Sandon Hall is a 19th-century country mansion, the seat of the

Earl of Harrowby Earl of Harrowby, in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1809 for the prominent politician and former Foreign Secretary, Dudley Ryder, 2nd Baron Harrowby. He was made Viscount Sandon, of San ...

, at

Sandon, Staffordshire Sandon is a village in Staffordshire, about northeast of Stafford. The village is in the Trent Valley on the A51 road. Sandon Park There is a rectangular moated site in Sandon Park, about northeast of the parish church. The site measures abou ...

, northeast of

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in th ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

set in of parkland.

Early manorial history

Before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

, Sandon was the property of

Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia Ælfgar (died ) was the son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, by his famous mother Godgifu (Lady Godiva). He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057. He gained the additional title of Earl of East Anglia, but a ...

, but at the Conquest it fell into the king's hands, who bestowed it upon Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester. From him it passed to William de Malbanc, of

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

, one of his barons. Adena, the great-grand-daughter of William, gave it to Warren de Vernon, whose daughter Alditha conveyed it to Sir William Stafford, knight.

Erdeswicke

Margaret, daughter of one of the descendants of Sir William Stafford, carried the manor of Sandon by marriage to Thomas Erdeswicke in the 12th year of the reign of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

(1339). Thomas and Margaret had a son Thomas, whose four sons were Hugh, Robert, Sampson, and Henry. Hugh, Robert and Sampson all died without issue, but Henry had a son Hugh, who had issue another Hugh, and his sons were two brothers, Hugh and Sampson. Of these, Hugh Erdeswicke the elder brother died without issue: Sampson had issue Hugh, who was the father of

Sampson Erdeswicke Sampson Erdeswicke (born c. 1535x1540; died 1603) was an English antiquary and chorographer. Background Sampson's father, Hugh Erdeswicke claimed descent from Richard de Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook in the reign of William the Conqueror. The fami ...

(the Staffordshire antiquary), who died in 1603. The tombs of the Erdeswickes are in Sandon parish church. In 1593 the antiquary Sampson Erdiswicke married Mary Neale, widow of Everard Digby, Esquire (died 1592) of Tilton-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire, mother of that recusant Everard Digby who was executed in 1606 for his part in the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sough ...

. Sampson and Mary Erdeswicke had three children: their heir was Richard Erdeswicke, M.P., who, to settle debts in the autumn of 1624, sold Sandon manor to his half-brother George Digby, Esq., of Sandon, although the purchase was not completed until 1631. Richard Erdeswicke died in Fleet debtors prison and was buried in St. Brides, Fleet Street in July 1640. His son, named Sampson, died intestate in 1654.

Hamilton

Jane, the surviving daughter and heiress of George Digby, Esq. of Sandon Hall, in 1660 married Charles Gerard, 4th Baron Gerard of Bromley (died 1667), and from them the manor house passed to their son Digby Gerard, 5th Baron Gerard (died 1684) (who married his kinswoman Elizabeth, daughter of

Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, PC (c. 16187 January 1694) was an English aristocrat, soldier and courtier. Early life The eldest son of Sir Charles Gerard, he was a member of an old Lancashire family, his great-grandfather having ...

), and so to their daughter Elizabeth Gerard, duchess of

James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton Lieutenant General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon (11 April 1658 – 15 November 1712) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician. Hamilton was a major investor in the failed Darien Scheme, which cost many o ...

. A lawsuit concerning the estate was the pretext for a fatal duel between the 4th Duke and

Lord Mohun Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun (c. 1675 – 15 November 1712) was an English politician best known for his frequent participation in duels and for his reputation as a rake. He was killed in the celebrated Hamilton–Mohun Duel in Hyde Pa ...

in 1712, which led to the deaths of both men. The manor thereby descended to Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke (1740-1819), grandson of the 4th Duke, for whom in 1769 the old moated manor-house was replaced by a new house built by Joseph Pickford of Derby.

Ryder

The estate was purchased in 1776 by

Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby (3 July 1735 – 20 June 1803) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1756 to 1776 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Harrowby. Ryder was the son of Sir Dudley Ryder, Lord Chief ...

(1735-1803). The Hamiltons having torn down the interesting old home of the Erdiswickes, only to enjoy its replacement for less than a decade, the new owners found further causes for dissatisfaction, and retained the architect

Samuel Wyatt Samuel Wyatt (8 September 1737, Weeford, Staffs. – London, 8 February 1807) was an English architect and engineer. A member of the Wyatt family, which included several notable 18th- and 19th-century English architects, his work was primarily in a ...

to carry out large extensions and improvements. A flower-garden was created in 1781-1782 by the landscape gardener

William Emes William Emes (1729 or 1730–13 March 1803) was an English landscape gardener. Biography Details of his early life are not known but in 1756 he was appointed head gardener to Sir Nathaniel Curzon at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. He left this post ...

.K. Goodway, 'William Emes and the Flower Garden at Sandon, Staffordshire', ''Garden History'' Vol. 24 no. 1 (Summer 1996), pp. 24-29. Available free at JStor. But the innovations of Enlightenment could not escape the retribution of the offended spirit of Antiquity: the house was severely damaged by fire in 1848, and was then rebuilt in 1852 by

Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby, KG, PC, FRS (19 May 179819 November 1882), styled Viscount Sandon between 1809 and 1847, was a British politician. He held office under Lord Palmerston as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1855 an ...

to a

neo-Jacobean The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...

design by architect

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred ...

.Luciana Bellini, 'My, What Big Cupolas You Have!', ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'', March 2015, Vol 130, No. 3
pp. 163-166
(Internet Archive). In the park stands a

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

column erected in memory of

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ir ...

in 1806. The current owners are

Conroy Ryder, 8th Earl of Harrowby Dudley Adrian Conroy Ryder, 8th Earl of Harrowby, DL (known as Conroy born 18 March 1951) is a British peer. He was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Sandon from 1987 until 2007. Biography Conroy Ryder was born on 18 March 1951. He is the ...

and Caroline Ryder, 8th Countess of Harrowby. They have renovated a public wing and fifty acres of gardens for weddings.

References

English Heritage: Architectural details of listed building

History of Sandon Hall
{{coord , 52, 51, 21, N, 2, 3, 55, W, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in Staffordshire Country houses in Staffordshire History of Staffordshire Ryder family

Early manorial history

Erdeswicke

Hamilton

Ryder

See also

References