Branston Hall is a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

in the village of Branston,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. The hall, a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, is set in 88 acres (3.56 square kilometres) of wooded parkland and lakes. Originally commissioned as the family seat of the Melville family, the house became an RAF hospital during the Second World War, and then a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

run by Lindsey County Council.''

Kelly's Directory Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in Britain that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses ...

of Lincolnshire'' 1933, p.103 It lay derelict in the 1970s and 1980s, underwent restoration and conversion into a retirement home in the late 1980s, and is now restored and converted into a three-star hotel. Weddings are often held at the hotel. Designed by

John Macvicar Anderson John Macvicar Anderson (11 July 1835, Glasgow – 9 June 1915, London) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow in 1835, the son of John Anderson, merchant and the nephew of architect William Burn and his wife, Eliza Macvicar. He was ...

in 1885, the house was built in Elizabethan Revival style.

Early history

Branston Hall Grounds were the inherited estate of Sir Cecil Wray 11th Baronet (1678–1736) (a descendant of

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

), whose family had been Baronets and parliamentarians in Lincolnshire since 1611 (see also

Wray Baronets There have been two Wray Baronetcies, both created in the Baronetage of England. The first was created on 25 November 1611 for Sir William Wray, 1st Baronet, of Glentworth, William Wray of Glentworth, Lincolnshire, and became extinct upon the de ...

), and whose main residence was in Fillingham, north of Lincoln. Busts of Sir Cecil and his wife Mary can be seen in Branston All Saints Church. The property was inherited from Sir Cecil by his daughter out of wedlock, Anne Casey. Anne Casey married Lord Vere Bertie (1712–1768), the son of the 1st Duke of Ancaster. In 1735 Lord Vere Bertie built Branston old hall (a building which preceded the current Branston Hall, and which was located on a different part of the grounds, beside Hall Lane) The couple had four children. Lord Vere Bertie died in 1768 and his wife Anne continued to live at the house until her death in 1779. The property was then passed to their daughter Albinia who had married George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire. In 1829, the old hall was advertised for sale and it seems that shortly after this it was purchased by Alexander Leslie Melville (1800–1881).

The Leslie-Melville family

Alexander Leslie Melville (1800–1881) was born in 1800 in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. His father was Alexander Leslie Melville, the 7th Earl of Leven. In 1825, he married Charlotte Smith, the daughter of Samuel Smith M.P, of Woodhall Park, Hertfordshire. The couple had twelve children. Their eldest son was Alexander Samuel Leslie Melville (1829–1919) and he inherited Branston old hall when his father died in 1881. He was born in 1829 and in 1858 he married Albinia Frances Broderick, daughter of Charles Brodrick, 6th Viscount Midleton. The couple had seven children. In 1837 Alexander Leslie Melville constructed a private school on Hall Lane, which was attended by 70 children, each of whom paid 1p-2p per week. In 1884, he commissioned the architect

John MacVicar Anderson John Macvicar Anderson (11 July 1835, Glasgow – 9 June 1915, London) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow in 1835, the son of John Anderson, merchant and the nephew of architect William Burn and his wife, Eliza Macvicar. He was ...

to build the present house. The old hall, still being in a good state of repair became accommodation for the servants and the staff. There were numerous servants employed by the family. The 1901 Census shows that there were six domestic maids, a butler, three footmen and a groom at the hall as well as outdoor gardening staff. In 1903, the old hall burnt down and was removed from the site. Photos of the old hall have been preserved by Branston History Group. Albinia died in 1918 and Alexander died the following year in 1919. In 1920, the property was sold. In the intervening years the site of the old hall has been sensitively redeveloped. The Melville family provided land for the village hall and recreation ground on Lincoln Road, Branston in the early 1920s. The heir of the Leslie-Melville family is the Lord Balgonie, and many items from Branston Hall are now found on the family's estate in the Scottish Highlands.

Grounds

The grounds were once grazed by sheep but since around the year 2000 have been mechanically mown. There are many large

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

trees and sycamores. Wildlife include

muntjac deer Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...

and

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and ...

. ''

Lamium galeobdolon ''Lamiastrum galeobdolon'', the yellow archangel, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia but it is widely introduced in North America and elsewhere. It is the only species in the genu ...

'', ''

Galium odoratum ''Galium odoratum'', the sweet woodruff or sweetscented bedstraw, is a flowering perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to much of Europe. It is widely cultivated for its flowers and its sweet-smelling foliage. Description A herbaceous ...

'' and ''

Ruscus aculeatus ''Ruscus aculeatus'', known as butcher's-broom, is a low evergreen dioecious Eurasian shrub, with flat shoots known as cladodes that give the appearance of stiff, spine-tipped leaves. Small greenish flowers appear in spring, and are borne sing ...

'' grow in the beech woods and these are considered to be indicators of ancient woodland. Other plant species typical of shady woodland include ''

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently used ...

'', '' Sanicula europaea'' and '' Mercurialis perennis''. In 1906, 10

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

axes were found on the grounds of Branston Hall. On the grounds there is a spring-fed well, known as Anne's Well, which it is believed supplied fresh water to the old hall building (photographs here). The well was probably named after Anne Casey, who owned the property in the 1700s, or possibly

St. Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's na ...

. It is covered with a stone which bore the inscription:

"Clear may thy Waters ever flow, Nor Gusts of Ruffling Tempest know, Pure and unsullied as the fair Whose Emblematic Name you bear"Lincoln A to Z – W18 Branston Old Hall
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There is evidence of boating on the lake, in former times (remains of a small boat and boathouse).

References

External links

Branston Hall Hotel website
{{coord, 53, 11, 39, N, 0, 28, 57, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Lincolnshire