Coldham Hall is a
Grade I
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 ...
listed building, built in 1574, that is located in the parish of
Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
.
The Hall is very close to the village of
Lawshall
Lawshall is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around a mile off the A134 between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, it is part of Babergh district. The parish has nine settlements comprising the three main settlements of The St ...
, and part of the Coldham estate is located within this parish.
Description
Coldham Hall is a large Tudor
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 ...
that was constructed in 1574 for Sir Robert Rookwood (or Rokewood) of
Stanningfield. A notable feature of this two-storey building is the
great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
, with a long gallery in the roof space some 32 metres long, running from east to west. Internal alterations undertaken around 1770 include a Roman Catholic chapel with delicate plasterwork, leading from the long gallery.
Mid-nineteenth century alterations, including loggias on the east and south side, are now removed, but various window alterations at the rear and a service wing at the north end remain. The house was restored around 1980.
[
]
History
Following its construction by Robert Rookwood in 1574, Coldham Hall remained the property of the Rookwood family for almost three centuries, until 1869.
The Hall has had a number of famous residents including Ambrose Rookwood
Ambrose Rookwood (c. 1578 – 31 January 1606) was a member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant King James I with a Catholic sovereign. Rookwood was born into a wealthy family of Catholic recusants, and edu ...
who was involved in the Gunpowder plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...
and was executed in 1605. The Rookwood family continued in the Roman Catholic faith, as shown by the two chapels and several priest hole
A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were se ...
s at Coldham.[ A remarkable feature of the history of Stanningfield and Lawshall has been the continuity of ]Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
from the Middle Ages to the present day, in a predominantly Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
area.[
While the property remained in the Rookwood family until 1869, the estate passed through the female line to the Gages of ]Hengrave
Hengrave is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is to the North the town of Bury St Edmunds along the A1101 road. It is surrounded by the parishes of Flempton, Culford, Fornham St Ge ...
and was let to a tenant, Robert Taylor in the 1840s. In 1869 the estate was sold to Richard Holt-Lomax, whose family held it until 1893.
The purchaser in 1893 was Lieutenant Colonel Henry Trafford-Rawson who developed Coldham as a shooting estate, enlarging old clumps of woodland and planting new blocks, some very close to the Hall. After the death of the Colonel's son, Captain John Henry Edmund Trafford-Rawson (of the West Yorkshire Regiment
)
, march = ''Ça Ira''
, battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine
, anniversaries = Imphal (22 June)
The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...
like his father), on the Somme during the Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Coldham estate was purchased in 1918 by Colonel Everard Hambro, who lived there until his death in 1952.
In 1952 the estate was purchased by Richard Duce who owned the property for 27 years before selling it to David Hart, an adviser to Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
, in 1979.
Since then the estate has been owned by Jens Pilo; and more recently Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Allard de Vere Drummond (born Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn; 7 March 1971) is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) and '' Snatch'' (2000), and directed ''Layer Cake'' (2004 ...
and his supermodel wife Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Maria Schiffer (; born 25 August 1970) is a German model and actress based in the United Kingdom. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compa ...
, the current owners. A fire on the property in 2014 destroyed several buildings in the grounds, but did not reach the hall itself.
Gardens and grounds
The house is approached down an avenue of trees and by crossing two small lakes in the valley bottom, which drain to the River Lark
The River Lark is a river in England that crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have be ...
. From time out of mind there has been a footpath alongside the grounds of the Hall, giving parishioners past and present a view of the mansion.[
]
Community
In the past Coldham Hall had strong links with the local communities of Lawshall
Lawshall is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around a mile off the A134 between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, it is part of Babergh district. The parish has nine settlements comprising the three main settlements of The St ...
and Stanningfield, with many local women working in service at the main house and local men employed on the estate as agricultural workers or grooms. In the 1920s Christmas parties for the children of the employees at Coldham Hall were held in the Emancipation Chapel at Stanningfield.[
The field near the main entrance on to the Bury Road, Lawshall was actively used for both football and cricket for many years. The clubs relocated more than 40 years ago but the Coldham Hall Football Club still plays in the Bury & District Sunday Football League, and the Hartest & Coldham Hall Cricket Club in the Hunts County Bats Suffolk Cricket League.
David Hart maintained a rapport with the local community by inviting local residents to Coldham Hall on 5 November, ]Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the ev ...
, to acknowledge the estate's link with the Gunpowder plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...
with a fireworks display and synchronised music from a brass band.
Folklore
A tunnel is said to have run from Coldham Hall to the 16th-century Lawshall Hall
Lawshall Hall is a Grade II* listed building, re-built in 1557, that is located in the parish of Lawshall in Suffolk. The Hall is adjacent to All Saints Church and is very close to the centre of the village.
History
The original manor house on ...
in Lawshall
Lawshall is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around a mile off the A134 between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, it is part of Babergh district. The parish has nine settlements comprising the three main settlements of The St ...
, a mile to the south.
Notable former and current residents
The following residents lived at the Coldham Hall:
* Ambrose Rookwood
Ambrose Rookwood (c. 1578 – 31 January 1606) was a member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant King James I with a Catholic sovereign. Rookwood was born into a wealthy family of Catholic recusants, and edu ...
- a member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...
, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
King James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
with a Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
monarch.
* David Hart - an adviser to Margaret Thatcher, a British writer and businessman who lived at Coldham Hall and Chadacre Hall.
The hall was bought by the model Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Maria Schiffer (; born 25 August 1970) is a German model and actress based in the United Kingdom. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compa ...
and her husband, the film director Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Allard de Vere Drummond (born Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn; 7 March 1971) is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) and '' Snatch'' (2000), and directed ''Layer Cake'' (2004 ...
, in 2002.
Location grid
References
External links
*
Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph, Lawshall (Coldham Cottage) - Suffolk Churches Website
{{Lawshall
Houses completed in 1574
Country houses in Suffolk
Grade I listed buildings in Suffolk
Borough of St Edmundsbury
Lawshall
Tudor architecture