Merevale Hall is a private country house in Merevale

Merevale

Merevale is a Village and Civil Parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. Located about one and a half miles west of Atherstone, it is the site of a medieval Cistercian Abbey and Merevale Hall, .-Merevale Abbey:An abbey was built in Merevale in 1148 by...

, near Atherstone

Atherstone

Atherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. The town is located near the northernmost tip of Warwickshire, close to the border with Staffordshire and Leicestershire and is the administrative headquarters of the borough of North Warwickshire.-History:...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The Manor of Merevale was granted in 1540 to Sir Walter Devereux

Earl of Essex

Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...

. The Devereux estates were sequestered

Sequestration (law)

Sequestration is the act of removing, separating, or seizing anything from the possession of its owner under process of law for the benefit of creditors or the state.-Etymology:...

  in 1601 following the attainder

Attainder

In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...

 and execution of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...

 for treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

.

The estate was purchased by Edward Stratford in 1649. In 1767 the Merevale sole heiress Penelope Stratford married Richard Geast who had inherited the neighbouring estate of Blyth Hall

Blyth Hall

Blyth Hall is a privately owned mansion house situated near Shustoke, Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building.The estate was purchased by William Dugdale a prominent antiquarian in 1625 who shortly thereafter built himself a new house on the site...

  from his maternal uncle John Dugdale in 1749 and who in 1799 adopted the surname Dugdale.

The old 17th century seven bayed manor house was rebuilt in 1840 in monumental style to designs by architect Edward Blore

Edward Blore

Edward Blore was a 19th century British landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland ....

. Particular features include a square central tower and four slim corner towers topped by cupolas.

The Dugdales later became Dugdale Baronets

Dugdale Baronets

There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Dugdale, both in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom.The Dugdale Baronetcy, of Merevale and Blyth in the County of Warwick, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 17 July 1936 for William Francis Stratford...

of Merevale and Blyth. The family remain in residence at both estates.

The Hall is not open to the public.