Alstoe
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Burley, or Burley-on-the-Hill, is a 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 the county of
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
in the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
of England. It is located two miles (3 km) north-east of
Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...
. The population of the civil parish was 577 at the 2001 census, including
Egleton Egleton is a small village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is situated south east of Oakham, and is close to the western shore of Rutland Water. The population of the village remained less than 100 ...
, but reducing to 325 at the 2011 census. The village's name means 'wood/clearing with a fortification'. In the parish, north of the village, is Alstoe, the site of a possible small
motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
, and part of the
deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...
of Alsthorpe. Alstoe was the name of a
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
. In 1379 Sir Thomas le Despenser granted the Burley manor to trustees, two of whom were his brother Henry, Bishop of Norwich and his nephew Hugh le Despenser. Thomas died without issue in 1381, when at the outbreak of the
Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...
, Henry was at Burley and travelled to Norwich to confront the rebels. The Old Smithy on the
village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...
was used in advertisements for ''Cherry Blossom'' shoe polish in the 1920s. HM Prison Ashwell was located about one mile (2 km) west of the centre of the village on what was previously the site of a World War II US Army base, home to part of the
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
. Ashwell Prison closed in March 2011 and has been redeveloped as Oakham Enterprise Park, a
business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...
for office and light industrial use.


Burley-on-the-Hill House

The mansion in the village overlooks
Rutland Water Rutland Water is a reservoir in Rutland, England, east of Rutland's county town, Oakham. It is filled by pumping from the River Nene and River Welland, and provides water to the East Midlands. By surface area it is the largest reservoir in En ...
. The first house was owned by Sir John Harington of Exton. On New Year's day 1596 he produced a performance of ''
Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...
'' and a
masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
written by his brother-in-law Sir Edward Wingfield at Burley. Harington's daughter
Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford ( Harington; 1580–1627) was a major aristocratic patron of the arts and literature in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, the primary non-royal performer in contemporary court masques, a letter-writer, and a ...
sold Burley to
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...
in 1620 for £28,000. Buckingham produced
Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
's masque ''
The Gypsies Metamorphosed ''The Gypsies Metamorphosed'', alternatively titled ''The Metamorphosed Gypsies'', ''The Gypsies' Metamorphosis'', or ''The Masque of Gypsies'', was a Jacobean era masque written by Ben Jonson, with music composed by Nicholas Lanier. It was fi ...
'' at Burley in 1621 to celebrate his marriage to
Katherine Manners Katherine Manners is an English actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She is best known for her lead role as Vera Brittain in the 2008 BBC One teleivison documentary '' A Woman in Love and War: Vera Brittain'' and for portraying Jane Corby Wigh ...
. Later in 1621 Buckingham requested Scottish fir tree seeds and saplings for the park from the
Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. The ...
, and 1624 the
Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...
sent 1,000 walnut trees. The house in the manner associated with Sir
Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
, was built in the 1690s by
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory statesman who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Origins He was born on 2 July 1647, the son of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl ...
, who was to a large extent his own architect and involved himself in the minutiae of construction, but employed Henry Dormer (died 1727) to supervise its building. Nottingham replaced Dormer with John Lumley in 1697. Before embarking on the project, Lord Nottingham consulted Sir Christopher Wren and had measurements taken at Berkeley House and Montagu House in London. The house, in an H-plan, has a
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...
ed central block and lightly projecting end
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
s. With its symmetrical wings and outbuildings forming a
cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block (''corps de logis''), sometimes wit ...
, and segmental walling linking matching blocks in a larger outer grassed court, it forms one of the most ambitious aristocratic ensembles of the late seventeenth century. A dining room was designed for
Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham (24 May 16892 August 1769), , of Burley House near Oakham in Rutland and of Eastwell Park near Ashford in Kent, was a British peer and politician. Origins Styled by the courtesy ...
, and installed in 1778. In 1908 a fire broke out during a party attended by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, destroying the west part of the house. The mansion was converted into six dwellings by
Kit Martin Kit Martin CBE (born 6 May 1947) is a British architectural designer and country house property developer. Martin is the son of Sir Leslie Martin, Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. Since the 1970s Martin has specialised in ...
in 1993–98, with a further 22 dwellings on the estate. Previously the estate had been purchased by
Asil Nadir Asil Nadir (born 1 May 1941) is a British Turkish Cypriot businessman, who was chief executive of Polly Peck, which he took over as a small textile company, growing it during the 1980s to become one of the United Kingdom's top 100 FTSE-listed c ...
in 1991.


Church

The church of the Holy Cross, adjacent to the mansion, is in the care of the
Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...
. It contains a moving memorial by Sir
Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...
to
Lady Charlotte Finch Lady Charlotte Finch (''née'' Fermor; 14 February 1725 – 11 July 1813) was a British royal governess. She was governess to the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte for over thirty years, holding the position from 1762 to 1793. Her ...
(1820).


Cricket venue

George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (4 November 1752 – 2 August 1826), was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen pla ...
, lived at the mansion in the late 18th century and used its grounds to stage a number of
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
matches, six of them first-class, between 1790 and 1793.List of matches
/ref> As late as 1814, the venue was used for a Rutland v
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
game.


References


Bibliography

*
Howard Colvin Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840' ...
, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'', 3rd ed. (Yale University Press) 1995


External links


Burley on the Hill mansion photo
{{authority control Villages in Rutland History of Rutland Civil parishes in Rutland