Rangemore is a village in the borough of

East Staffordshire East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns: Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Villages in the area include Abbots Bromley, Stretton, Tutbury, Barton-under-Needwood, ...

, situated approximately west of the town of

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...

, on a ridge of high ground about a mile due west of the village of

Tatenhill Tatenhill is an ancient village and a civil parish located in a deep valley, between two hills, which gradually descend from the eastern border of Needwood Forest, west-southwest of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Buildings The san ...

where the population from the 2011 census can be found. Rangemore is in

Needwood Forest Needwood Forest was a large area of ancient woodland in Staffordshire, England, which was largely lost at the end of the 18th century. History The forest was on extensive lands owned by the Berkeley family of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershi ...

, which is part of the National Forest. The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

of All Saints belongs to the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

. The

Grade II* 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 ...

church was designed by the Gothic Revival architect

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

for

Michael Thomas Bass Michael Thomas Bass, DL (6 July 1799 – 29 April 1884) was an English brewer and a Member of Parliament. Under his leadership, the Bass Brewery became the largest brewery in the world, and Bass the best known brand of beer in England. Bass r ...

and built in 1866–67. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

was designed by G.F. Bodley and added in 1895. The

National Football Centre A national football centre (NFC) (or soccer institute) is the facilities that host an education base for a national football association. The Canadian Soccer Association has a series of "national training centres" in each province where prospec ...

(NFC) of the England National Team received planning permission and funding from

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

in late 2010 to develop the nearby

Byrkley Lodge Byrkley Lodge was a country house and later racing horse stud farm, located close to Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Demolished in 1953, its former grounds are today the site of the St George's Park National Football Centre. Byrkley Park The lan ...

site.

Rangemore Hall

Rangemore Hall was rebuilt in the late 1850s, around an earlier 1822 core, for Michael Bass, head of the brewery Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton, and was first occupied in 1860. His son Lord Burton reconstructed and extended the house (adding the Edward VII south wing), in

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style in 1898-1901 for a visit of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in 1902 (with a second visit on 5 January 1907, including

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...

and Mrs

Alice Keppel Alice Frederica Keppel (''née'' Edmonstone; 29 April 1868 – 11 September 1947) was an aristocrat, british society hostess and a long-time mistress of King Edward VII. Keppel grew up at Duntreath Castle, the family seat of the Edmonstone baro ...

, the King's mistress). Royal Party Rangemore Hall Staffordshire 1907

The grounds, which include a lake, were landscaped by Sir

Joseph Paxton Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and later by

Edward Milner Edward Milner (20 January 1819 – 26 March 1884) was an English landscape architect. Early life and career Edward Milner was born in Darley, Derbyshire, the eldest child of Henry Milner and Mary née Scales. Henry Milner was employed at C ...

. Nellie Lisa Bass sold the Hall to

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshir ...

in 1949 for £40,000. Rangemore Hall operated as Needwood School for the Partially Deaf from 1954 to 1985. The Hall was then converted into 8 wings and apartments, the main one being the Edward VII Wing, with others including the Ewing Wing, the Keppel Suite and the Paxton Suite; with other homes being converted from the remaining estate buildings, such as the Orangery. In March 2006 the Edward VII Wing was purchased by

Hilary Devey Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE ( Brewster; 10 March 1957 – 11 June 2022) was an English businesswoman and television personality best known for her role on the BBC Two programme ''Dragons' Den'' until she left to present the Channel 4 series ''The ...

for £2m. In 2013, it was put on the market for £1.95M.

References

Villages in Staffordshire Borough of East Staffordshire {{Staffordshire-geo-stub

Rangemore Hall

See also

References