Brownsover Hall is a 19th-century
mansion house in the old
village of
Brownsover
Brownsover is a residential and commercial area of Rugby, Warwickshire in England, about miles north of the town centre. The area is named after the original hamlet of Brownsover. Since 1960, the area has been subsumed by the expansion of Rugb ...
,
Rugby
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*** Masters Rugby League
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,
Warwickshire which has been converted for use as a hotel. It is a
Grade II* 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 ...
.
Early History (1471–1850)
The
manor of
Brownsover
Brownsover is a residential and commercial area of Rugby, Warwickshire in England, about miles north of the town centre. The area is named after the original hamlet of Brownsover. Since 1960, the area has been subsumed by the expansion of Rugb ...
was owned from 1471 by the Boughton family who were created
Boughton Baronets in 1642. In 1780 Sir Theodosius Boughton was allegedly murdered by his brother-in-law and the estate passed to his sister Theodosia, and thence to
Sir Egerton Leigh, Bt, of the
Leigh
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Pronounced :
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of
West Hall family. Leigh's daughter and heiress, also Theodosia, married John Ward, who changed his name by
Royal Licence
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to Ward-Boughton-Leigh.
Nineteenth century
In the mid 19th century the old manor house was replaced with the present mansion, designed in a
Victorian Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style by architect
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
George Gilbert Scott.
William Holland designed a stained glass window and carved tables as frames for Italian marble slabs. He is well known for establishing a Stained Glass and Decorative works at St. John's,
Warwick. Other contributors to the new manor were Marshall and Snelgrove of
London, and Eld and Chamberlain, of Midland House,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
relating to the carpets and furnishings that were chosen for the house.
The Hall was the home of the Ward-Boughton-Leighs until the 1930s.
Twentieth century
The Brownsover estate was bought by and became the residence (1936–1942) of
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Frank Whittle, credited with the invention of the jet engine.
After Whittle moved out, the hall became the temporary residence of
.
The English Electric Company used the building from 1949 until the late 1960s where they housed the headquarters of their Diesel Division. It was in the 1970s when the Hall was converted into a hotel.
Brownsover Hall is now a 3-star hotel including 47 bedrooms, bar and "Wineglass" restaurant offering a "simple food, made special" seasonal menu. The hotel is set within 7-acres of landscaped grounds, with views over the Swift Valley nature reserve.
The hotel is a licensed property for civil ceremony weddings and plays host to many special events throughout the year.
References
''A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 6'' (1951) pp. 65–72 from British History Online Heritage Gateway, listed building descriptionActually Located In The Old Village Of Brownsover, Just Aside The New Estate Of Brownsover (Not Clifton)
Notes
External links
Hotel website
Cracroft's Peerage
{{Authority control
Grade II* listed buildings in Warwickshire
George Gilbert Scott buildings
Country houses in Warwickshire
Grade II* listed houses
Buildings and structures in Rugby, Warwickshire