Rainham Hall is a Grade II*

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house, owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, in Rainham, in the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...

. Built in 1729 for Captain John Harle, the house was transferred to the National Trust in 1949; let to a number of private tenants, it remained closed to the public until late 2015. Of note is that Rainham Hall recently appeared as a location in the 2019 BBC production of ''A Christmas Carol''.

Buildings

Rainham Hall is a three-storey brown and red brick house next to the church of St Helen and St Giles in the centre of Rainham in the

. It is an example of a Dutch domestic Queen Anne style house. Many of the original features of the house remain, including trompe-l'œil frescoes on the walls and Delft tiles in the fireplaces. Outside the front of the house are Grade II* listed wrought-iron railings that feature the intertwining initials of Harle and his wife Mary. They are described as being amongst the finest in London from that time; a guide published by the London Borough of Havering suggests that they might have been created by

Jean Tijou Jean Tijou () was a French Huguenot ironworker. He is known solely through his work in England, where he worked on several of the key English Baroque buildings. Very little is known of his biography. He arrived in England in c. 1689 and enjoyed ...

, a famed blacksmith who produced the ironwork for Hampton Court Palace. Along with the main building the grounds contain a stable/coach house and lodge, all of which were given Grade II* listed status in January 1955. Some of the walls in the garden and "stone garden vases of contemporary date" were also listed at the same time. The two-acre garden features a recently replanted 30-tree orchard, one of the largest in London. Harle used the coach house and hall as the main centre for his trading activities. The close proximity of the commercial and domestic buildings is described by the National Trust as "significant because it seems to be a rare survival of a practice which was once widespread". Rainham Hall has been recommended for an upgrade to Grade I listed status. A 2011 Heritage Scoping Study noted that the main building should be reviewed, stating that "it is one of the finest and best-preserved examples in England of a medium-sized early Georgian merchant’s house" with the National Trust receiving credit for their work on maintaining the property. It goes on to state that the "outstanding level of the significance of this landmark" should merit a review in the listed status.

History

Construction

John Harle was a sea-captain and merchant from South Shields. In 1718 he married Mary Tibbington, a wealthy widow from

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

, and purchased the Rainham wharf. He invested money dredging the

River Ingrebourne The River Ingrebourne is a tributary of the River Thames 27 miles (43.3 km) in length. It is considered a strategic waterway in London, forming part of the Blue Ribbon Network. It flows through the London Borough of Havering roughly from n ...

, thereby giving trading vessels a route up to Rainham from the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. He had Rainham Hall constructed in 1729 using high-quality materials as a showcase for the building products he sold. Harle is credited with being significant in the development of Rainham Village throughout the 18th century. He died in 1742, leaving the house to his second wife.

Decline, sale, and renovation

The Harle family kept possession of the house until 1895, when it fell into a state of disrepair. It was purchased in 1920 by Colonel Herbert Hall Mulliner as a setting for part of his outstanding collections of English furniture and English potteryThe collection was sold at Christie's, 10 July 1924 and following days ''Catalogue of the Important Collection of Old English Furniture, Objects of Art and Tapestry, formed by the late Col. H.H. Mulliner...'', removed from Clifton Court, Rugby and Albany, Piccadilly; the collection was catalogued by

Margaret Jourdain Margaret Jourdain (15 August 1876 – 6 April 1951) was a prominent writer on English furniture and decoration. She began her career ghost-writing as Francis Lenygon for the firm of Lenygon & Morant, dealers in furnishings with a royal appointme ...

, writing as "Francis Lenygon", ''The Late Stuart and Early Georgian Periods. The Decorative Arts in England 1660-1780'' (1924); numerous pieces of furniture from the Mulliner collection were illustrated in

Percy Macquoid Percy Thomas MacQuoid (January 1852 – 20 March 1925) was a British theatrical designer and a collector and connoisseur of English furniture, and the author of articles, largely for '' Country Life'', and of four books on the history of English ...

and Ralph Edwards, eds. ''The Dictionary of English furniture'' (1927). before being given to the National Trust in 1949. The buildings have not been fully open to the public for some time, but significant investment is allowing the National Trust to prepare for longer opening hours. Restoration of the buildings is now being funded by the National Trust,

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, and Veolia North Thames Trust and

Havering London Borough Council Havering London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Havering in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Havering is divided into 18 wards, each elec ...

. A grant of £1.5 million was awarded to pay for the redevelopment of the site, including the conservation of the buildings and the introduction of educational and local community schemes. The renovation plan also features a café, bookshop, and exhibition area.

References

External links