Bishton Hall in Colwich, Staffordshire is a grade two listed Georgian house and gardens. The present house dates from around 1750 although the estate has much earlier origins and is mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086.
From the 1770s the house belonged to the Sparrow family. John Sparrow bought the house and it eventually passed to his daughter Charlotte who added to and enlarged the mansion and built the gardens over the years.
Charlotte Sparrow was known as an educational pioneer and philanthropist. She founded the Colwich Primary School in 1827. She never married and lived at the hall until her death in 1876. The Hall passed into the hands of Edward Harland, Vicar of Colwich and then Major Charles Wood who lived there until 1945. In 1946 it became St Bede's Preparatory School.
The Orangery
The Temple Garden was probably designed and built in the 1830s, possibly by local architect James Trubshaw . It was certainly completed by 1838 when it was painted by Thomas Peploe Wood who came from nearby Great Haywood.
It is thought to be one of the finest Doric screens in the country.
There is also a woodland walk and fairy trail.
In the courtyard there are several shops and Sparrow's Tea room. As we walked around we saw many butterflies especially around the Buddleias, all too busy to sit still for photographs.
In 2019 the hall was bought by Charles Hanson and it is now the headquarters of Hanson Auctioneers. There are two salesrooms in the gardens, one of them in what looks like a WWI hut.
It really is a gem of a place to visit and wander around. Both garden entrance and parking are free. There are plenty of shady areas to both sit and walk, much needed on the day we visited.
1086??? My word, that estate has seen some history. And an orangery, what luxury. I see my favorite, Brazilian Sage, in the photo of the Doric columns.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like it is quite dry there.
Thank you Granny Sue, yes, many estates existed when the gathering of information on the state of England were recorded in the Domesday book by William I - he wanted to know who owned what land and where, and who his supporters were. We forgot to go back and look inside the Orangery so that's a good excuse to go back one day. It is vey dry around here, grass is a brown/yellow and trees are dropping leaves:)
DeleteWhat a wonderful place to visit. The architecture is superb and the gardens and grounds look lovely. I am glad there were some shady areas for you to sit and walk in in the hot weather we have been having. The "I am very fragile" statue made me smile.
ReplyDeleteThank you Caroline, it was a lovely gentle visit, quite casual, you could wander around here and there. There were seats in shaded areas too. I can sympathise with the words on the statue as I sometimes feel like that too. Crowds and noises particularly bother me nowadays:)
DeleteOh, how lovely, Charles Hanson has picked a spectacular spot for his auctions. I'd love to wander around and take in all the unusual buildings, maybe hunt out a bargain and have a cheese scone in the tearoom, they are bound to have one. 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you CK, it is a lovely, very relaxed place. Some of the shops in the courtyard were still closed so we will most likely return at a later date. Oh yes, they did have scones, no doubt cheese ones too. We shared a large piece of carrot cake with our coffee:)
DeleteYou do take us to the nicest places, Rosie.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Thank you Amalia, it was so lovely and quiet there:)
DeleteThis looks a really lovely place to visit. I had not heard of Bishton Hall before but I will be adding it to our places to visit. Since I have been blogging I have visited a number of places that you have posted about, so thank you Rosie.
ReplyDeleteThank you Beverley, it's an interesting place and seems quiet and informal to walk around. It's very close to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's headquarters at Wolseley Bridge, which is also well worth a visit:)
DeleteAnother wonderful house to add to my ever growing list. Love all the history in places like that. B x
ReplyDeleteThank you B. It is a lovely place to visit:)
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