Lake next to Wistow Hall (geograph 4078299)

Wistow Hall is a 17th-century country house in Wistow, Leicestershire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

which has been converted into an apartment building. It is Grade II* listed. The Hall was built to an H-plan of rendered brick with a Swithland slate hipped roof. It has a seven window frontage with two storeys of sash windows and a row of dormer windows in the roof behind a parapet. At each corner are turret buttresses.

History

The Wistow estate was bought by the Halford family in 1603. The Hall was built for Richard Halford, who was

High Sheriff of Leicestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Leicestershire, United Kingdom. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries mos ...

in 1621 and a prominent Royalist during the Civil War. He was made a baronet by King Charles I in 1641 after having been imprisoned (and then released) by the Parliamentarians. King Charles slept at Wistow the night before the

Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, destroyed the main ...

and returned to the house after his defeat to change horses, leaving his elaborate saddle behind. Neale(1818) p2

The estate descended in the Halford family to the 7th Baronet, Sir Charles Halford, who died in 1780. His widow continued to live at the house until her own death in 1814, during which time the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...

was built through the estate. The property then passed to Sir Henry Halford, 1st Baronet the king's physician who had been made a Baronet in his own right and was later to be the President of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

for many years. Born Henry Vaughan, he had changed his name to Halford in 1809 when made Baronet in anticipation of the inheritance. Sir Henry made several improvements to the park, rerouting a road and creating a lake. It subsequently passed to his son,

Sir Henry Halford, 2nd Baronet Sir Henry Halford, 2nd Baronet (1797 – 22 May 1868) was an English Tory and later Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1857. Halford was the son of Sir Henry Halford, 1st Baronet and his wife Hon. Elizabeth Barba ...

, the MP for Leicestershire South and the latter's son,

Sir Henry St. John Halford, 3rd Baronet Sir Henry St John Halford, 3rd Baronet (9 August 1828 – 4 January 1897) was an English landowner and expert rifleman. Life He was born the son of Sir Henry Halford, 2nd Baronet, MP for Leicestershire South (UK Parliament constituency), Leices ...

and Chairman of

Leicestershire County Council Leicestershire County Council is the county council for the English non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 52 electoral divisions, which return a to ...

. The last Sir Henry was very interested in the development of the rifle and had a shooting range installed at the park, where working with

William Ellis Metford William Ellis Metford (4 October 1824 – 14 October 1899) was a British engineer best known for designing the Metford rifling used in the .303 calibre Lee–Metford and Martini–Metford service rifles in the late 19th century. Life He was bo ...

he made some significant developments in rifling and bullet design. On his death he left the Hall to his friend and rifle development collaborator,

Thomas Fremantle, 3rd Baron Cottesloe Thomas Francis Fremantle, 3rd Baron Cottesloe, 4th Baron Fremantle (5 February 1862 – 9 July 1956) was a British peer and sportsman who competed in the shooting event at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Biography Early life Thomas Francis Fremantle ...

. During the First World War the Hall was used as a hospital. The hall passed to

John Fremantle, 4th Baron Cottesloe John Walgrave Halford Fremantle, 4th Baron Cottesloe, 5th Baron Fremantle, GBE, TD (2 March 1900 – 21 April 1994) was a British aristocrat and public official. He served as the Chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain and the South Bank ...

and during the Second World War was used as a refuge for Lutheran priests, one of whom stayed on after the war and ran, together with the 4th Baron's wife Lisbet, the International Christian Centre for Friendship and Service until 1958. It was then given to Lord Fremantle's daughter, Ann, who had married Timothy Brooks, and the couple renovated and modernised the house, converting part of it into apartments. Timothy Brooks served as High Sheriff of the county in 1979, Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2003 and was subsequently knighted. Sir Timothy's son Richard was also High Sheriff in 2012.

References

{{coord, 52.556464, -1.055051, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in Leicestershire Country houses in Leicestershire Grade II* listed houses