Gaynes Hall is a

Grade II* listed 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 ...

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 ...

mansion set in of parkland in the heart of the

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

countryside. Located in the village of

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

, Huntingdon the building was requisitioned during the Second World War and was also the residence of

Sir Oliver Cromwell Sir Oliver Cromwell ( – 28 August 1655) was an English landowner, lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1625. He was the uncle of Oliver Cromwell, the Member of Parliament, general, and Lord Pr ...

for 21 years. __NOTOC__

History

Gaynes Hall takes its name from the family of Engaine; the original house was probably built as the hall of their manor of Dillington. In 1238 Viel de Engaine was living there when he had licence to have his private chapel at his manor of Dillington. Only small fragments of the moat remain from the original Engayne dwelling.

(1566-1655), uncle and

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

of the

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, leased the estate for 21 years and sublet it to his brother Richard Cromwell from 1599. In 1664, it was purchased by a wealthy London lawyer, Sir James Beverley and remained in the family until sold in 1717 to General Thomas Handasyd, a former Governor of

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; his son George passed it onto to Elizabeth Galley in 1771. In 1940,it was requisitioned and used by the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

or SOE, created to support non-military operations, such as propaganda, sabotage and intelligence operations. Under the code name of ‘Station 61’, Gaynes Hall was the headquarters for the Air Liaison Officers and used as a ‘hotel’ for agents prior to being air dropped into occupied Europe. Post 1945, it was used as the administrative office and governor's house for Gaynes Hall Borstal. The borstal stood on the site of Littlehey Prison. The boys maintained the grounds and gardens of Gaynes Hall until the borstal closed in 1983. The site was surrounded with what were referred to as "Moats" which to this day are teeming with Carp. In 1985, Gaynes Hall was purchased by AIM Cambridge (later AIM Technology) a technology consulting company. The building was renovated and adapted to the needs of the company. During the renovation, some of the original fittings were stolen and not recovered. Within two years, AIM Technology closed and the building became empty. Gaynes Hall was sold by the Ministry of Defence to a private company in 1990 and the restoration of the house has been ongoing since 1994. In May 2021, Gaynes Hall was valued at £3.45m.

Previous owners

*1116–1322 Engaine Family *1322–1421 Barnack Family *1421–1607 Stonham Family (let to the Cromwell family, 1599–1620) *1601-1663 Lake family *1664-1716 Beverley family *1717–1771 Handasyde Family *1772-1797 Galley family *1798–1940 Duberley Family *1994-2002 McCallion Family *2002-CURRENT Lord Anant Malik

Access

House and gardens are now privately owned.

References

*Norris Museum and Library at St Ives *County Office Record at Huntingdon *National Archives at Kew *Cromwell Museum *''Transactions of the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Archaeological Society'', Rev HG Watson (1914) {{coord, 52.282145, N, 0.320583, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Huntingdonshire Country houses in Cambridgeshire Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Grade II* listed houses Cromwell family