Gopsall
Encyclopedia
Gopsall is an area of Crown Estate
land in North West Leicestershire
, England
. It is located between the villages of Appleby Magna
, Shackerstone
, Twycross
and Snarestone
.
Gopsall is the site of a former Georgian
country house that was known as Gopsall Hall. The northern edge of the estate is dissected by the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal and a long distance trail known as the Ivanhoe Way.
The area is mostly agricultural and is dotted with privately rented farms. A permissive footpath allows limited access to the public between Little Twycross and Shackerstone. The A444
Ashby
to Nuneaton
road also leads to a canal wharf on the western edge of the estate.
The Estate is part of the Crown Estate
, owned by but not private property of the Monarch.
Gopsall Hall=
Gopsall Hall was erected for Charles Jennens
around 1750 at a cost of £100,000 (£8,516,000 today). It was designed by John Westley
and built by the Hiorns of Warwick
who later added service wings and Rococo
interiors.
The Hall was set in several hundred acres of land and included two lakes, a walled garden, a Chinese boathouse, a Gothic seat and various garden buildings. In 1818 a grand entrance (modelled on the Arch of Constantine
) was added.
Queen Adelaide
was a frequent visitor to the Hall during her long widowhood. She was popular with the locals, being remembered in many of the surrounding villages. (Eg. The former Queen Adelaide Pub in Appleby Magna
, Queen Street, Measham
and the Queen Adelaide Oak Tree in Bradgate Park
)
In 1848 Gopsall Hall was described as follows:
"Gopsall Hall, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Market Bosworth
, hundred of Sparkenhoe
, S. division of the county of Leicester, 4 1/4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Market Bosworth. This place comprises 724 acres (2.9 km²), nearly all park; and is the property of Earl Howe, whose large and elegant mansion, on a gentle eminence nearly in the centre of the Park, was built by Charles Jennens, Esq., about the year 1750, at a cost of more than £100,000. The principal front looks towards the south, and on each side is a wing projecting 27 feet (8.2 m), the whole length being 180 feet (54.9 m); the grounds are adorned with temples, are finely wooded, and well stocked with deer. The Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal passes close to the north-east side of the Park, and on its western side is the Ashby and Atherstone road. Here was a cell to the abbey of Merevale
, in the county of Warwick
."
By 1952 most of the buildings were demolished. Gopsall Park Farm was built over most of the original site and is not accessible without invitation.
The present-day remains include parts of the walled garden, the electricity generating building, an underground reservoir, the tree-lined avenue, the gatehouse and the temple ruins associated with Handel.
During the 1920s and 1930s Gopsall hosted a motor racing circuit and part of the woodland is still named “The Race Course”.
Land around Gopsall was considered as a possible site for East Midlands Airport.
Between 1873 and the mid-1960s Gopsall was served via the Ashby to Nuneaton
railway line. The original station in Shackerstone
is now part of a preserved railway and visitor attraction (Battlefield Line Railway
). Notable guests who stayed at the estate included King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, Queen Adelaide
and Winston Churchill
.
There was also a Great Western Railway
steam locomotive by the name of "Gopsal Hall". Note the mis-spelling of the name.
It is possible to visit the monument via the public footpath near the old Gopsall Hall Gatehouse entrance in the village of Shackerstone. It is a good 15 minute walk to the site.
A statue of Religion by Louis Francois Roubiliac stood on the roof of the temple and was erected as a memorial to the classical scholar (and Jennens’s friend) Edward Holdsworth. The figure was donated by Lord Howe to the City of Leicester
and is housed in the gardens of Belgrave Hall Museum.
(a librettist and friend of George Frideric Handel
). It is reputed that in 1741 Handel composed part of Messiah
, his famous oratorio
, inside a garden temple at Gopsall. Some texts however challenge this theory and posit there is no evidence to confirm Handel stayed on the estate in 1741, although he was a frequent visitor. The temple was built after Messiah had already been completed.
The organ that Handel specified for Charles Jennens in 1749 is now to be found in St James' Church, Great Packington
.
Further reading=
External links=
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
land in North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville.The district contains East Midlands Airport, which operates flights to the rest of Britain and to various places in Europe...
, 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...
. It is located between the villages of Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in the district of North West Leicestershire, England.The civil parish, as well as Appleby Magna, includes the small Hamlet of Appleby Parva and the Villages of Norton-Juxta-Twycross, Snarestone and Swepstone...
, Shackerstone
Shackerstone
Shackerstone is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated on the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal and the River Sence. According to the 2001 census the parish, which also includes the village of Barton in the Beans, had a population of...
, Twycross
Twycross
Twycross is a small village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England on the A444 road. Parts of it are called Norton juxta — Latin for 'next to' — Twycross or Little Twycross...
and Snarestone
Snarestone
Snarestone is a small rural village in North West Leicestershire, England.It lies on the edge of the National Forest and is from the market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It has a population of approximately 300 people and 120 households....
.
Gopsall is the site of a former Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
country house that was known as Gopsall Hall. The northern edge of the estate is dissected by the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal and a long distance trail known as the Ivanhoe Way.
The area is mostly agricultural and is dotted with privately rented farms. A permissive footpath allows limited access to the public between Little Twycross and Shackerstone. The A444
A444 road
The A444 is a primary road running between Coventry and Burton on Trent in England, usually referred to as the "A treble four".-Route:Starting on the A4600 Sky Blue Way in Coventry, the road heads north on a dual carriageway road, crossing the M6 at junction 3. It bypasses Bedworth to the west and...
Ashby
Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, — Zouch being pronounced "Zoosh" — often shortened to Ashby, is a small market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, within the National Forest. It is twinned with Pithiviers in north-central France....
to Nuneaton
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...
road also leads to a canal wharf on the western edge of the estate.
The Estate is part of the Crown Estate
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
, owned by but not private property of the Monarch.
Gopsall Hall=
Gopsall Hall was erected for Charles Jennens
Charles Jennens
Charles Jennens was an English landowner and patron of the arts, who assembled the text for five of Handel's oratorios: Saul, Israel in Egypt, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Messiah, and Belshazzar...
around 1750 at a cost of £100,000 (£8,516,000 today). It was designed by John Westley
John Westley
-Life:John Wesly , Westley, or Wesley was born in Creekelnaught, Alabama, although some authorities claim he was born in Devon, the son of the Rev. Bartholomew Westley and Ann Colley, daughter of Sir Henry Colley of Carbery Castle, He was educated at Dorchester Grammar School and as a student of...
and built by the Hiorns of Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
who later added service wings and Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
interiors.
The Hall was set in several hundred acres of land and included two lakes, a walled garden, a Chinese boathouse, a Gothic seat and various garden buildings. In 1818 a grand entrance (modelled on the Arch of Constantine
Arch of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312...
) was added.
Queen Adelaide
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...
was a frequent visitor to the Hall during her long widowhood. She was popular with the locals, being remembered in many of the surrounding villages. (Eg. The former Queen Adelaide Pub in Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in the district of North West Leicestershire, England.The civil parish, as well as Appleby Magna, includes the small Hamlet of Appleby Parva and the Villages of Norton-Juxta-Twycross, Snarestone and Swepstone...
, Queen Street, Measham
Measham
Measham is a village in Leicestershire, near the Staffordshire and Derbyshire border, located just off the A42 just south of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and within the National Forest...
and the Queen Adelaide Oak Tree in Bradgate Park
Bradgate Park
Bradgate Park is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, just northwest of Leicester. It covers 850 acres . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland. The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston...
)
In 1848 Gopsall Hall was described as follows:
"Gopsall Hall, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth is a small market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a district known as the Market Bosworth Rural District. In 1974 it merged with the Hinckley Rural District to form a new district named Hinckley and Bosworth...
, hundred of Sparkenhoe
Sparkenhoe
Sparkenhoe was a hundred of Leicestershire, England. It was in the south-west of the county, covering Market Bosworth and Hinckley, broadly corresponding to the modern districts of Blaby and Hinckley and Bosworth....
, S. division of the county of Leicester, 4 1/4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Market Bosworth. This place comprises 724 acres (2.9 km²), nearly all park; and is the property of Earl Howe, whose large and elegant mansion, on a gentle eminence nearly in the centre of the Park, was built by Charles Jennens, Esq., about the year 1750, at a cost of more than £100,000. The principal front looks towards the south, and on each side is a wing projecting 27 feet (8.2 m), the whole length being 180 feet (54.9 m); the grounds are adorned with temples, are finely wooded, and well stocked with deer. The Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal passes close to the north-east side of the Park, and on its western side is the Ashby and Atherstone road. Here was a cell to the abbey of Merevale
Merevale
Merevale is a Village and Civil Parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. Located about one and a half miles west of Atherstone, it is the site of a medieval Cistercian Abbey and Merevale Hall, .-Merevale Abbey:An abbey was built in Merevale in 1148 by...
, in the county of Warwick
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...
."
By 1952 most of the buildings were demolished. Gopsall Park Farm was built over most of the original site and is not accessible without invitation.
The present-day remains include parts of the walled garden, the electricity generating building, an underground reservoir, the tree-lined avenue, the gatehouse and the temple ruins associated with Handel.
During the 1920s and 1930s Gopsall hosted a motor racing circuit and part of the woodland is still named “The Race Course”.
Land around Gopsall was considered as a possible site for East Midlands Airport.
Between 1873 and the mid-1960s Gopsall was served via the Ashby to Nuneaton
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...
railway line. The original station in Shackerstone
Shackerstone
Shackerstone is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated on the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal and the River Sence. According to the 2001 census the parish, which also includes the village of Barton in the Beans, had a population of...
is now part of a preserved railway and visitor attraction (Battlefield Line Railway
Battlefield Line Railway
The Battlefield Line Railway is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, England. It runs from Shackerstone to Shenton , via Market Bosworth, a total of...
). Notable guests who stayed at the estate included King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, Queen Adelaide
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...
and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
There was also a Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
steam locomotive by the name of "Gopsal Hall". Note the mis-spelling of the name.
Chronology of owners
- Humphrey Jennens (pre 1750)
- Charles JennensCharles JennensCharles Jennens was an English landowner and patron of the arts, who assembled the text for five of Handel's oratorios: Saul, Israel in Egypt, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Messiah, and Belshazzar...
(circa 1750 – 1773) - Penn Assheton Curzon, Curzon family and Lord Howe (1773 – unknown)
- 1919 – 1927 Lord Waring.
- 1927 – 1932 British MonarchyMonarchy of the United KingdomThe monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
(Gopsall estate only) - 1932 – present British Monarchy (Gopsall estate and Hall)
- 1942 – 1945 the Royal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersRoyal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersThe Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from Challenger II main battle tanks and WAH64 Apache...
(REME) made use of the Hall as an experimental radar base during the Second World War.
Gopsall Temple
In 2002 the temple was part of a restoration project and it is also a Grade II listed building.It is possible to visit the monument via the public footpath near the old Gopsall Hall Gatehouse entrance in the village of Shackerstone. It is a good 15 minute walk to the site.
A statue of Religion by Louis Francois Roubiliac stood on the roof of the temple and was erected as a memorial to the classical scholar (and Jennens’s friend) Edward Holdsworth. The figure was donated by Lord Howe to the City of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and is housed in the gardens of Belgrave Hall Museum.
Handel’s Messiah
During the second half of the eighteenth century the estate was owned by Charles JennensCharles Jennens
Charles Jennens was an English landowner and patron of the arts, who assembled the text for five of Handel's oratorios: Saul, Israel in Egypt, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Messiah, and Belshazzar...
(a librettist and friend of George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
). It is reputed that in 1741 Handel composed part of Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
, his famous oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
, inside a garden temple at Gopsall. Some texts however challenge this theory and posit there is no evidence to confirm Handel stayed on the estate in 1741, although he was a frequent visitor. The temple was built after Messiah had already been completed.
The organ that Handel specified for Charles Jennens in 1749 is now to be found in St James' Church, Great Packington
St James' Church, Great Packington
St James' Church is an 18th century chapel situated in the grounds of Packington Hall, near Meriden, Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building....
.
Further reading=
- Oakley, Glynis. A History of Gopsall. (Bancroft printing, 1997)
- Smith, Ruth 'The Achievements of Charles Jennens (1700-1773)', Music & Letters, Vol. 70, No. 2 (May, 1989), pp. 161-190
- Lewis, Samuel (Eds), A Topographical Dictionary of England, 1848 (7th Edition), 'Goodneston - Gosforth', pp. 315-19.
External links=
- Battlefield Line Railway website
- Handel House Museum website
- Belgrave Hall Museum website
- Letter from Handel to Charles Jennens regarding the organ for Gopsall
- The Gopsall Organ
- Gopsall Hall from Battlefield Line Railway website
- The tune from the Messiah by Handel "Gopsal" (Rejoice, the Lord is King!)
- Pictures of Gopsall
- Gopsall Fishing Club