Thoresby Hall
Encyclopedia
Thoresby Hall is one of the Dukeries
, four country houses and estates in north Nottinghamshire all occupied by dukes at one time in their history.
Twenty years later John Carr in 1767–1772 built a new house on the same site and Thoresby Park was enclosed by William Pierrepont, 4th Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
in 1783. The house was pulled down after just one hundred years when the celebrated Victorian country house architect Anthony Salvin
designed the present house, erected 500 metres (546.8 yd) to the north between 1868–1874. The present building measures 55 metres (180.4 ft) on its east and south fronts and 48 metres (157.5 ft) on its west front. The impressive Great Hall, with minstrels' gallery at the west end, is 19 metres (62.3 ft) long and 14 metres (45.9 ft) high.
In the 20th century the house was threatened by subsidence
caused by coal mining
. To minimise the damage the buildings were sold in 1979 to the National Coal Board which chose to sell it on the open market ten years later. After passing through a number of owners it was acquired by Warner Leisure Hotels
which opened it as an hotel in 2000. The core of the Thoresby collection was retained by the family to furnish their new house nearby, while the remainder was sold at auction by Sotheby's
in 1989.
The 8400 square metres (90,416.8 sq ft) Salvin house had a new bedroom wing added before opening as a 200-room country house hotel with spa facilities. The bulk of the Thoresby Estate is still in the hands of the Pierrepont family with only a few acres of immediately adjacent grounds and gardens being owned by the hotel; the family permits access along some footpaths close to the house, and others which are rights of way.
Past residents include the Dukes of Kingston and the Earls Manvers. It was the birthplace of Lady Mary Pierrepont wife of Edward Wortley Montagu
.
The Dukeries
The Dukeries was a district in the county of Nottinghamshire which was so called because it used to contain four ducal seats close to one another. It is south of the town of Worksop which has been called The Gateway to the Dukeries...
, four country houses and estates in north Nottinghamshire all occupied by dukes at one time in their history.
History
The Pierrepont family acquired the Thoresby estate in 1633 and built the first grand house, attributed to Talman, in about 1670. The early seventeenth century house was remodelled, probably by Benjamin Jackson, in 1685-87, and burnt down in 1745.Twenty years later John Carr in 1767–1772 built a new house on the same site and Thoresby Park was enclosed by William Pierrepont, 4th Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
William Pierrepont, 4th Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
William Pierrepont, 4th Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull was a British peer and Member of Parliament.The second son of Robert Pierrepont of Thoresby Nottinghamshire and his wife Elizabeth Evelyn, Pierrepont was born on the Evelyn estate of West Dean, Wiltshire...
in 1783. The house was pulled down after just one hundred years when the celebrated Victorian country house architect Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations...
designed the present house, erected 500 metres (546.8 yd) to the north between 1868–1874. The present building measures 55 metres (180.4 ft) on its east and south fronts and 48 metres (157.5 ft) on its west front. The impressive Great Hall, with minstrels' gallery at the west end, is 19 metres (62.3 ft) long and 14 metres (45.9 ft) high.
Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
caused by coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
. To minimise the damage the buildings were sold in 1979 to the National Coal Board which chose to sell it on the open market ten years later. After passing through a number of owners it was acquired by Warner Leisure Hotels
Warner Leisure Hotels
Warner Leisure Hotels is a private company owned by Bourne Leisure Limited who have 13 historical hotels located in various countryside and coastal regions of the UK....
which opened it as an hotel in 2000. The core of the Thoresby collection was retained by the family to furnish their new house nearby, while the remainder was sold at auction by Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
in 1989.
The 8400 square metres (90,416.8 sq ft) Salvin house had a new bedroom wing added before opening as a 200-room country house hotel with spa facilities. The bulk of the Thoresby Estate is still in the hands of the Pierrepont family with only a few acres of immediately adjacent grounds and gardens being owned by the hotel; the family permits access along some footpaths close to the house, and others which are rights of way.
Past residents include the Dukes of Kingston and the Earls Manvers. It was the birthplace of Lady Mary Pierrepont wife of Edward Wortley Montagu
Edward Wortley Montagu
Edward Wortley Montagu was an English author and traveller.He was the son of Edward Wortley Montagu, MP and of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, whose talent and eccentricity he seems to have inherited....
.