Longford Hall
Longford Hall is a large country house in Longford, a village in Shropshire, England near the town of Newport, built in 1795 for Colonel Ralph Leeke who was political agent of the British East India Company, designed by Joseph Bonomi, who had worked with Robert and James Adam. The hall is Grade II* listed with English Heritage.[1]
The hall is placed on top of a low rise and looks over farmland towards the Lilleshall Monument which is surrounded by burials. As with many such buildings, the first 100 feet in front of the hall is manicured grass, bordered by a ha-ha which prevented animals from entering. There is a small series of gardens, including a "quad". Behind the hall are a selection of buildings around a central square containing a dovecote which once formed the farm supporting the estate. These buildings were renovated and sensitively converted into housing between 2001 and 2004. The central dovecote is circular and forms an unusual dwelling.
The hall and lands are currently owned by Haberdashers’ Adams School and are used by them as the school's junior boarding house and sports fields.[2] Some land was sold off in 2000 for private housing – now the "Longford Park" housing estate. To get between the school and the hall, one travels approximately one mile along Longford Road.
Longford Lake
Across the playing fields, approximately 500 metres, is the Longford Lake. This large artificial pool is used for private fishing by the school and holds a wide variety of fish, including carp.
Boarding Masters
Boarding House Masters at Longford Hall have included:
- Mr R. H. Anderson (1967–1971)
- Mr Oliver G. Atkinson (1971 – died at the Hall 1979 after an illness)
- Dr David Westgate (1979–)
- Mr Rodney Jones (1970–1988)
- Mr Gerald Leach (1988–1991)
- Mr George Mayne (1991–1994)
- Mr Philip North (1994–2001)
- Mr Lee Hadley (2001–2007)
- Mr Matthew Skeate (2007–2016)
- Mr Samuel Obeng-Asare (2016–)
Matrons
- Mrs Atkinson (? – circa 1982)
- Mrs Anderson
- Mrs Fowler
- Mrs Vernon
- Mrs Peters
- Miss Davies
- Miss Clare Pickering 2000–2014
- Mrs Allday (2014– current)
The Longford Ghost
Boarders at Longford Hall have been delighted and terrified by the tale of a ghostly butler who haunts the corridors (especially of the old servants' wing) at night. A long corridor leads from the bottom of the pupils' staircase (in the servant wing) to the ground floor cloak room and showers, with large pipes set high up towards the ceiling. The story goes that the Longford butler (in a vaguely defined past) went mad and hanged himself from these pipes, his apparition remaining to glare down with bulging eyes at those who see him. Boys returning from a shower late at night have been known to move at speed down the corridor and up the stairs to the safety of their dorm.
References
- "Longford Hall". English Heritage. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- "'Longford'". Adams' Grammar School. Retrieved 24 April 2016.