Drayton House
Encyclopedia
History
Aubrey de Vere I
Aubrey de Vere I
Aubrey de Vere was a tenant-in-chief of William the Conqueror in 1086 and also vassal to Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances and to Count Alan, lord of Richmond. A much later source named his father as Alphonsus...
give distinguished service at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
, and was awarded land near Northampton to build a manor house. In the early thirteenth century, Sir Walter de Vere dropped the “de Vere” family name, and assume the surname “Drayton”.
The core of the house was built by Sir Simon de Drayton around 1300 and still survives. He received his licence to crenellate in 1328. There have been changes to the house in each century since, including works recorded by Isaac Rowe, John Webb, William Talman
William Talman (architect)
William Talman was an English architect and landscape designer. A pupil of Sir Christopher Wren, in 1678 he and Thomas Apprice gained the office of King's Waiter in the Port of London...
, Gerard Lanscroon, William Rhodes, Alexander Roos, George Devey
George Devey
George Devey was a British architect, born in London, the second son of Frederick and Ann Devey. Devey was educated in London, after leaving school he initially studied art, with an ambition to become a professional artist...
and John Alfred Gotch
John Alfred Gotch
John Alfred Gotch was a noted British architect and architectural historian. His brother was the Pre-Raphaelite painter and illustrator Thomas Cooper Gotch, who painted his portrait....
. However, the house is important for the transformation it underwent during during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. There is a unique spiral cantilever oak staircase dating from around 1680 and an embroidered State Bed from 1700.
In 1770 the house passed to the Sackville family. Two rooms were redecorated in the Adam style. The house today still preserves its medieval origins and the changes in the Baroque period, and is still a family home. It is built of squared coursed limestone and limestone ashlar with lead and Collyweston stone slate
Collyweston stone slate
Collyweston stone slate is a traditional roofing material found in England.It is not a proper slate but a limestone found in narrow beds. The slates are quarried near the village of Collyweston in Northamptonshire, near Stamford and close to the borders of Lincolnshire and Rutland. It is...
roofs, and sits in large grounds known as Drayton Park.
Principal owners of the house
- Sir Simon de Drayton 1300 - 1357
- John de Drayton 1358
- Baldwin de Drayton 1358 - 1362
- Sir Henry GreenHenry Green (justice)Sir Henry Green was an English lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench from May 24, 1361 to October 29, 1365. He probably came from Northamptonshire. Early in his career he served both Queen Isabella and Edward the Black Prince. He was made justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1354, and...
1362 - 1370 Chief Justice of the King's Bench - Sir Henry GreeneHenry Green (politician)Sir Henry Green was a courtier and councillor of Richard II.He was born in Greene's Norton, Northamptonshire to Sir Henry Green, a lawyer and Chief Justice...
1370 - 1399 - Ralph Green 1400 - 1417
- John Green 1417 - 1433
- Henry Green 1433 - 1467
- John Stafford, 1st Earl of WiltshireJohn Stafford, 1st Earl of WiltshireJohn Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire was an English nobleman, the youngest son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham.In 1461 he was made a Knight of the Bath....
1467 - 1473 - Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of WiltshireEdward Stafford, 2nd Earl of WiltshireSir Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire was an English nobleman.He was the only child of John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and succeeded his father as earl in 1473 when he was 3 years old....
1473 - 1498 - John Mordaunt, 1st Baron MordauntJohn Mordaunt, 1st Baron MordauntJohn Mordaunt, 1st Baron Mordaunt was an English politician and peer.He was the son of John Mordaunt of Turvey, Bedfordshire, who was MP and speaker of the house. He was admitted to the Middle temple in 1503 to be trained as a lawyer....
1515 - 1561 - John Mordaunt, 2nd Baron MordauntJohn Mordaunt, 2nd Baron MordauntJohn Mordaunt, 2nd Baron Mordaunt was an English baron and member of the House of Lords. He represented Bedfordshire in the House of Commons.He inherited the title Baron Mordaunt in 1562 from John Mordaunt, 1st Baron Mordaunt.-References:...
1561 - 1571 - Lewis Mordaunt, 3rd Baron MordauntLewis Mordaunt, 3rd Baron MordauntLewis Mordaunt, 3rd Baron Mordaunt was an English peer and politician.He was the son of John Mordaunt, 2nd Baron Mordaunt and Ela Mordaunt...
1571 - 1601 - Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt 1601 - 1610
- John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of PeterboroughJohn Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough-Life:He was the eldest son of Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt, a Roman Catholic kept for a year in the Tower of London on suspicion of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot, who died in 1608. The widow, Lady Margaret, daughter of Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton, also a Catholic, was deprived by...
1610 - 1642 - Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of PeterboroughHenry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of PeterboroughHenry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough, KG, PC, FRS was an English soldier, peer and courtier.-Early life:Styled Lord Mordaunt from 1628, he was the eldest son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough...
1642 - 1697 - Mary Howard, Duchess of NorfolkMary Howard, Duchess of NorfolkMary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk and 7th Baroness Mordaunt was a British peeress.Born Lady Mary Mordaunt, she was the only child and heiress of Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough. On 8 August 1677, she married Henry Howard, Earl of Arundel, who later succeeded his father as Duke of Norfolk in...
and Sir John Germain, 1st BaronetSir John Germain, 1st BaronetSir John Germain, 1st Baronet was a British soldier and politician.Of Dutch descent, Germain was thought to be an illegitimate half-brother of William III of England. He was created a Baronet, of Westminster, in the Baronetage of England on 25 March 1698...
1697 - 1718 - Elizabeth GermainElizabeth GermainLady Elizabeth "Betty" Germain was a wealthy English aristocrat and courtier, a philanthropist and collector of antiquities, who corresponded with literary and political figures.-Life:...
1718 - 1769 - George Germain, 1st Viscount SackvilleGeorge Germain, 1st Viscount SackvilleGeorge Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville PC , known as the Hon. George Sackville to 1720, as Lord George Sackville from 1720 to 1770, and as Lord George Germain from 1770 to 1782, was a British soldier and politician who was Secretary of State for America in Lord North's cabinet during the American...
1770 - 1785 - Charles Sackville-Germain, 5th Duke of DorsetCharles Sackville-Germain, 5th Duke of DorsetCharles Sackville-Germain, 5th Duke of Dorset KG, PC , known briefly as Charles Sackville before 1770, as Charles Germain between 1770 and 1785, and as The Viscount Sackville between 1785 and 1815, was a British peer, courtier and Tory politician...
1785 - 1843 - William Bruce Stopford 1843 - 1872
- Sackville Stopford-SackvilleSackville Stopford-SackvilleSackville George Stopford-Sackville DL, JP , known as Sackville Stopford until 1870, was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
1872 - 1926 - Nigel Victor Stopford-Sackville 1926 - 1972
- Lionel Geoffrey Stopford-Sackville 1972 -
Main rooms
- Late thirteenth century solar undercroft.
- Medieval Great Hall remodelled early in the eighteenth century by William TalmanWilliam Talman (architect)William Talman was an English architect and landscape designer. A pupil of Sir Christopher Wren, in 1678 he and Thomas Apprice gained the office of King's Waiter in the Port of London...
and decorated by Alexander Roos c.1850 to simulate marble. - Dining room (originally the medieval buttery and pantry). Remodelled c.1771/74 by William Rhodes possibly to design by William Chambers.
- The Green Drawing Room remodelled c.1773 by W. Rhodes
- The Blue Drawing Room, with decoration by John Webb.
- The State Bedroom remodelled c.1653 by John Webb. This room has a Priest holePriest hole"Priest hole" is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558....
above it. - Lacquer closet off State Bedroom with panels of Chinese Coromandel ScreenCoromandel ScreenA Coromandel Screen is a wooden folding screen coated in dark lacquer that is carved before being painted with gold or varied colors. Some may be decorated with precious stones....
. - The chapel
- The Kings Dining Room (originally the medieval solar)
- The library (originally the long gallery).