Brodsworth Hall

Website http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConProperty.359

Classification Historic Building

DescriptionBrodsworth Hall was built in the 1860s in the Italianate style also favoured for Queen Victoria's Osborne House, though furnished on a more comfortable and domestic scale. Much of its original scheme survives today, making it one of England's most unaltered Victorian country houses. The gardens, a collection of 'grand gardens in miniature', have been restored to their Victorian splendour, reflecting the desires and aspirations of Victorian country gentry.

Brodsworth's builder was Charles Thellusson, whose wealthy family devoted themselves to yachting and horse-racing. The magnificent silver Goodwood Cup, won by a Thellusson ancestor's racehorse in 1835, has recently been purchased by English Heritage to rejoin the racing mementos still on display at Brodsworth.

The house was occupied in unbroken succession by members of the Thellusson family and their accumulated impedimenta, a factor which lends it special charm. The last resident, the indomitable Sylvia Grant-Dalton, fought a losing battle against subsidence and leaking roofs for 56 years. Following her death in 1988, English Heritage then made the bold but highly successful decision to conserve the interiors 'as found' rather than replacing or restoring them, recounting the tale of how a once opulent Victorian house grew comfortably old and inviting to all.

Exhibitions offering an insight into life at Brodsworth include 'Maids and Mistresses', 'Serving the House', 'Family Life', 'The Gardens', and 'The Goodwood Cup'.

The family gardens, a series of 'grand gardens in miniature', have been substantially restored since English Heritage took over management of the property in 1990: they are now a fine example of 1860s 'gardening book' design. Many years of pruning and tree removal have opened up vistas last enjoyed before World War I.

Position

Photographs

The Address, , Doncaster, DN5 7XJ

Phone01302 724969

DateAug 9, 2006

Contact NameEnglish Heritage

CategoryEngland > Yorkshire (South)
England > Yorkshire (South) > Attractions in Doncaster

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