Brocton Hall is a building of historical significance and is listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1760 by William Chetwynd and remained in the Chetwynd family until 1923 when it was sold to the Golf Club. Today the building is still used as a clubhouse and is also a venue for weddings.

The early history

William Chetwynd (1704-1778) built Brocton Hall in 1760 after demolishing the old manor house. His father was Walter Chetwynd (1663-1750) and his mother was Mary Sneyd (1671-1760). There are memorial plaques to each of them in Holy Trinity Church,

Baswich Baswich is an estate on the south eastern side of Stafford. It is part of the civil parish of Berkswich and is in Staffordshire, England. It is situated next to Weeping Cross, which is also part of the civil parish. Baswich amenities are a local ...

. His great uncle Sir Walter Chetwynd had purchased the Brocton Hall estate and given it to William's father. In 1738 William married Martha St Armand (1705-1774) who was the daughter of James St Armand of St Paul's

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, Middlesex. The couple had two sons. When William died in 1778 his son Sir George Chetwynd inherited Brocton Hall. Sir George Chetwynd (1739-1824) was born in 1739 in Westminster. For many years he was Clerk in his Majesty's Privy Council. In 1783 he married Jane Bantin. In 1798 he inherited the estate of

Grendon Hall Grendon is a small village and civil parish in rural Northamptonshire, England, on the borders of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Many houses are made of the local limestone and various older thatched houses survive. The name of the village me ...

, Warwickshire. In about 1801 he made additions to Brocton Hall and soon after this he appears to have moved to

and allowed his son Sir George Chetwynd (1783-1850) and his new bride Hannah Maria Sparrow (1780-1860) to live in the house. The marriage had taken place in 1804 and the couple appear to have lived at Brocton Hall until about 1824. Hannah was the daughter of John Sparrow of Bishton Hall. In about 1815 the famous artist William Owen was commissioned to paint members of both the Chetwynd and Sparrow families. The portraits of Sir George and Hannah are shown. Sir George was for many years a barrister and Member of Parliament. His father died in 1824 and he inherited

. However Brocton Hall was left to his younger brother Major William Fawkener (1788-1873).

Later residents

Major William Fawkener Chetwynd (1788-1873) was educated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

and obtained a commission in the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated w ...

. For many years he was a Member of Parliament for

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

. He retired in 1841. In 1843 he married Mary Anne Mosely, fourth daughter of Sir Oswald Mosely of Rolleston Hall. The couple had three sons and two daughters. The 1871 Census records them as living at Brocton Hall with two of their children, a butler, a housekeeper, a lady's maid, two housemaids, a page and a dairymaid. When William died in 1873 his eldest son William Chetwynd (1848-1888) who was a barrister inherited the house. He did not marry so when he died in 1888 his younger brother Charles Chetwynd became the owner. Charles Chetwynd (1851-1895) was a magistrate of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. In 1888 he married Mary Jane Meakin (1860-1948) who was the daughter of George Meakin of Creswell Hall,

. He was the wealthy owner of the famous pottery firm J. & G. Meakin who were later merged with Wedgwood. The couple had two daughters and one son. The daughters Beatrice and Mildred did not marry and lived at Brocton Hall with their parents. Charles died in 1895 and left the property to his wife Mary. She continued to live in the house with her daughters until 1923 when it was sold to the Golf Club. At this time it was a three-storey building in need of repair and there was no electricity and no heating. It was converted into a comfortable club house with accommodation on the top two floors. In 1939 plumbers repairing the lead guttering accidentally started a fire that destroyed the top storey and damaged other areas. It was impracticable to rebuild in wartime and the building was repaired to leave the two storey building we see today.Brocton Hall website
Online reference
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References

External links

*{{Official, http://broctonhall.com, Brocton Hall Golf Club Country houses in Staffordshire Dovecotes Golf clubs and courses in Staffordshire Golf clubs and courses designed by Harry Vardon Grade II listed agricultural buildings Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Grade II listed houses Houses completed in the 18th century Sports venues in Staffordshire

The early history

Later residents

See also

References

External links