Wall Hall, originally known as Aldenham Abbey, is a country house at

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, north-east of Watford and southwest of Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of Hertsmere's 14 conservation areas. The village has eight pre-19th-century listed build ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. The main house and several ancillary buildings are Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

. The gardens and parkland are also on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. The 18th century building was remodelled and expanded by George Woodford Thelluson in the early 19th century. It was owned by several wealthy men, including Sir Charles Pole and

J. P. Morgan Jr. John Pierpont Morgan Jr. (September 7, 1867 – March 13, 1943) was an American banker, finance executive, and philanthropist. He inherited the family fortune and took over the business interests including J.P. Morgan & Co. after his father J. P ...

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

hospital was opened in the garage. The attached Church Farm was used as a hospital in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the house being used by the

War Office Selection Boards War Office Selection Boards, or WOSBs, (pronounced Wosbees) were a scheme devised by British Army psychiatrists during World War II to select potential officers for the British Army. They replaced an earlier method, the Command Interview Board, an ...

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

and

Political Warfare Executive During World War II, the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) was a British clandestine body created to produce and disseminate both white and black propaganda, with the aim of damaging enemy morale and sustaining the morale of countries occupied ...

under John Hackett and Walter Bryce Gallie. It later became a teacher training college and a residence of the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...

before being turned into flats, with the extensive grounds and parkland being used as a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

History

The first record of the manor is from the 13th century when it was held by the

Abbey of St Albans St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be a ...

who controlled it until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The house, which has an 18th century core, was owned by Thomas Neate; it was then bought and expanded in the

gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

for George Woodford Thelluson, a wealthy banker, and completed in 1802. Around 1800, Thelluson also built a brick sham ruin with cement rendering in the grounds. An

icehouse Icehouse or ice house may refer to: * Ice house (building), a building where ice is stored * Ice shanty, a shelter for ice fishing also known as an ''Icehouse'' * Ice skating rink, a facility for ice skating. * Ice hockey arena, an area where ice ...

was also brick built and covered with earth. A picturesque gothic

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

with a turret was also constructed at the same time. The granary, which also dates from around 1800, has a timber frame and slate roof. The grounds were laid out by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

. It was then acquired by Admiral

Sir Charles Pole, 1st Baronet Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet GCB (18 January 1757 – 6 September 1830) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial governor and banker. As a junior officer he saw action at the siege of Pondicherry in India during the Ame ...

in 1812. He renamed it Aldenham Abbey. The house passed to William Stuart, Pole's son-in-law, and then remained in the Stuart family until 1910, when it became the property of the banker

The wellhead with a circular bowl with carvings on the outside, within the grounds was put in place by J. P. Morgan in the early 20th century, having been moved from a site where it has stood since the 17th century or earlier. The house and estate were then acquired by

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...

. During

, the hall provided support for wounded soldiers with a

hospital being opened in the garage. By 1916, it had been expanded to hold 30 beds, and it had increased again to 48 beds in 1917. In

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

hospital managed by Thurstan Holland-Hibbert, 4th

Viscount Knutsford Viscount Knutsford, of Knutsford in the County Palatine of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History It was created in 1895 for the lawyer, Conservative politician and former Secretary of State for the Colonies, Henr ...

, was established at Church Farm, on the estate, while the main house was as an administrative centre by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and housed the

. While based at Wall Hall, the selection process was made less subjective and psychologists were brought in to develop intelligence testing and extended interviews for officer candidates. Part of the building and estate was used by the

(SOE) and designated as "STS 39". It moved to Wall Hall in 1943, and was used as a finishing school for agents under the command of Major John Hackett and then Major Walte Gallie as part of the SOE and

. Agents were trained in various potential roles including parachuting, radio operation and weapons handling, along with propaganda in preparation for deployment in

German-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

, particularly

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It also provided a home for

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ke ...

, the United States ambassador. After the war, the house became a teacher training college. It was later used as a residence by the

until 2003 after which it was re-developed into luxury flats, and the west side of the parkland overlaid with a

Architecture

The two-storey main house is built of brick with cement render and a slate roof hidden by a crenellated

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. The front entrance consists of partially glazed double door within a

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...

, which was added around 1830. The door leads to an entrance hall with neo- Jacobean

panelling Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

. At either end of the front elevation are corner turrets with

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s; there are also three-storey turrets. Further turrets are also visible on the front wall; one being square with an octagonal

bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of late medieval and early-modern fortifications from the ...

and the other octagonal. The site covers around and slopes towards the River Colne. An artificial canal from the river feeds a small lake. The remains of a kitchen garden and orchard can still be seen. A broad leaf woodland with bluebells, known as Berrygrove Woods, covers towards the south of the estate.

References

{{Listed buildings in Hertfordshire Country houses in Hertfordshire Grade II listed buildings in Hertfordshire Grade II listed parks and gardens in Hertfordshire Aldenham