Ragley Hall in the parish of

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

is a stately home, located south of Alcester and eight miles (13 km) west of

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

. It is the ancestral seat of the Seymour-Conway family, Marquesses of Hertford.

History

The house was built by

Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway (c. 1623 – 11 August 1683) PC, FRS, of Ragley Hall, Alcester, in Warwickshire, was an English peer and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1681 and 1683. Origins ...

(1623–1683) to the designs of William Hurlbert, with modifications by

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath active as a scientist, natural philosopher and architect, who is credited to be one of two scientists to discover microorganisms in 1665 using a compound microscope that ...

and was completed after his death in 1683. The interior was subsequently modified on at least three occasions, to the designs of James Gibbs circa 1750–56; of James Wyatt circa 1778–83 and of William Tasker circa 1871–73. It became the home of Anne Conway and she was visited there by a number of notable people including

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...

, Thomas Vaughan,

Lilias Skene Lilias Skene or Lillias Skein (8 November 1628 – 21 June 1697) was a Scottish Quaker preacher, prophet and poet. Early life She was born in 1628 as Lilias Gillespie, one of eight children born to Lilias ''née'' Simson (d. 1627), the daugh ...

, Henry More,

Ezechiel Foxcroft Ezechiel Foxcroft (1633, London – 1676) was an English esoterocist who produced the first translation of the ''Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz '' published in 1690. He was the son of the prominent merchant George Foxcroft, and his wife, ...

Elizabeth of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 159613 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. Since her husband's reign in Bohemia lasted for just one winter, she is called the Win ...

and

Christian Knorr von Rosenroth Christian Knorr von Rosenroth (15/16 July 1636 – 4 May 1689) was a German Christian Hebraist and Christian Cabalist born at Alt-Raudten (today Stara Rudna) in Silesia. After having completed his studies in the universities of Wittenberg and Lei ...

Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont (baptised 20 October 1614 – December 1698) was a Flemish alchemist and writer, the son of Jan Baptist van Helmont. He is now best known for his publication in the 1640s of his father's pioneer works on chemistry ...

was Anne's physician from 1671 until her death in 1679. The secondary seat of the Seymour-Conway family, Earls of Hertford, was Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk and their London

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

was Hertford House. Financial instability of the Seymour family left the house threatened with demolition more than once. In 1912, following the death of Hugh Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford, the estate's trustees recommended that the house be demolished. However, during World War I and World War II, the house found use as a military hospital.

Hugh Seymour, 8th Marquess of Hertford Hugh Edward Conway Seymour, 8th Marquess of Hertford (29 March 1930 – 22 December 1997) was the son of Brig.-Gen. Lord Henry Charles Seymour and Lady Helen Grosvenor. He was the grandson of both Hugh Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford and Hugh Gr ...

, who in 1940 inherited Ragley Hall from his uncle

George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford George Francis Alexander Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford (20 October 1871 – 16 February 1940) was the son of Hugh Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford. From 1884 to 1912 he was known as Earl of Yarmouth. Early life Seymour was born on 20 Oct ...

, fought to save it after the war. It was refurbished between 1956 and 1958, when it became one of the first stately homes opened to the public. In 1983, the painter

Graham Rust Graham Rust (born 1942, Hertfordshire, England) is a painter and muralist. Biography Graham Redgrave-Rust was born in Hertfordshire, England in 1942. He studied drawing and painting at the Regent Street Art School, the Central School of Arts an ...

completed a huge mural including pets, friends and family members which is known as "The Temptation" and is exhibited on the Southern staircase. Ragley was the site of the

Jerwood Sculpture Park Jerwood is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Colin Jerwood, the vocalist for the Anarcho-punk band Conflict *Frank Jerwood (1885–1971), British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics *John Jerwood (1918–1991), British ...

, opened in July 2004. The Park included works that won the Jerwood Sculpture Prizes, and the work of Dame Elisabeth Frink, among others. However the site was closed in April 2012.

In popular culture

Ragley Hall has occasionally been used as a location for filming, including: the 1982 television version of '' The Scarlet Pimpernel''; the fourth episode of the second series of the science fiction television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', titled " The Girl in the Fireplace", first broadcast in May 2006; and the fourth season of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series "

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

References

External links

{{commons category, Ragley Hall
Ragley Hall website

Alcester & Ragley Park Cricket Club

Jerwood Sculpture Park
Buildings and structures completed in 1680 Houses completed in the 17th century Country houses in Warwickshire Grade I listed buildings in Warwickshire Grade I listed houses Historic house museums in Warwickshire Gardens in Warwickshire Art museums and galleries in Warwickshire Gardens by Capability Brown 1680 establishments in England