Meaford Hall in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, England is a 17th-century country house at
Meaford, near
Stone, Staffordshire
Stone is a market town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England; it is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of the county town of Stafford, 7 miles (11 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent and 15 miles (24 km) north of Rugeley. As a notable c ...
. The
River Trent
The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...
runs through the estate's meadow. On the river was one round and one three-sided half-turret.
It is a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
that reached as much as 156 feet long by 45 feet wide with a basement, ground floor and second floor.
The hall consisted of two buildings with a chamber, work room and bedroom. The basement included a deeds room,
wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...
, two beer cellars and dispense cellar.
The estate was founded in the 8th century and acquired by William Jervis of Chatcull in the late 17th century and remained the seat of the Jervis family for almost 250 years.
It played a role in
The 'Forty-Five'
The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
rebellion by the
Young Pretender
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
,
Prince Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
. Swinfen Jervis received 70 soldiers and awaited an engagement that never occurred.
It was the birthplace of
Admiral John Jervis, later 1st Earl St Vincent, hero of the defeat of the Spanish at the
Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797.
The hall was much extended and modernised by Lady Forester, daughter of
Edward Jervis Jervis, 2nd Viscount St Vincent
Edward Jervis Jervis, 2nd Viscount St Vincent (1 April 1767 – 25 September 1859) was an English peer.
Early life
Jervis was born Edward Jervis Ricketts, the second son of William Henry Ricketts and Mary Jervis. Mary Jervis was the daughter of ...
in the late 19th century but was sold in 1943. Thereafter it was variously occupied by the United States forces, and by a school and latterly it served as the headquarters of the building company Percy Bilton Ltd. Following a period of unoccupation and neglect the hall – much reduced in size
– was restored by a new owner and was reopened on 14 February 1997, the bicentenary of the Battle of Cape St Vincent.
At some point it was acquired by Craig Johnson, who undertook a number of developments, including addition of a leisure suite.
In April 2008 Johnson was one of 21 people to be jailed in connection with a £138million
VAT
A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...
carousel fraud, with the defendants sentenced to a total of 133 years – one of the largest thefts from public funds that has been brought to court after a Customs investigation. In November 2008, Johnson was ordered to repay
HMRC
His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the UK government responsible for the tax collectio ...
£26m, with £8m due within 12 months from the sale of Meaford Hall.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Stone Rural
*
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
References
Heritage Gateway: architectural description of listed building. Original 18th century building Heritage Gateway: architectural description of listed building. 19th century Hall
External links
{{coord, 52.9179, -2.1668, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title
Grade II* listed houses in Staffordshire