Forcett Hall

Forcett Hall is an English country house in the village of Forcett, North Yorkshire, England, some 6.5 miles (10 km) west of Darlington. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]

Forcett Hall (2015)
Gated entrance to Forcett Hall (2013)
The dovecote at Forcett Park, a Grade II listed building of 1740 (2005)

History

Forcett had been in the possession of the Shuttleworth family of Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire since 1582. Forcett Hall was originally an Elizabethan house, modified in 1710 by William Benson. After a fire in 1726 it was substantially redesigned in 1740 in the Palladian style by architect Daniel Garrett under Richard Shuttleworth, MP, vacating the family seat at Gawthorpe to move in.

It passed to his son James, MP for Preston and Lancashire and High Sheriff of Yorkshire for 1760–61. James' son Robert inherited the property on his father's death in 1773 but sold it in 1784.[2] His son Robert moved back to live at Gawthorpe.

Robert, let Forcett Hall to Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley, who remained in occupation when Robert Shuttleworth sold the Forcett Hall Estate in 1785 to Frances Michell and her son, Charles Michell. Forcett Hall passed by descent until 1938 when it was bought by Lieutenant Colonel Hardress Waller and has remained within the same family's ownership ever since.

It has been the home of the Heathcote family since 1938 and is currently managed by James and Alison Heathcote, providing hospitality for special and corporate events.[3][4]

In 2011, the property was placed on the market with an asking price of £5.5 million.[5] The house featured in 2016 in the Channel 4 series Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners.[6] The price was lowered to £4 million, and according to the listing, is in need of some refurbishment.[7]

Architecture

The 12,583 square feet (1,169.0 m2) building has three floors, and a basement with four main reception rooms, 15 bedrooms and a self-contained east wing with three further bedrooms. It is approached through an arched carriageway with four Roman Doric columns and a Doric frieze. Nearby are Grade II listed north and south lodges.[5]

Park

It stands in 85 hectares of parkland which contains several listed buildings including a grotto incorporating an ice house and mount, a wilderness garden, the Stanwick Late Iron Age Oppidum, and a large collection of veteran and rare trees, including one of the largest cedar trees in the country. The park is on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.[8] The dovecote is a Grade II listed building of 1740, designed by Garnett.

References
  1. Historic England. "FORCETT HALL (1316916)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  2. "The Shuttlewoods of Gawthorpe". Archived from the original on 28 December 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  3. "Forcett Hall, North Yorkshire". Remotegoat.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  4. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/may/24/tuesdays-best-tv-obsessive-compulsive-country-house-cleaners-rovers
  5. "Elizabethan Hall goes up for sale at £5.3". Teesdale Mercury. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  6. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/obsessive-compulsive-cleaners
  7. "15 bedroom detached house for sale". Rightmove.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  8. "Forcett Hall". Southerngreen.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2013.

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