Amington Hall is an early-19th-century former country house at
Amington
Amington is a area of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. Formerly a distinct village, it is now part of the Tamworth borough, with no gap between it and the neighbouring wards of Bolehall, Glascote, Glascote Heath and Stonydelph. Consistin ...
, near
Tamworth,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, which has been converted into residential apartments.
History
The manor of Amington was anciently owned by the Clinton family. In 1422 William Repington purchased some of land from the Clintons and in 1539 his descendant Francis purchased the manor and remaining land.
The Repingtons replaced the ancient manor house early in the 18th century. This house, later a farmhouse, and now known as Amington Old Hall farmhouse, still stands and is a Grade II listed building.
The Repingtons prospered. In 1617 they acquired the neighbouring manor of
Atherstone
Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...
where they built a new Atherstone Hall.
At Amington they had a new house designed by
Samuel Wyatt
Samuel Wyatt (8 September 1737 – 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 neoclassical style.
C ...
and built in about 1810 close to the old manor. It is 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 ...
.
[ English Heritage: Images of England, photograph and architectural description of Amington Hall]
/ref> The two-storey building has an entrance front of three bays, the central bay pedimented and with a Tuscan porch. The unusual garden front has seven bays, of which the central three are bowed to full height and carry a domed roof.[ The brick rear service wing was added later in the 19th century.
The last of the Repingtons died in 1837 and the estate passed to a cousin Henry à Court. When ]Charles à Court Repington
Charles à Court Repington, (29 January 1858 – 25 May 1925), known until 1903 as Charles à Court, was an English soldier, who went on to have a second career as an influential war correspondent during the First World War. He is also credited ...
sold the Hall in 1910 to Sidney Fisher a local paper manufacturer. In 1963 the building was converted into apartments.
Owners and residents
The Repington family built Amington Hall in about 1810. At this time it was owned by Charles Edward Repington (1755–1837) who inherited the estate in 1764 from his father. At this time there was residence to the south of the present building which still exists and is called Amington Old Hall. Charles was a magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of Warwickshire. In 1805 he married Catherine Jesse Cholmley (1776–1847), eldest daughter of Henry Fane Cholmley of Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy.
From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
and Howsham. However they had no children so when he died in 1837 the Hall was inherited by his relative Edward Henry à Court.
Edward Henry à Court (1783–1855) was the son of Sir William Pierce Ashe A’Court. He took the additional name of Repington after he inherited Amington Hall. In his youth he served in the navy but when his father died in 1817 he received a large allowance and left the military to help manage the family estate in Heytesbury, where he became a Member of Parliament. When he inherited the Hall he became the Member for Tamworth. He did not marry, so when he died in 1855 the property was inherited by his younger brother General Charles Ashe A'Court.
General Charles Ashe A'Court (1785–1861) also added the surname Repington when he became the owner of Amington Hall. He was a British military commander and Member of Parliament. In 1815 he married Mary Elizabeth Catherine Gibbs the daughter and heiress of Abraham Gibbs merchant, of Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
and Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
. The couple had one son and one daughter. Their daughter was Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea
Mary Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea ( Ashe à Court-Repington; 21 July 1822 – 30 October 1911), known simply as Elizabeth Herbert, was an English Roman Catholic writer, translator, philanthropist, and influential social figure.
L ...
who was a famous author of that time. When he died in 1861 his son Wyndham à Court Repington became the owner.
Charles Henry Wyndham A’Court Repington (1890–1903) did not live in the house but instead rented it to wealthy tenants. When he died in 1903 his son Charles à Court Repington
Charles à Court Repington, (29 January 1858 – 25 May 1925), known until 1903 as Charles à Court, was an English soldier, who went on to have a second career as an influential war correspondent during the First World War. He is also credited ...
inherited the Hall and continued this practice until he sold it in 1910. Their most notable tenant was Sydney Fisher who rented it from about 1890 and then subsequently bought the property when it was advertised for sale in 1910.
Sydney Fisher (1856–1927) was a wealthy paper manufacturer who owned the Kettlebrook Paper Mill. In 1886 he married Annie Louise Van Notten Pole who was the granddaughter of Sir Peter Van Notten Pole 3rd Baronet. The couple had four children. The 1911 Census records the family living at Amington Hall with a very large number of domestic servants including a butler, footman, hall boy, governess, two ladies maids and five house maids Sydney died in 1927 and in 1934 the property was sold.
See also
*Grade II* listed buildings in Tamworth (borough)
There are over 20,000 Grade II* listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the district of Tamworth in Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremon ...
*Listed buildings in Tamworth, Staffordshire
Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth is a market town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Staffordshire, England. It contains 138 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List fo ...
References
{{Authority control
Grade II* listed buildings in Staffordshire
Buildings and structures in Tamworth, Staffordshire