Gunby Hall
Encyclopedia
Gunby Hall is a country house in Gunby, near Spilsby
, in Lincolnshire
, England, reached by a half mile long private drive. The Estate comprises the 42 room Gunby Hall, listed Grade I, a fine Clocktower, listed Grade II* and a Carriage House and Stable Block which are listed Grade II. It was given to the National Trust
in 1944 by the trustees of the Gunby Hall Estate: Lady Montgomery-Massingberd, Major Norman Leith-Hay-Clarke and Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd. together with its contents and approximately 1,500 acres of land.
, near Spilsby, some eight miles from Skegness and not far from Tennyson's home at Somersby
. It was of Gunby that Tennyson wrote the lines a haunt of ancient peace."
The last resident owner was Lady Montgomery-Massingberd (1873–1963) born Diana Langton Massingberd. The State Rooms are open to the public twice a week.
The house is built from red brick, and was constructed in 1700 for Sir William Massingberd
. Many of the interiors of the house are wood panelled, and it has 8 acres of Victorian walled garden
s, which contain traditional English flowers, fruits and vegetables.
The Hall is a Grade 1 listed building. It was substantially extended in 1873 and again in 1898 with the addition of the North Wing and Clock Tower
.
Surrounding the hall is a 100 acre park, listed as being of historical significance and laid out in the style of Lancelot "Capability" Brown
. Around that is a farmed estate of 1,500 acres. the estate used to extend to many thousands of acres and reached the coast at what is now Skegness
. Land was sold in the 19th century to the Earl of Scarborough who built the town of Skegness to satisfy increasing demand from tourism created by the expansion of the railways.
The Hall contains significant collections of art, furniture, porcelain and silver including original pieces by Sir Joshua Reynolds
, Edward Lear
, William Morris
, Lord Tennyson, William Holman Hunt
, James Boswell
, Samuel Johnson
, Thomas Sheraton
and Lucio Rannuci.
The gardens are laid out in an informal English style with large Victorian Walled and Kitchen Gardens, lawns, an arboretum and carp pond believed to be older than the main hall. There are 50 types of apple tree, 21 of pear and over 50 types of rose in the gardens. There is also a 17th century dove cote, a grass tennis court, croquet pitch, cottage, apple store and studio.
On the edge of the formal gardens and within the Park lies St Peter's Church. Rebuilt on Medieval foundations in the 1870s the Church is accessible only through the Hall's gardens but it remains the active Parish Church of Gunby with a service once a month.
The Garden is one of only a handful of notable RHS
gardens in Lincolnshire and is under consideration by the RHS to be raised to recommended status making it one of only two in the county with this designation.
, and the sightings have been linked with rumours of a brutal murder that occurred during Sir William Massingberd's residency. Sir William discovered that his daughter (some accounts say his wife) was about to run away with one of the servants, a postillion. On the night the lovers intended to flee, Sir William hid in waiting and shot the postillion dead. The servant's body was dragged through the grounds and thrown into the pond. Some accounts say that Sir William was so enraged he shot his daughter dead as well.
Word of the secret murder must have got out because soon locals were whispering that Gunby Hall was cursed and that no male of Massingberd's descent would ever inherit the house. The ghostly form of the murdered servant as been seen haunting the path by the pond, now called Ghost Walk, eternally waiting for his lover.
Spilsby
Spilsby is a market town and civil parish in Lincolnshire. England. The town is situated adjacent to the main A16 Trunk Road at the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds north of the Fenlands, east of the county town of Lincoln, north east of Boston and north west from Skegness.The town has...
, in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England, reached by a half mile long private drive. The Estate comprises the 42 room Gunby Hall, listed Grade I, a fine Clocktower, listed Grade II* and a Carriage House and Stable Block which are listed Grade II. It was given to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
in 1944 by the trustees of the Gunby Hall Estate: Lady Montgomery-Massingberd, Major Norman Leith-Hay-Clarke and Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd. together with its contents and approximately 1,500 acres of land.
Description
"Gunby is on the edge of the Lincolnshire WoldsLincolnshire Wolds
The Lincolnshire Wolds is a range of hills in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , and the highest area of land in eastern England between Yorkshire and Kent...
, near Spilsby, some eight miles from Skegness and not far from Tennyson's home at Somersby
Somersby, Lincolnshire
Somersby is a village in the parish of Greetham with Somersby in the Lincolnshire Wolds, northwest of Spilsby and eastnortheast of Horncastle. The parish covers about .- History :...
. It was of Gunby that Tennyson wrote the lines a haunt of ancient peace."
The last resident owner was Lady Montgomery-Massingberd (1873–1963) born Diana Langton Massingberd. The State Rooms are open to the public twice a week.
The house is built from red brick, and was constructed in 1700 for Sir William Massingberd
Massingberd Baronets
The Massingberd Baronetcy, of Braytoft Hall in the County of Lincoln, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 22 August 1660 for Henry Massingberd. The third Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire...
. Many of the interiors of the house are wood panelled, and it has 8 acres of Victorian 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...
s, which contain traditional English flowers, fruits and vegetables.
The Hall is a Grade 1 listed building. It was substantially extended in 1873 and again in 1898 with the addition of the North Wing and Clock Tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
.
Surrounding the hall is a 100 acre park, listed as being of historical significance and laid out in the style of Lancelot "Capability" Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
. Around that is a farmed estate of 1,500 acres. the estate used to extend to many thousands of acres and reached the coast at what is now Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
. Land was sold in the 19th century to the Earl of Scarborough who built the town of Skegness to satisfy increasing demand from tourism created by the expansion of the railways.
The Hall contains significant collections of art, furniture, porcelain and silver including original pieces by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
, William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, Lord Tennyson, William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt OM was an English painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Biography:...
, James Boswell
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
, Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, Thomas Sheraton
Thomas Sheraton
Thomas Sheraton was a furniture designer, one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite.-Biography:...
and Lucio Rannuci.
The gardens are laid out in an informal English style with large Victorian Walled and Kitchen Gardens, lawns, an arboretum and carp pond believed to be older than the main hall. There are 50 types of apple tree, 21 of pear and over 50 types of rose in the gardens. There is also a 17th century dove cote, a grass tennis court, croquet pitch, cottage, apple store and studio.
On the edge of the formal gardens and within the Park lies St Peter's Church. Rebuilt on Medieval foundations in the 1870s the Church is accessible only through the Hall's gardens but it remains the active Parish Church of Gunby with a service once a month.
The Garden is one of only a handful of notable RHS
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
gardens in Lincolnshire and is under consideration by the RHS to be raised to recommended status making it one of only two in the county with this designation.
Murder at Gunby Hall
Gunby Hall is allegedly hauntedGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
, and the sightings have been linked with rumours of a brutal murder that occurred during Sir William Massingberd's residency. Sir William discovered that his daughter (some accounts say his wife) was about to run away with one of the servants, a postillion. On the night the lovers intended to flee, Sir William hid in waiting and shot the postillion dead. The servant's body was dragged through the grounds and thrown into the pond. Some accounts say that Sir William was so enraged he shot his daughter dead as well.
Word of the secret murder must have got out because soon locals were whispering that Gunby Hall was cursed and that no male of Massingberd's descent would ever inherit the house. The ghostly form of the murdered servant as been seen haunting the path by the pond, now called Ghost Walk, eternally waiting for his lover.