911, and the title passed to his cousin, a practicing architect from Kent. During 1912, Walter the Eleventh Earl, set about making detailed plans, at one eighth of an inch to the foot, of the whole of this vast house. He noted the dimensions of every room, including the ceiling height, the direction of the flues within the walls, what each floor was made of and even which way the floorboards ran. The plan tells us the use of each room, - Lamp Room, Still Room, Servants Hall, - and Jacqueline and I find that we are sleeping in the 'Queens Bedroom.'
Walters' intention was to modernise the house, and some sheets show new bathrooms and stairways. But it was not to be; his predecessor had spent all the money. So for the years the Shirleys lived here and the war years as a prison camp, nothing was changed. From 1955, as a Cheshire Home, some changes were made, not always sympathetically. From 1980, as a Sue Ryder Hospice, more was done to suit its' new use.
Since we began the task of turning the hall back into a private house, nearly ten years ago, these plans have been our bible. Every time we have thought to make a structural change the sheets are rolled out to see what they can tell us. It must have been frustrating for the Eleventh Earl to do all that work and not be able to make use of it; I only wish he could have known how valuable it would be to his successors a hundred years later.
oooooOOOOOooooo
John and Jacqueline Blunt
Welcome to Staunton Harold Hall
The Staunton Harold Estate is a traditional country estate of some 2000 acres centered on the great Georgian mansion, Staunton Harold Hall. Family run and ‘hands on’ in its management style, the estate has embraced modern uses for its diverse assets.
The hall itself became a family home again in 2003 after fifty years of institutional use. With its eighty three rooms it easily accommodates three generations of our family. The West Wing, facing towards the Ferrers Centre has been converted to high quality managed offices with conference facilities. This is Lion Court, created by son-in-law Tony Cantrill. On the East front we have a series of grand State Rooms, which are reserved for weddings and other functions.
Thirty five years ago we began converting the disused Georgian stable block into craft workshops and studios and it is now the largest such complex in England with seventeen different enterprises working in a wide range of disciplines. This is known as the Ferrers Centre for Arts and Crafts.
In another part of the estate we have the Sawmill, which serves the four hundred acres of woodland which we manage. From here we sell firewood through the Ten Mile Timber Company, and planked timber, beams and other bespoke material cut from estate oak and other woods.
As I write the construction of a three bedroomed holiday home, Deerpark Lodge, built using estate timber for its frame and sheep’s wool to keep it warm, is nearing completion. This is linked to our farm, where cattle and sheep are fattened for sale through Staunton Harold Farms.
The hamlet of Staunton Harold is also home to Staunton Harold Nurseries, and to the fine seventeenth century family church, now owned by the National Trust. It is also a great walking centre with seven routes radiating from the core, plentiful parking and two good tearooms.
Staunton Harold Estate
The Estate Office Staunton Harold Hall Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire LE65 1RT 01332 862599
You are viewing the text version of this site.
To view the full version please install the Adobe Flash Player and ensure your web browser has JavaScript enabled.
Need help? check the requirements page.
