Berrington Hall is a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

located about north of

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, England. During the 20th century it was the seat of the Cawley family. It is a neoclassical

building that Henry Holland designed in 1778-81 for Thomas Harley. It has a somewhat austere exterior, but the interiors are subtle and delicate. Berrington Hall is home to the Elmar Digby furniture collection, paintings by, among others,

Thomas Luny Thomas Luny (1759–1837), born in Cornwall, probably at St Ewe, was an English artist and painter, mostly of seascapes and other marine-based works. At the age of eleven, Luny left Cornwall to live in London. There he became the apprentice of ...

(1759–1837), and the

Charles Paget Wade Charles Paget Wade (1883–28 June 1956) was an English architect, artist-craftsman and poet of Afro-Caribbean descent; today he is perhaps best remembered for the eclectic collection he amassed during his life, a collection which can be seen ...

costume collection from Snowshill, which can be viewed by appointment. The 'below stairs' areas and

servants' quarters Servants' quarters are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic offices and staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the early 20th century, they were a common feature in many large ...

that are open to the public include a Victorian laundry and

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

dairy. Berrington has been in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

since 1957 and is, along with its gardens, open to the public. Berrington features

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

's last landscape design. A notable feature is the

ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

wall, which was subject to extensive renovation in the late 20th century by local craftsmen. Berrington Pool, a lake and island, is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

History

Berrington had been in the possession of the Cornewall family since 1386, but was sold in 1775 to Thomas Harley, a banker and government contractor who in 1767 had been

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

. He commissioned the rebuilding in 1778-1781 of the present Berrington Hall in place of the previous old house. He made it available to his daughter Anne and her new husband George Rodney, the son of Admiral Rodney. After Harley's death the house descended in the Rodney family for 95 years. In 1901 the Manchester businessman Frederick Cawley MP, later Baron Cawley, purchased the estate from

George Brydges Harley Dennett Rodney, 7th Baron Rodney George Brydges Harley Dennett Rodney, 7th Baron Rodney (28 February 1857 - 29 December 1909) was a British Army officer notable for his service in the Egyptian and Nile campaigns of the 1880s. He succeeded his father to the Rodney Barony in 1864 a ...

. In 1957 the 3rd Lord Cawley transferred it to the Treasury, which passed it on to the National Trust. Lady Cawley was allowed to remain in occupation until her death in 1978. It was classified as a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1959.

References

External links

*
Berrington Hall information at the National TrustBBC Hereford & Worcester feature and 360 panoramic of Berrington HallBerrington Hall on Flickr.comBerrington Hall photos on pbase.com
{{Authority control Gardens in Herefordshire Country houses in Herefordshire National Trust properties in Herefordshire Grade I listed buildings in Herefordshire Buildings and structures in Leominster Historic house museums in Herefordshire Gardens by Capability Brown