Spains Hall is an Elizabethan

Elizabethan era

The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...

 country house near Finchingfield

Finchingfield

Finchingfield is a village situated in the Braintree district of Essex. It is in the north-west of the county, which is a primarily rural area...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

.

The hall is named after Hervey de Ispania, who held the manor

Manorialism

Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

 at the time of the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 in 1086. Since then, the land has been owned by three families - the de Ispania family; the Kempe family, who acquired it when Margery de Ispania married Nicholas Kempe in the early 15th century; and the Ruggles family (later the Ruggles-Brise family). After the Kempe line failed, the house was bought in 1760 by Samuel Ruggles, a clothier

Clothier

Clothier may refer to one of the following professions:*Tailor - the most common modern usage*Cloth merchant*A cloth manufacturer - see cloth productionAs a surname, Clothier may refer to one of the following individuals:...

 from Bocking

Bocking

Bocking can refer to:*Bocking, a village near Braintree, Essex*Bocking 14, a cultivated strain of the plant Comfrey*Powerbocking, the use of powered stilts patented by Alexander Böck...

. His descendents, the Ruggles-Brise family, still live in the house today. Recent occupants include Sir Edward Ruggles-Brise, 1st Baronet (1882–1942), and his son, Sir John Ruggles-Brise, 2nd Baronet (1908–2007).

The current house dates to c. 1570, with earlier remains that include part of a medieval king post

King post

A king post is a central vertical supporting post used in architectural, bridge, or aircraft design applications.-Architecture:...

 roof. The principal façade

Facade

A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

 was remodelled by William Kempe in around 1585 and Dutch gable

Dutch gable

A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a roof, like a normal gable...

s were added by Robert Kempe in 1637. Robert Kempe was reputedly knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed by Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 in 1641, in front of the house.

A park of around 7 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

s surrounding the house was landscaped to a plan by Humphry Repton

Humphry Repton

Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...

 in around 1807; the new landscaping remade some of the series of early 17th-century fishponds as ornamental water features, which are being gradually restored today. Nearer the house are a large (2 hectare) and early (16th-century) walled garden

Walled garden

A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...

, and a mid-19th-century formal garden. The grounds also include the remains of a moat

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

 around an earlier house.

The house is protected as a grade I listed building. The 18th-century dovecote

Dovecote

A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...

 and 19th-century coach house and stable

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

s were converted in 2004 into a venue for weddings, conferences, and other events. Spains Hall itself followed and in 2010 was opened to civil ceremonies, parties and corporate events.

Other historic houses called Spains Hall exist at Willingale

Willingale, Essex

Willingale is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district, in the county of Essex, England. Other nearby settlements include Miller's Green, Shallow Bowells and Birds Green. Willingale has two churches, one called St Christopher, Willingale. and one called St Andrew's Church.- External...

 and Spaynes Hall in Great Yeldham

Great Yeldham

Great Yeldham is a village in north Essex, England, about from the Suffolk border. Surrounding villages and towns include Little Yeldham, Tilbury Juxta Clare, Toppesfield, Stambourne, Ridgewell, Sible Hedingham, Castle Hedingham, Halstead and Sudbury...

, also in Essex.