Foremarke Hall
Foremarke Hall | |
---|---|
Repton Preparatory School | |
Construction started | 1759 |
Completed | 1761 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Foremark Hall |
Designated | 2 September 1952 |
Reference no. | 1096531[1] |
Foremarke Hall is a
It is the current home of the Repton Preparatory School (known as
The school and a Great Western Railway "Modified Hall" class steam locomotive, no. 7903, are named after this hall.
The preparatory school
Repton Prep, housed in Foremarke Hall and its grounds, is a school for boys and girls, day and boarding, from ages 3–13. Founded in 1940 to meet the schooling and boarding needs caused by the Second World War, it was originally established in 1940 at "The Cross" in Repton with just eight boys. In 1942 it moved to Latham House, which was part of Repton School. By the end of the War there were over 100 boys in the prep school, but as the senior school numbers increased the prep school was in danger of being closed or squeezed out. Fortunately Foremarke Hall became available.
"The army moved out of Foremarke Hall in 1946 and Repton school moved in 1947, renting the building from the Church Commissioners. The school was able to purchased the freehold of the current campus in 1967 with 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land and three cottages of the Hamlet." P. Brewster, 2002[3]
The building
It is known that there was a building on this site in 1712 but it can be assumed that it may have already been there some time as Sir Francys Burdett built the nearby Saint Saviour's Church in 1662 and the hall was large and convenient with a hearth tax of 24 hearths.[4]
The present building was built in 1759 to 1761;
On the 2nd floor, in between the Library and the Main Hall, the 3rd floor is hollowed to give a large two-storey space in which large portrait-paintings of Sir Francis 5th Bart.and his wife Sophia,Lady Burdett as well as his father, Francis Burdett, are hung. An L-shaped velvet-carpeted staircase next to the library door leads up to the 3rd-floor, household which is lined with Georgian carved wood-fencings. A chandelier hangs from the roof of the two-storey area. Steps on the 2nd floor lead down to the 1st floor, occupied by Francis boarding house.
History
Foremarke Hall was commissioned to be built as a
According to a directory published in 1846,[6] the hall was "erected about the year 1762" by Sir Robert Burdett[7] (4th Bart. of Foremark), replacing an earlier house on the site, and making it one of the oldest local buildings. However, the nearby
The
In 1835, the hall was described thus:
"Foremark, three miles west from Melbourn, is distinguished as having within its precincts the beautiful seat of Sir Francis Burdett, most judiciously and romantically placed, amidst scenery of a rich, bold and varied character, upon the southern banks of the Trent – the hanging hills being crowned by thriving plantations. The house is spacious, and its appearance imposing to a considerable degree ; the pleasure-grounds are very tasteful, and lead down a valley, through finely wooded avenues to the banks of the river. The church, here, which is dedicated to our Saviour, is a small, plain edifice: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Sir Francis Burdett. The parish of Foremark (including Ingleby township, 163) contained, in 1831, 221 inhabitants."[9]
The Burdett family owned the hall until 1850 when Henry Allsop esquire resided there.[10] It could be that Henry Allsop was not the owner as the Burdett family were still reported as the owners in 1881.[11]
In 1932, Kelly's directory[12] reported:
Major Sir Francis Burdett bart. D.L., J.P. lord of the manor and sole landowner, [has] a fine stone mansion, surrounded by beautiful trees and shrubs ; in the grounds is a lake of considerable dimensions.
During the course of
The Manor may be spelled Foremark or Foremarke (though usually the former), but the stately home – i.e. Foremarke Hall – is always spelled Foremarke.
In autumn 1972 the BBC filmed scenes from
See also
- Landed gentry
- Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts
- Historic house
- List of historic houses in England
- Treasure Houses of England
- Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire
- Listed buildings in Foremark
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Foremark Hall (Grade I) (1096531)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Historic England. "Foremark Hall (Grade I) (1096531)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ A Short History, Paul Brewster, Repton Prep School Directory, 2002/3
- ^ S2CID 162404306.
- List of historic buildings and architects of the United Kingdom
- ^ History,Gazetteer and Directory of Derbyshire, Samuel Bagshaw, 1846
- ^ A View of the Present State of Derbyshire, James Pilkington, 1789
- ^ Directory of the County of Derby, Stephen Glover, 1827-29
- ^ Pigot & Co.'s Commercial Directory for Derbyshire,1835
- ^ Slater's Directory of Derbyshire, 1850
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, and Derbyshire, 1881
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, 1932