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Coordinates: 52°56′53″N 1°12′35″W / 52.94806, -1.20972

Wollaton Hall in the summer of 2008
Wollaton Hall in the late 18th century. Engraving by M A Rooker after a drawing by Thomas Sandby
Wollaton Hall in 1880

Wollaton Hall is a country house standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton, Nottingham, England.

Contents

History

It was started in 1580 and completed in 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby (1547-1596) and is believed to be by the Elizabethan architect, Robert Smythson (also the architect of Hardwick Hall). The building is of Ancaster stone from Lincolnshire, and is said to have been paid for with coal from the Wollaton pits owned by Sir Francis. Cassandra Willoughby, Duchess of Chandos recorded in 1702 that the master workmen, and some of the statuary, were brought from Italy. The decorative but ludicrous stone gondola mooring rings carved on the exterior walls offer some evidence of this, as do other architectural features. There are also obvious French and Netherlands influences.

The building consists of a high central hall, surrounded by four towers. Unfortunately, a fire caused damage to Smythson's interior decoration of some of the ground floor rooms, however little structural damage occurred. Remodelling was carried out by Sir Jeffry Wyattville in 1801 and continued on and off until the 1830s.

The gallery of the main hall contains Nottinghamshire's oldest pipe organ, thought to date from the end of the seventeenth century, possibly by the builder Gerard Smith. It is still blown by hand. Paintings on the ceilings and one wall are attributed to Verrio or his assistant Laguerre. Directly over the main hall is a 'prospect room' from which there are extensive views of the Park. Beneath the hall are many cellars and passages, and a well and associated reservoir tank, in which an admiral of the family apparently took a daily bath.

The Willoughbys were noted for the number of explorers produced by the family, most famously Sir Hugh Willoughby who died in the Arctic in 1554 attempting a North East route to Cathay. According to a correspondence in the Nottingham Evening Post,as late as the 1920s family member Commander J.S.Draw, together with Professor E.J.Velassi, brought back a number of penguins from an Antarctic expedition, which lived happily by the park lake for a number of years.

Now owned by the Nottingham City Council, the Hall houses Nottingham City Museum & Galleries Natural History Collections whilst the stable block contains the Industrial Collections.

The hall reopened on Saturday 8th April 2007 after being closed for refurbishment. The prospect room at the top of the house, and the kitchens in the basement, were opened up for the public to visit, though this must be done on one of the escorted tours. The latter can be booked on the day, last about an hour, and a small charge is made.

Wartime role

The grounds, Wollaton Park, are the home to the Intercounties Cross Country trials in March of each year, as well as many other events. In this park, during World War II members of the U.S. 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment were billeted waiting to be parachuted into Europe. A small plaque commemorates this event. Subsequently German prisoners of war were billeted here for employment in the locality between 1945 and 1947.

The park

The enclosure of Wollaton Park required the destruction of the village of Sutton Passeys. It was enclosed by Henry Willoughby, 6th Baron Middleton with a 7 mile red brick wall,1 at the start of the nineteenth century. Originally 790 acres, land sales have reduced the park to 500 acres.

The park is home to a herd of Red Deer and Fallow Deer.2

Owners of Wollaton Hall

Industrial Museum

The Courtyard range contains the City's Industrial Museum, with a display of Textile, Transport and Technology from Nottingham's past, including the Basford Beam Engine, a fully operational analogue telephone network, a display of cycles, motor cycles and motor cars linked to the city and examples of significant lace making machinery - which put Nottingham on the textile map.

The Steam Engine House has a fully operational Steaming Day run by the Nottingham Arkwright Society [1] on the last Sunday of every month.

The Industrial Museum is accessed through the Courtyard Stables shop and via the Wollaton Visitor Centre.

  • Vintage Tractor Collection

The Museum has a collection of vintage tractors.

    • Field Marshall Series II Tractor built in the 1940s. Operational and used regularly for Steam Up events, painted green.
    • Standard Fordson Tractor. Operational and used regularly for Steam Up events, painted green.
    • Little Grey Fergi Tractor MWK 832 TE20D. Operational and used regularly for Steam up events, painted Fergie grey.
    • Fordson Major Tractor built in 1950's. Operational and used regularly for Steam Up events.
    • Little Grey Fergi Tractor SAL 67. Undergoing restoration in the workshop.
  • Fowler Ploughing Engines

The museum has two 1929 John Fowler & Co. Ploughing Engines which where the last two to be built by Fowler and they also have a canopy on them which is very unusual for a ploughing engine. One (VO 8987) is operational and is used regularly on steaming days, the other (VO 8988) is not operational and is awaiting a major overhaul which will include the fitting of a new boiler.

  • Portable Engines

The museum has two Portable Engines on site. One was built in 1886 by Marshall and is in a steamable condition, the other has built by Crosskill and is disguised as Trevor the Traction Engine

  • Other things

As well as the tractors and traction engines the museum has a Living van, a Saw Bench, a Marshall Threshing Drum No. 29505 that operates in the summer months either by the Field Marshall Tractor, Standard Fordson Tractor or VO 8987. The museum is also home to 2 ploughs originally used with ploughing engines like the two that the museums got and a collection of barn engine which are used during steam up events.

Similar buildings

In 1855 Joseph Paxton designed a near replica of Wollaton Hall in Buckinghamshire, now known as Mentmore Towers.

External links

References

  • Marshall, P (1999), Wollaton Hall and the Willoughby Family, Nottingham Civic Society.
  1. ^ http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/sitemap/services/business/international/cd_european_work/cd_reg_int-european_projects/cd_reg_int-wollaton_hall.htm
  2. ^ http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/sitemap/leisure_and_culture/museumsandgalleries/wollatonhall.htm
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