Freeford Manor (previously known as Freeford Hall) is a privately owned 18th-century country house at Freeford, near
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
,
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 ...
. It is the home of the Dyott family and 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 ...
.
The Dyotts of Lichfield acquired interests in the manor of Freeford over many years from about 1606. When
Richard Dyott,
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Lichfield 1690-1715 died in 1719, his son, also Richard decided to move from the city to live at Freeford.
In about 1730 he built a new small three bayed red brick house which was extended and improved throughout the 18th century. His son, another Richard was Recorder of Lichfield and in 1798
High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire.
The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ass ...
. His nephew yet another
Richard Dyott of Freeford, MP for
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
1865-74, carried out substantial improvements to the house under the direction of
Joseph Potter, the elder, architect of Lichfield in the mid 19th century and alterations later continued to create the existing mansion.
In 1891 a cousin Richard Burnaby, who changed his surname to Dyott, inherited the estate.
The Dyott family have a chapel dedicated to them in the north end of
St Mary's Church, Lichfield
St Mary's Church is a city centre church in Lichfield, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom, located on the south side of the market square. A church is reputed to have been on the present site since at least 1150 but the current building dates ...
.
References
History of Freeford from British History Online Heritage Gateway; description of listed building{{coord, 52.6657, -1.8008, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title
Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire
Buildings and structures in Lichfield