Wootton Lodge
Encyclopedia
Wootton Lodge is a privately owned 17th century country house situated at Wootton
near Ellastone
, Staffordshire
, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
The nearby Calwich Abbey estate, owned prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries
by the Priory of Kenilworth, was in 1543 granted by Henry VIII
to John Fleetwood (High Sheriff of Staffordshire
in 1548 and 1568). Wootton Lodge was built about 1611 for Sir Richard Fleetwood Bt
(High Sheriff in 1614) possibly by architect Robert Smythson
.
The impressive west entrance front has basements and three storeys topped by a ballustraded parapet. Five main bays are flanked at north and south by three sided angled bays, all windows being mullioned and transomed. The rear courtyard has a pair of matching pavilions which are Grade II* listed.
During the English Civil War
the house was held for the Crown and was badly damaged during a Parliamentary siege. It was restored in about 1700 when a flight of ballustaded entrance steps was added.
During the 19th and 20th centuries the house was occupied by several tenants including Granville, Dewes, Unwin and Heywood. In the 1930s it was briefly the home of Sir Oswald Mosley
. After WW2 when great houses and their estates were being broken up, as staff were hard to obtain, the house was purchased by minor poet (Major) Alan Rook (of Skinner and Rook, wine merchants of Nottingham) to create two households, for himself and playwright partner Dennis Woodford, and his mother Dorothy Sophia Rook (in her youth one of the Brewills of Edwalton). Latterly the estate was purchased and much improved by J. C. Bamford and is still owned by his family.
Exterior shots of Wootton Lodge were used in the 1947 technicolour film Blanche Fury
, which starred Valerie Hobson
& Stewart Granger
.
Wootton, Staffordshire
Wootton is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England.The 17th century house Wootton Lodge is a grade I listed building in the parish....
near Ellastone
Ellastone
Ellastone is a village in central England on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove, between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne.-Location and history:...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
The nearby Calwich Abbey estate, owned prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
by the Priory of Kenilworth, was in 1543 granted by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
to John Fleetwood (High Sheriff of Staffordshire
High Sheriff of Staffordshire
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Staffordshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...
in 1548 and 1568). Wootton Lodge was built about 1611 for Sir Richard Fleetwood Bt
Fleetwood Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for members of the Fleetwood family, an old Lancashire family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
(High Sheriff in 1614) possibly by architect Robert Smythson
Robert Smythson
Robert Smythson was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 1556, when he was stonemason for the house at Longleat, built by Sir John Thynne...
.
The impressive west entrance front has basements and three storeys topped by a ballustraded parapet. Five main bays are flanked at north and south by three sided angled bays, all windows being mullioned and transomed. The rear courtyard has a pair of matching pavilions which are Grade II* listed.
During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
the house was held for the Crown and was badly damaged during a Parliamentary siege. It was restored in about 1700 when a flight of ballustaded entrance steps was added.
During the 19th and 20th centuries the house was occupied by several tenants including Granville, Dewes, Unwin and Heywood. In the 1930s it was briefly the home of Sir Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
. After WW2 when great houses and their estates were being broken up, as staff were hard to obtain, the house was purchased by minor poet (Major) Alan Rook (of Skinner and Rook, wine merchants of Nottingham) to create two households, for himself and playwright partner Dennis Woodford, and his mother Dorothy Sophia Rook (in her youth one of the Brewills of Edwalton). Latterly the estate was purchased and much improved by J. C. Bamford and is still owned by his family.
Exterior shots of Wootton Lodge were used in the 1947 technicolour film Blanche Fury
Blanche Fury
Blanche Fury is a 1948 drama film starring Valerie Hobson, Stewart Granger and Michael Gough. It was adapted from a novel by Joseph Shearing. In Victorian era England, two schemers will stop at nothing to acquire the Fury estate, even murder.-Plot:...
, which starred Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
& Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
.