Ragley Hall
Encyclopedia
Alcester
Alcester is an old market town of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in Warwickshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 8 miles south of Redditch, close to the Worcestershire border...
, 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...
, eight miles (13 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. It is the ancestral seat of the Marquess of Hertford
Marquess of Hertford
The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain.The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Seymour, who was simultaneously created Baron Beauchamp of Hache...
and is one of the stately homes of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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The present day
The House and the 400 acres (1.6 km²) grounds are seasonally open to the public. The Hall is filled with fine paintings, ceramics and antique furniture. The Great Hall is adorned with stunning Baroque plasterwork by James Gibbs and the Red Saloon remains exactly as it was decorated and furnished by James WyattJames Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
in 1780.
The Gardens provide colour and interest throughout the year with a Winter Garden, Spring Bulb Bank and contemporary Rose Garden among the highlights. The Woodland Walk takes you around the park and provides stunning views of the Countryside and
there is also an adventure playground for children which is beautifully blended into its current surroundings.
Ragley is the site of the Jerwood Sculpture Park
Jerwood Sculpture
The Jerwood Foundation's sculpture collection is a collection of 20th and 21st century sculptures. They are diplayed at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire, England....
, opened in July 2004. The Park includes works that won the Jerwood Sculpture Prizes, and the work of Dame Elizabeth Frink, among others. In 1969 the 8th Marques of Hertford commissioned the artist Graham Rust
Graham Rust
Graham Rust, born in Hertfordshire, England in 1942, is an internationally renowned artist and muralist.-Life:Graham Redgrave-Rust was born in Hertfordshire, England in 1942. He studied drawing and painting at the Regent Street Polytechnic School of Art, the Central School of Arts and Crafts in...
to decorate the South Staircase Hall with murals, showing "The Temptation of Christ" and members of the family on an illusionary gallery.
Ragley also hosts Weddings, Corporate Functions and Outdoor Events and in 2010 hosted the CLA Game Fair the world's largest countryside event held by the Country Land and Business Association
Country Land and Business Association
The Country Land and Business Association is a voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom.-Membership:...
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History
A Saxon word meaning ‘rubbish dump’, Ragley was given to Evesham Abbey by the King of Mercia in AD 711. Seven hundred years later the Abbey sold Ragley to the Rous family who built an embattled castle thought to be on the site of what is the Rose Garden today.In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir John Conway came from Conway Castle in Wales to marry the heiress to Arrow, just outside Ragley Park. He then bought Ragley Castle and its lands: the last time Ragley has changed hands by purchase.
It was Sir John’s grandson, the first Earl of Conway, who engaged Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke FRS was an English natural philosopher, architect and polymath.His adult life comprised three distinct periods: as a scientific inquirer lacking money; achieving great wealth and standing through his reputation for hard work and scrupulous honesty following the great fire of 1666, but...
to design the Palladian House which can be seen today. Hooke, a contemporary of Christopher Wren, was a notable architect and scientist and of the several great houses he built only Ragley remains.
The building was not completed until the middle of the 18th century with James Gibbs
James Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
designing the baroque plaster decoration in the Great Hall in 1750 and Wyatt adding the portico, as well as decorating the Red and Mauve Rooms, in 1780.
The title of Marquess of Hertford
Marquess of Hertford
The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain.The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Seymour, who was simultaneously created Baron Beauchamp of Hache...
was created in 1793 for Francis, 2nd Lord Conway who was rewarded for services to his country mainly rendered in governing Ireland.
Each period in Ragley’s history has made its mark on the House and the Estate and each Marquess has had varying passions from art to theatre and careers ranging from military to agricultural.
One man who made a notable contribution to the art world was Richard, the 4th Marquess, who never visited Ragley and lived his entire life in Paris. Both he and his father were avid art collectors and he devoted his life and income to buying pictures to add to his collection. He did not marry and left everything except Ragley, Conway Castle and some property in Coventry, to his illegitimate son Richard Wallace. The 4th Marquess was an extremely bad landlord and left Ragley sadly neglected, however anyone who has seen the Wallace Collection
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
at Hertford House in London will find it difficult to condemn him.
Since then Ragley faced mixed fortunes until the 1950s when the 8th Marquess made the decision to open to the public. Lord and Lady Hertford worked tirelessly to restore the House, which had not been fully occupied since 1912 and was used as a hospital during the Second World War.
The House was first opened in 1958 and over the coming years the State Rooms were gradually restored to their former glory. The 8th Marquess made his mark on Ragley by commissioning Graham Rust to create a modern mural, The Temptation, in the South Staircase Hall which took fourteen years to complete and features several family members and pets.
The Ragley of the 21st century is a thriving country estate with a successful Farm, Butchers and Sawmill as well as a portfolio of Properties. The Hall, Park & Gardens are run as a tourist attraction and events venue as well as being a family home to the 9th Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford and their four children.
Popular culture
- Ragley Hall was used as a location in the 1982 television version of The Scarlet PimpernelThe Scarlet Pimpernel (1982 film)The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1982 film set during the French Revolution. It is based on the novels The Scarlet Pimpernel and Eldorado by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, and stars Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel, the protagonist, Jane Seymour as Marguerite St...
. - The Great Hall at Ragley was featured in the 1993 BBC television serial To Play The KingTo Play the KingTo Play The King is a 1993 BBC television serial, the second part of the House of Cards trilogy. Directed by Paul Seed, the serial was based on the Michael Dobbs novel of the same name and adapted for television by Andrew Davies...
as the king's gym - Ragley also featured in the 1998 television version of the period drama Vanity Fair as Lord Steyne's House.
- Ragley Hall played the role of the far more grand Palace of VersaillesPalace of VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
in the fourth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, titled "The Girl in the FireplaceThe Girl in the Fireplace"The Girl in the Fireplace" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 6 May 2006, and is the only episode in the 2006 series written by Steven Moffat...
", first broadcast in May 2006. - Ragley featured in the first episode of Series 2 of BBC 1's 2010 drama SurvivorsSurvivors (2008 TV Series)Survivors is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC. It depicts the lives of a group of people who survived a virulent strain of heretofore unknown influenza which has wiped out most of the human race...
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