Kelham Hall
| Kelham Hall | |
| Nottinghamshire | |
|---|---|
 Kelham Hall | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK77445551 |
| Location: | 53°5’28"N, -0°50’43"W |
| History | |
| Built 1859 – 1861 | |
| For: | Sir George Gilbert Scott |
| Country house | |
| Victoian Gothic | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Converted to hotel |
Kelham Hall is a country house by Kelham in Nottinghamshire. It was originally the home of the Manners-Sutton family (a family connected to the Dukes of Rutland, the Marquess of Granby, and Viscount Canterbury) of Averham,[1] though it left the family in the early twentieth century, and after passing through a number of hands it has been converted, with some difficulty, into a boutique hotel.
The house stands in 52 acres of parkland. It was built between 1859 and 1861 in the Gothic revival style; a fine example of the wok of Sir George Gilbert Scott. It is a Grade I listed building.[2]
The house incorporates a service range built in 1844-1846 by A. Salvin in the Renaissance revival style. It has been modified in the 19th and 20th century
The remains of the former monastic buildings and chapel adjoining Kelham Hall have converted to offices and a function room, and are Grade II listed.[3]
History
The Kelham estate was first acquired by William Sutton from the Foljambe family. It was here in 1647 that King Charles I was held for several days after he surrendered on 5 May 1647 at the end of the Civil War in nearby Southwell. After the Civil War, William's son Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton, upgraded the Hall. This first house though was destroyed by fire in the reign of William and Mary.
A replacement house was built c.1730 by John Sanderson for Bridget, the Duchess of Rutland, the only surviving child of the second Lord Lexington. She had married John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland and their descendants would be known by the name of Manners-Sutton. This building was also destroyed by fire, on 27 November 1857 during the Victorian era, when the owner was in Italy.
The third and present Kelham Hall "is considered a masterpiece of high Victorian Gothic architecture, entirely asymmetrical, with a gloriously irregular skyline, and crowning 'grandiloquent' towers."[4] It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1863. Not long after the fire, "a new Kelham Hall, of magnificent proportions, and of an architectural beauty far superior to that possessed by its predecessors, either at Kelham or Averham was erected in the Italian style... and is justly said to be one of (Scott's)...most successful works."[5] In 1865 Gilbert Scott reused many of the design details of Kelham Hall on a much larger scale for the façade of the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras railway station in London, completed in 1876.
The Manners-Sutton family then ran into financial difficulties and the Hall was sold in 1903 to a Roman Catholic organisation, the Society of the Sacred Mission in 1903 and run as a theological college. It was occupied by the Army during First World War. The Great Chapel "was dedicated in 1928 and was a masterpiece. It was almost square with a great central dome, (62 feet across and 68 feet: the second largest concrete dome in England). A few visitors said it reminded them of Stonehenge – massive, austere and mysterious."[6]
A bronze sculpture, known as 'the Kelham Rood', depicting Christ on the Cross accompanied by figures of St John and the Virgin Mary was commissioned from the sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger to adorn the chapel in 1927, and was completed in 1929. "The main accommodation building at the front of the Hall was completed in 1939 to house the Monks and the theological students but its first occupants were a garrison of the 'Blues' cavalry and also Texas and Oklahoma oil men who were involved in drilling for oil at the nearby Eakring oilfield." The Hall was again occupied by military personnel during Second World War.
The Society of the Sacred Mission theological college closed in 1972 due to declining numbers.[7]
Recent history
In 1973, the Hall became the head office of Newark and Sherwood Council. Jagger's Kelham Rood sculpture was removed and re-erected at Willen Priory in Milton Keynes, where it stood in the garden until 2003 when it underwent restoration and was moved to the Church of St John the Divine, Kennington, in London.
Kelham Hall was sold to Jonathan Pass in 2014,[8] who formed a private company, Kelham Hall Ltd, with the council as sitting tenants.
In May 2015 Newark and Sherwood Concert Band moved its rehearsal base to Kelham Hall and now rehearses there weekly in the Dome. In 2017, the council moved out, into a new building close to Newark town centre.[9]
The Hall was to become a prestigious hotel, conference centre and health spa, according to Jonathan Pass, managing director of Kelham Hall Ltd.[10][11] Initially, Pass began redeveloping Kelham Hall & Country Park into a venue for weddings and conferences;[12] that use commenced after planning consent was obtained. No overnight accommodations were offered.[13][14]
The conversion to a hotel was not completed; an October 2019 news item indicated that Averham, Kelham and Staythorpe Parish Council had some objections to such a large hotel, since the previous application had proposed 71 bedrooms.[15] By June 2020, however, another news source stated that the building was "ready to be used as a 103-bed hotel and spa with full planning consent to do so".[16] Also in June 2020, the Corporate Hotels division of Christie & Co began to market Kelham Hall for sale with a guide price of £10 million, as a development opportunity: "a chance to create what could be one of the best hotels in the country".[17]
The hotel ceased trading in 2021 and the company went into liquidation.[18]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kelham Hall) |
References
- ↑ Nottinghamshire: history and archaeology | Link's with Old Nottingham: Southwell: The Saracen's Head
- ↑ National Heritage List 1045982: Kelham Hall (Grade I listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1045944: Former Monastic buildings adjoining Kelham Hall (Grade II listing)
- ↑ Tim Warner in The Newark Advertiser, 1 October 2006
- ↑ Brown, 1896
- ↑ The Society of the Sacred Mission
- ↑ The Society of the Sacred Mission
- ↑ BBC on the sale of Kelham Hall
- ↑ Businessman finalises purchase of Kelham Hall for wedding venue and boutique hotel 3 January 2018
- ↑ Grade I-listed Kelham Hall conversion 'will create 80 jobs'
- ↑ NSDC Update
- ↑ Businessman finalises purchase of Kelham Hall for wedding venue and boutique hotel 3 January 2018
- ↑ Kelham Hall & Country Park
- ↑ Kelham Hall
- ↑ Kelham Hall will now be a 103-bedroom hotel — an increase on the original 71 bedrooms
- ↑ Magnificent stately home goes up for sale for a staggering price
- ↑ Kelham Hall put up for sale for £10m after two years
- ↑ Kelham Hall closed as company goes into liquidation’: ‘’Newark Advertiser’’ 26 June 2021