Wollaton Hall is a country house in Wollaton, Nottingham, England started in 1580 and completed in 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby (1547-1596) by the Elizabethan architect, Robert Smythson (also the architect of Hardwick Hall). The building consists of a high central hall, surrounded by four towers. Unfortunately, a fire caused damage to Smythson's interior decoration of some of the ground floor rooms, however little structural damage occurred. Remodelling was carried out by Sir Jeffry Wyattville in 1801 and continued on and off until the 1830s. The gallery of the main hall contains Nottinghamshire's oldest pipe organ, thought to date from the end of the seventeenth century, possibly by the builder Gerard Smith. It is still blown by hand. Now owned by the Nottingham City Council, it houses Nottingham City Museum & Galleries Natural History Collections whilst the stable block contains the Industrial Collections. In 1855 Joseph Paxton designed a near replica of Wollaton Hall in Buckinghamshire, now known as Mentmore Towers. The grounds, Wollaton Park, are the home to the Intercounties Cross Country trials in March of each year, as well as many other events. In this park, during World War II members of the U.S. 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment were billeted waiting to be parachuted into Europe. A small plaque commemorates this event. The hall reopened on Saturday 8th April 2007 after being closed for refurbishment. The prospect room at the top of the house, and the kitchens in the basement, were opened up for the public to visit.
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Owners of Wollaton Hall
- 1580 - 1596 Sir Francis Willoughby (1547-1596)
- 1596 - 1643 Sir Percival Willoughby
- 1643 - 1672 Francis Willughby FRS
- 1672 - 1729 Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton
- 1729 - 1758 Francis Willoughby, 2nd Baron Middleton
- 1758 - 1774 Francis Willoughby, 3rd Baron Middleton
- 1774 - 1781 Thomas Willoughby, 4th Baron Middleton
- 1781 - 1800 Henry Willoughby, 5th Baron Middleton
- 1800 - 1835 Henry Willoughby, 6th Baron Middleton
- 1835 - 1856 Digby Willoughby, 7th Baron Middleton
- 1856 - 1877 Henry Willoughby, 8th Baron Middleton
- 1877 - 1922 Digby Wentworth Bayard Willoughby, 9th Baron Middleton
- 1922 - 1924 Godfrey Ernest Percival Willoughby, 10th Baron Middleton
- 1924 - 1925 Michael Guy Percival Willoughby, 11th Baron Middleton
- 1925 - present day - Nottingham Corporation
Industrial Museum
The Courtyard range contains the City's Industrial Museum, with a display of Textile, Transport and Technology from Nottingham's past, including the Basford Beam Engine, a fully operational analogue telephone network, a display of cycles, motor cycles and motor cars linked to the city and examples of significant lace making machinery - which put Nottingham on the textile map. The Steam Engine House has a fully operational Steaming Day run by the Nottingham Arkwright Society [1] on the last Sunday of every month. The Industrial Museum is accessed through the Courtyard Stables shop and via the Wollaton Visitor Centre.
- Vintage Tractor Collection
The Museum has a collection of vintage tractors.
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- Field Marshall series II built in the 1940's. Operational and used regularly for Steam Up events.
- Standard Fordson Tractor. Undergoing a repaint and some mechanical work.
- Little Grey Fergi T20. In a workable condition but currently receiving attention to its front wheels.
- Fordson Major built in 1950's. Operational and used regularly for the Steam up events.
- Little Grey Fergi the second. At the start of a major restoration.
- Fowler Ploughing Engines
The museum has two 1929 John Fowler & Co. Ploughing Engines which where the last two to be built by Fowler and they also have a canopy on them which is very unusual for a ploughing engine. One (VO 8987) is operational and is used regularly on steaming days, the other (VO 8988) is not operational and is awaiting a major overhaul which will include the fitting of a new boiler.
- Portable Engines
The museum has two Portable Engines on site. One was built in 1886 by Marshall and is in a steamable condition, the other has built by Crosskill and is disguised as Trevor the Traction Engine
- Other things
As well as the tractors and traction engines the museum has a Living van, a saw bench, a threshing machine and 2 ploughs originally used with ploughing engines like the two that the museums got.
External links
- Nottingham City Council Site
- Official Site.
- Aerial photo of Wollaton Hall. Other map and aerial photo sources.
- Photographs of Wollaton Hall from Nottingham21
References
- Marshall, P (1999), Wollaton Hall and the Willoughby Family, Nottingham Civic Society.
