Baddesley Clinton Hall

Baddesley Clinton Hall



Baddesley Clinton first caught my eye at Marylebone Tube where the picture of the moated manor house provides an alluring double width poster on the Tube wall. So on one of the few fine Sundays in August we head up the M40 to Shakespeare’s County (and my father’s! http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/moonlight-sonata_14.html ) of Warwickshire to see this historic house which has stood here since the 13th Century.





Ferrers family portraits



Baddesley Clinton is a medieval moated manor house just to the south east of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The Baddesley part of the name comes from a Saxon called Baeddi who cleared the site in the Forest of Arden. The Clinton part comes from the Clinton family who dug the moat in the 13th century. This atmospheric house we see today dates from the 15th century and was the home of the Ferrers family for 500 years. The house and interiors reflect its heyday in the Elizabethan era, when it was a haven for persecuted Catholics – there are three priest's holes. There is a delightful garden with stewponds (ponds which provided fish for the house) and a romantic lake and nature walk.











Baddesley Clinton Hall was originally a 13th century fortified manor house, founded by Thomas de Clinton. The rectangular platform encased by a wide revetted moat, now supports the remains of a 15th century stone quadrangular strong house, founded by the Brome family. The east range is flanked by a two storey gatehouse, with four gunloops but the original hall in the north range has disappeared. To the north and north east are the linear depressions and undulations of The Forecourt, medieval building ranges, which were dismantled during the early 18th century.







This moated manor house just north of the historic town of Warwick in the English county of Warwickshire was probably established sometime in the 13th century. When large areas of the Forest of Arden were cleared and eventually converted to farmland, this large fortified manor house was probably also built. In 1438, John Brome, the Under Treasurer of England, bought the manor. It then passed to his son, Nicholas, who is thought to have built the East Range, which is the main entrance. Nicholas is also responsible for the extensive rebuilding of the nearby church of St Michael's, done as penance for killing the parish priest, a murder reputed to have taken place in the great house itself.











The Hall was built as a semi-fortified manor-house surrounded by a moat, and approached by a drawbridge. It now consists of three sides (or ranges) of an approximate rectangle, having lost its west range. The internal courtyard was originally about 57 ft. north to south and 37 ft. east to west, and were not a true rectangle, the west and north sides being a little longer than those opposite them; the ranges are roughly 25 ft. deep. The moat averages about 30 ft. in width on three sides and about half that width on the east. The entrance front with a gatehouse is towards the north. All the ranges are of two stories.











As you drive up the private road to the house from Rising Lane, you start to wonder if it's worth visiting. All you can see is fields and trees. The house is not in sight until you get to the car park. From a distance it looks fairly modest. But once you get closer, the significance of the place begins to penetrate.4





Bedroom



It was the home of the Ferrers, a staunch Catholic family, for 500 years. The gem of a country manor house, part of which dates back to medieval times, is surrounded by a moat, which is the oldest feature of Baddesley. It originally had a drawbridge but this had been replaced by a gatehouse built by Sir Edward Ferrers by the 1520s. As you walk around the moat, it becomes visually clear that each side of the house was built in different eras in the 17th and 18th centuries, despite the Ferrers family's long-lasting financial difficulties.









Great Hall



Baddesley Clinton has seen little change since 1633 when Henry Ferrers 'the Antiquary' died. Henry Ferrers was Squire at Baddesley for almost seventy years and remodelled the house over a long period of time, introducing much of the panelling and chimney pieces. Henry was proud of his ancestry and began the tradition at Baddesley of armorial glass, which has continued to the present day.









Armorial glass



The house experienced one of its most dramatic events during the Tudor period. During this time it was an offence to attend Catholic mass, people were fined for not attending Church of England services and Priests could suffer savage punishment. In an attempt to maintain the faith, priests were trained abroad, smuggled into the country and then hidden by a covert network of sympathisers. In Warwickshire, as elsewhere in England, many of the gentry continued to practice what they saw as the true faith. One such family were the Ferrers who owned Baddesley Clinton.





Priesthole



In 1591, the house was the scene for a secret conference of Catholic Priests. Amongst those at the conference were the well known Jesuit Priests John Gerard, and Henry Garnet as well as seven or eight fellow Jesuits, other Priests and a few fugitive sympathisers. All of these people were being actively sought by the authorities and the capture of such a group would have dealt a serious blow to the secret Catholic mission to England.





Chapel



Four armed Priest hunters (known as Pursuivants) had arrived and were loudly threatening a servant who had barred the door to them. Because the servant had delayed their entry the Priests inside the house had time to hide their vestments and the altar stuff. The Priests even had time to turn the mattresses on their beds so that they would not feel warm to a searchers touch.





Library



By the time the mistress of the house had come downstairs and allowed the searchers to enter, the Priests were hidden in a secret hide underneath the house. They had to remain crouched here for four hours whilst the search went on above them. Eventually the searchers tired of their efforts and left after they had extracted payment from the household for their troubles. John Gerard wrote the account of this search in his memoirs when he escaped England and returned to live the rest of life on the continent. Robert Southwell and Henry Garnet were not so lucky as both of them were later caught and executed by being hung, drawn and quartered.











Restoring the stonework in Arden Shale, a local sandstone



Baddesley Clinton also has a strong link to Cardinal John Henry Newman. He was a friend of the family and received Lady Chatterton, Edward Dering and Rebecca Ferrers into the Catholic Church in 1865. After this, he occasionally visited Baddesley and there is a portrait of him by Rebecca in the lower landing. At least two saints (Robert Southwell and Nicholas Owen) walked the corridors of this house. This number may well rise to three in years to come.







The decoration and furnishing of the house also bears the stamp of Marmion Edward Ferrers, and his wife Rebecca who continued to embellish the house with stained glass and heraldry. Pictures painted by Rebecca remain to show how the romantic character of Baddesley was enjoyed in the late nineteenth century when the family also re-created a sumptuously furnished Chapel.











Baddesley Clinton has a particularly beautiful garden which includes ponds, a walled garden, lakeside walk and nature trail. The gardens at Baddesley Clinton are delightful. They surround the moated manor and include formal courtyard garden, wildflower and meadow garden, woodland/lakeside walks, and stew ponds. Edward Ferrers was responsible for creating the ‘court garden’ by 1722 as part of his improvements to the house. It is an enclosed and formal area of grass, in the centre of which a sundial has recently been reinstated with surrounding borders of shrub roses. It also contains a very attractive reconstruction of a thatched decorative shelter in the cottage ornée tradition where ladies could shelter from either the rain or sun on the perambulations.













It is well worth a perambulation to this day to view the superb dahlia border and the herb borders. There is a Japanese style bridge over the Long Ditch linking the stewponds and nature trail areas by the lake and walks through the old estate are both clearly signposted and rewarding.





One too many!

Stewponds and lake



Like most National Trust this is a well run property with the former farm and stable yards providing the visitor facilities which include an entrance and information building, an outdoor snack bar, a Barn Restaurant, a book sale and sales of plants from the gardens along with garden furniture.





















Court Garden



The barn housing the restaurant was built in 1721-2 incorporating trusses from the earlier buildings on the site. It was used for storing and threshing grain. The restaurant has turned back the clock to discover the tastes of those times past. Selections of home-cooked foods are now on offer including sandwiches, salads, hot main dishes and puddings. Morning coffee is served from 11.00am, lunches from 12noon until 2.30pm and afternoon tea until 5.00pm.



The house itself is hugely atmospheric. The heirs of the Ferrers family spent 10 years attempting to transfer Baddesley Clinton to the National Trust and over the years much of the original furniture was sold to keep the wolf from the door. However some of the original fixtures have been reinstated and the Manor has been furnished and laid out in a style appropriate to its age. There are helpful and fascinating displays throughout as you go around adding depth and background to the experience. A particular mention must be made of the extremely helpful volunteer staff who are very happy to volunteer information and share their obvious enthusiasm for this unique slice of England’s history.



So visit and enjoy a day out at one of the most enchanting properties owned by the National Trust.





Getting to Baddesley Clinton



Baddesley Clinton



Rising Lane, Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire B93 0DQ

Telephone: 01564 783294



Opening Times.



House:



10th February to 31st October:



Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays 11.00am - 5.00pm.







Grounds/shop/restaurant:



10th February to 19th December 2010:



Wednesday to Sunday (3 Nov - 19 Dec 11.00 am - 4.00 pm)

House also open 1 Dec - 19 Dec 2010 11.00 am - 4.00 pm



Seven day opening during school holidays - please check with the property for details.



Website; http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-baddesleyclinton







For other nearby National Trust properties see;



Upton House



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/09/upton-house-oxfordshire.html



Farnborough Hall



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/search/label/Farnborough%20Hall