Blithfield Hall
Encyclopedia
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England, situated some 9 miles (14.5 km) east of Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
, 7 miles (11.3 km) southwest of Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
and 5 miles (8 km) north of Rugeley
Rugeley
Rugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter...
.
The Hall, with its embattled towers and walls, has been the home of the Bagot family
Baron Bagot
Baron Bagot, of Bagot's Bromley in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 12 October 1780 for Sir William Bagot, 6th Baronet.-Bagot family:...
since the late 14th century. The present house is mainly Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
, with a Gothic façade added in the 1820s to a design probably by John Buckler
John Buckler
John Buckler was a British artist and occasional architect who is best remembered for his many drawings of churches and other historic buildings, recording much that has since been altered or destroyed....
.
In 1945 the Hall, then in a neglected and dilapidated state, was sold by Gerald Bagot, 5th Baron Bagot
Gerald Bagot, 5th Baron Bagot
Gerald William Bagot, 5th Baron Bagot was the son of Vice-Admiral Henry Bagot and Eleanor Chandos-Pole. He succeeded to the Barony of Bagot's Bromley and the Baronetcy of Blithfield Hall on the death of his second cousin William Bagot, 4th Baron Bagot on 23 December 1932.He was educated at...
together with its 650 acres (263 ha) estate to South Staffordshire Waterworks Company
South Staffordshire Water
South Staffordshire Water PLC known as South Staffs Water, is a privately owned water company supplying water to parts of Staffordshire and the West Midlands, England....
, whose intention was to build a reservoir
Blithfield Reservoir
Blithfield Reservoir is a large drinking water reservoir in South Staffordshire, England, owned by South Staffordshire Water.Some 800 acres of reservoir was formed on land sold by Baron Bagot to the South Staffordshire Water Company in the 1940s. Blithfield Reservoir was opened by H.M...
(completed in 1953). The 5th Baron died in 1946 having sold many of the contents of the house. His successor and cousin Caryl Bagot, 6th Baron Bagot
Caryl Bagot, 6th Baron Bagot
Caryl Ernest Bagot, 6th Baron Bagot was the son of Rev. Lewis Richard Charles Bagot Vicar of Stanton Lacy, Shropshire...
repurchased the property and 30 acres (12.1 ha) of land from the water company and began an extensive programme of renovation and restoration.
The 6th Baron died in 1961 and bequeathed the property to his widow, Nancy, Lady Bagot. In 1986, the Hall was divided into four separate houses. The main part which incorporates the Great Hall
Great Hall
Great Hall may refer to* Great hall, the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or large manor house* Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Beijing* Great Hall of the University of Sydney, Australia* Cooper_Union#The_Great_Hall, New York...
is owned by the Bagot Jewitt Trust. Nancy, Lady Bagot and the Bagot Jewitt family remain in residence.
On a Monday in early September every year, villagers from nearby Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is famous for the annual Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. It is also the home of one of the Woodard Schools, Abbots Bromley School for Girls...
visit the Hall to perform the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is an English folk dance involving reindeer antlers and a hobby horse that takes place each year in Abbots Bromley, a small village in Staffordshire, England.-Origins:...
.
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
, the Bagot goat
Bagot goat
The Bagot goat is a breed of goat which for several hundred years has lived semi-wild at Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire, England. It is a small goat, with a black head and neck and the remainder of the body white...
. The part of the parish known as Bagot's Bromley took its name from ownership by the family since 1360. Bagot's Wood
Bagot's Wood
Bagot's Wood is the largest extant piece of the ancient Needwood Forest, located near to Abbots Bromley, in Staffordshire, England. The forest derives its name from the Bagot family, seated for centuries at Blithfield Hall in Staffordshire....
, the remains of the ancient Needwood Forest
Needwood Forest
Needwood Forest was a large area of ancient woodland in Staffordshire which was largely lost at the end of the 18th century.-History:Needwood Forest was a chase or royal forest given to Henry III's son Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, in 1266...
also takes its name from the Bagots.
See also
- List of Grade I listed buildings in Staffordshire
- Bagot Barons and BaronetsBaron BagotBaron Bagot, of Bagot's Bromley in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 12 October 1780 for Sir William Bagot, 6th Baronet.-Bagot family:...