Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire

Doddington Hall was built between 1593 and 1600 by Robert Smythson for Thomas Tailor, who was a lawyer, the Recorder to the Bishop of Lincoln. It is a grade I listed building. The facade is wide, but the house is only a single room deep at the centre.[2] In the 12th century the manor of Doddington was owned by the Pigot family who sold it to Sir Thomas Burgh in 1450, and eventually to John Savile of Howley Hall in Leeds. In 1593, he sold the manor house to Thomas Tailor who commissioned the present house. It was inherited by his son, and then his granddaughter Elizabeth Anton who married Sir Edward Hussey of Honington in Lincolnshire. Their son Sir Thomas Hussey inherited in 1658. Sir Thomas's three daughters were his co-heiresses when he died in 1706. Mrs Sarah Apreece was the surviving heiress and on her death in 1749, her daughter Rhoda, wife of Captain Francis Blake Delaval (the elder) of Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland, inherited. It then passed to her second son, Sir John Hussey-Delaval, and he had improvements made to the Hall in 1761 by Thomas and William Lumby of Lincoln. John's younger brother Edward Delaval inherited in 1808, and his daughter, Mrs Sarah Gunman, who inherited on her father's death in 1814, left the Hall to Lieutenant Colonel George Jarvis in 1829. On his death it passed to his cousin the Rev Robert Eden Cole, and it remains in private ownership today. In the mid 20th century the Hall was restored by Laurence Bond and Francis Johnson.[3]

Temple of the Winds

The Hall's contents, including textiles, ceramics, porcelain, furniture and pictures, reflect 400 years of unbroken family occupation. It is surrounded by 6 acres (24,000 m²) of walled and wild gardens with flowering from early spring until autumn.

The Hall and Gardens are open to the public, with facilities for private tours and school visits. A temple designed by Anthony Jarvis in 1973 stands in the gardens.[3] Summer concerts and occasional exhibitions are held in the Long Gallery. Other businesses have been developed on the estate such as the sale of Christmas trees, weddings, a Cycle shop with cafe and a farm shop selling local produce.[4][5][6][7]

West Garden

The parkland and gardens of Doddington Hall are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[8]

In 1762, Sir John Hussey Delaval covered every inch of the Holly Room – even the back of the doors – with tapestries showing country scenes. The tapestries were made in Flanders in the early 17th century.

Daniel Codd in Haunted Lincolnshire claims that Doddington Hall is haunted by a girl who threw herself from the roof whilst being pursued by a lustful squire: each autumn her ghost screams in terror as it falls from the roof, a cry often heard as a hiss or high-pitched scream which can be heard to those in the adjacent gardens and graveyard. The surrounding lanes and villages are rumoured to be haunted by the squire and his horse-drawn carriage, searching for the girl but to no avail. [9]

• Jenkins, Simon, England's Thousand Best Houses, 2003, Allen Lane, ISBN 0713995963

• Official website