Upton Hall is the headquarters of the
British Horological Institute
The British Horological Institute (BHI) is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by a group of clockmakers in 1858, and has its current premises at Upton Hall in Nottinghamshire, which include ...
(BHI) in
Upton, Newark and Sherwood
Upton is a small village in Nottinghamshire, England, east of Southwell, west of Newark and south of Hockerton; it lies on the A612 Nottingham- Newark road. In 1889, the village was described as sitting on a bend in the main road, "on th ...
,
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
,
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 ...
. It has been the headquarters since 1972. It also houses the Museum of Timekeeping consisting of a substantial collection of clocks, watches and also a library. The Museum is open to the public during seasonal summer opening hours, for special events and for pre-booked Group tours.
History
The Hall was built in 1828 by Thomas Wright (1773-1845) a banker of Nottinghamshire. It was designed by the architect W J Donthome.
The hall was purchased in 1895 by John Warwick, a brewer of the firm 'Warwick & Richardson' based in Newark. He used it as a family home. He added a Ballroom, a Billiards Room, and a further six bedrooms. In 1936 the property was bought by
Sir Albert Ball, though he never took up residence there.
In 1952 the hall was declared a listed building. It is now a grade II* listed building,
making it one of the most treasured 5% of all buildings in the UK.
The property is listed by Historic England as a '
[ ] Heritage at Risk'. Roof coverings are in fair condition but rainwater disposal is poor, with corresponding internal dampness and signs of active dry rot. The adjacent stables and courtyard structures contribute to the setting of the hall and are now in very poor condition and all at significant risk of loss.
The building was purchased by the BHI in 1972, where its headquarters have been ever since.
Owners
*Thomas and Frances Wright 1828 - 1845
*Revd. Joseph Banks Wright and Sophia Wright 1845
*Philip Richard Falkner and Alicia Falkner 1857 - 1888
*Mary Frances Falkner 1888 - 1894
*John Francis Warwick and Eliza Gertrude Warwick 1895 - 1935
*
Sir Albert Ball 1936 - 1939
*
Holy Ghost Fathers (Roman Catholic College) 1939 - 1972
*
British Horological Institute
The British Horological Institute (BHI) is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by a group of clockmakers in 1858, and has its current premises at Upton Hall in Nottinghamshire, which include ...
1972 - current
See also
*
Listed building
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 ...
External links
The official website of the BHI
References
{{Reflist
Country houses in Nottinghamshire
Grade II* listed buildings in Nottinghamshire
Upton, Newark and Sherwood
Horology