Kelham is a small village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in Nottinghamshire about northwest of
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
on a bend in the A617 road near its crossing of the
River Trent
The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 207.
Historical
Kelham is "a small but pleasant village and parish, upon the
Worksop
Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from the nor ...
Road, and on the west bank of the
Trent
Trent may refer to:
Places Italy
* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom
* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany
* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States
* Trent, California, ...
, north-west of Newark. Its parish contains 208 inhabitants and of land, of which are on the island formed by the two rivers betwixt it and Newark. It has long been the seat and property of the Suttons, who once held the title of
Lord Lexington. It is now the property of John Henry Manners Sutton Esq., who resides at the Hall, which is a plain but elegant building, with a centre and wings of brick, with stone corners and window frames, standing in a handsome lawn, near the Trent.
"A curious wooden bridge which crosses the river close to the lawn has been taken down, and a light but substantial iron bridge erected in its place at a cost of £3,000. The
church dedicated to St. Wilfred, had a handsome tower and three bells. It was new-roofed and completely renovated in 1844. Here is a richly wrought monument of the last Lord Lexington and his Lady, of fine statuary marble, but the figures are strangely placed back-to-back. The living is a rectory, valued in the King's books at £19 8s 4d, annexed to that of
Averham
Averham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 187, increasing to 294 at the 2011 census. The village is just west of Newark-on-Trent. ...
, being in the same patronage and incumbency. The poor have the interest of £25 left by an unknown donor."
Kelham Hall
Kelham Hall was originally the home of the Manners-Sutton family (a family connected to the
Dukes of Rutland
Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...
, the
Marquess of Granby
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
, and
Viscount Canterbury
Viscount Canterbury, of the City of Canterbury, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1835 for the Tory (political faction), Tory politician Charles Manners-Sutton, 1st Viscount Canterbury, Sir Charles Manners-Sutt ...
) of
Averham
Averham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 187, increasing to 294 at the 2011 census. The village is just west of Newark-on-Trent. ...
. It is a
Grade I 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 ...
building standing in 52 acres of parkland. The listing (1973, updated in 1990) included this summary: "Gothic revival style. 1859-61 ... Incorporates service range, 1844-46 by A. Salvin ... Service range in Renaissance revival style. Brick and ashlar with ashlar dressings, gabled, hipped and pyramidal slate roofs" and that it had been modified in the 19th and 20th century. The "Former monastic buildings and chapel", adjoining Kelham Hall, which "had been converted to offices and function room", have been Grade II listed since 1990.
The Kelham estate was first acquired by William Sutton from the Foljambe family. "On 5 May 1647,
King Charles I surrendered at the end of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
at nearby
Southwell and was held at Kelham Hall for several days afterwards."
[FTS Kelham Hall](_blank)
The Hall was upgraded by William's son
Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton
Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton (21 December 159413 October 1668) was a Royalist MP in 1625 and 1640.
Biography
In 1624 he was elected Knight of the Shire (MP) for Nottinghamshire and re-elected in April and November 1640. He was disabled as a ...
after the Civil War. This first house was destroyed by fire in the reign of William and Mary.
Its replacement was built c.1730 by John Sanderson for Bridget, the Duchess of Rutland, the only surviving child of the second Lord Lexington. She had married
John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland
John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland KG PC (21 October 1696 – 29 May 1779) was an English nobleman, the eldest son of John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland and Catherine Russell. Styled Marquess of Granby from 1711, he succeeded to the title in 172 ...
and their descendants would be known by the name of Manners-Sutton. This building was also destroyed by fire on 27 November 1857, during the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
when the owner was in Italy, and would again be rebuilt.
The third and present Kelham Hall "is considered a masterpiece of high
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 ...
architecture, entirely asymmetrical, with a gloriously irregular skyline, and crowning 'grandiloquent' towers." It was designed by Sir
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
and completed in 1863. Not long after the fire, "a new Kelham Hall, of magnificent proportions, and of an architectural beauty far superior to that possessed by its predecessors, either at Kelham or
Averham
Averham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 187, increasing to 294 at the 2011 census. The village is just west of Newark-on-Trent. ...
was erected in the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
style... and is justly said to be one of (Scott's)...most successful works." In 1865 Gilbert Scott reused many of the design details of Kelham Hall on a much larger scale for the façade of the
Midland Grand Hotel
Midland may refer to:
Places Australia
* Midland, Western Australia
Canada
* Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Midland, Ontario
India
* Midland Ward, Kohima, Naga ...
at
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...
in London, completed in 1876.
![St-john-divine-kelham-rood](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/St-john-divine-kelham-rood.jpg)
The Manners-Sutton family then ran into financial difficulties and the Hall was sold to the
Society of the Sacred Mission
The Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM), with the associated Company of the Sacred Mission, is an Anglican religious order founded in 1893 by Father Herbert Kelly, envisaged such that "members of the Society share a common life of prayer and fell ...
in 1903 and run as a theological college. It was occupied by military forces during
World War I
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 Great Chapel "was dedicated in 1928 and was a masterpiece. It was almost square with a great central dome, (62 feet across and high), the second largest concrete dome in England. A few visitors said it reminded them of
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
– massive, austere and mysterious."
A bronze sculpture, known as 'the Kelham Rood', depicting
Christ on the Cross accompanied by figures of
St John and the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
was commissioned from the English sculptor
Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger (17 December 1885 – 16 November 1934) was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war. He is best known for his war memorials, especially the Royal A ...
to adorn the chapel in 1927, and was completed in 1929. "The main accommodation building at the front of the Hall was completed in 1939 to house the Monks and the theological students but its first occupants were a garrison of the 'Blues' cavalry and also
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
oil men who were involved in drilling for oil at the nearby
Eakring
Eakring is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. Its population at the 2011 Census was 419. There was sizeable oil production there in the mid-20th century.
Geography
The village lies between ...
oilfield."
The Hall was again occupied by military personnel during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The Society of the Sacred Mission theological college closed in 1972 due to declining numbers. The chapel was desanctified.
Recent history
In 1973, the Hall became the head office of
Newark and Sherwood
Newark and Sherwood is a local government district and is the largest district in Nottinghamshire, England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal borough of Newark with Newark Rural District and Southwell Rural ...
District Council. Jagger's Kelham Rood sculpture was removed and re-erected at Willen Priory in Milton Keynes, where it stood in the garden until 2003 when it underwent restoration and was moved to the Church of
St John the Divine, Kennington, in London.
Kelham Hall was sold to Jonathan Pass in 2014 who formed a private company, Kelham Hall Ltd; he had previously held a temporary leasehold on the ground floor. In May 2015
Newark and Sherwood Concert Band
Newark and Sherwood Concert Band (NSCB) is a community concert band (also known as a wind band) in Nottinghamshire and regularly performs throughout the county and beyond, and in 2019 playing in Emmendingen, Germany. Newark and Sherwood Concert B ...
moved its rehearsal base to Kelham Hall and now rehearses there weekly in the Dome.
The new owner took full possession after Newark & Sherwood District Council moved out of Kelham Hall into a new building close to Newark town centre in 2017.
The Hall was to become a prestigious hotel, conference centre and health spa, according to Jonathan Pass, managing director of Kelham Hall Ltd. Initially, Pass began redeveloping Kelham Hall & Country Park into a venue for weddings and conferences; that use commenced after planning consent was obtained. No overnight accommodation was offered.
The conversion to a hotel was not completed; an October 2019 news item indicated that Averham, Kelham and Staythorpe Parish Council had some objections to such a large hotel, since the previous application had proposed 71 bedrooms. By June 2020, however, another news source stated that the building was "ready to be used as a 103-bed hotel and spa with full planning consent to do so". Also in June 2020, the Corporate Hotels division of Christie & Co began to market Kelham Hall for sale with a guide price of £10 million, as a development opportunity: "a chance to create what could be one of the best hotels in the country".
After the former operators of the wedding and entertainments venue went into administration in June 2021 with cancellations of weddings due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
restrictions, in September 2021 the Hall was being promoted as being under new ownership, renamed as ''The Renaissance at Kelham Hall'', continuing as a wedding and entertainments venue.
Kelham Hall: Grade I listed wedding venue due to reopen
''BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'', 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021
Notable people
*Robert Sutton Robert Sutton may refer to:
Politicians
*Robert Sutton (died 1414), MP for Lincoln
* Robert Sutton (MP for Derby), see Derby
* Robert Dudley alias Sutton (died 1539), MP
*Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton (1594–1668), Member of Parliament for No ...
(1813-1885), first-class cricketer and reverend
Notes
External links
Kelham Hall by Leonard Jacks, 1881
Renaissance at Kelham Hall Website
Kelham Hall Conference Centre
{{authority control
Villages in Nottinghamshire
George Gilbert Scott buildings
Newark and Sherwood