Baggrave Hall is an 18th-century Grade II* listed country house in the parish of

Hungarton Hungarton (or Hungerton) is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, about north-east of Leicester and south-west of Melton Mowbray. The population of the civil parish was 26 ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, England. It is a two and three-storey building in Palladian style, constructed in ashlar in the 1750s, with a

Swithland Swithland is a linear village in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. The civil parish population was put at 230 in 2004 and 217 in the 2011 census. It is in the old Charnwood Forest, between Cropston, Woodhous ...

slate hipped roof and brick-ridge chimney stacks. An extra wing in red brick can be dated to 1776. The current grounds cover 220 acres (89 ha). The hall was listed in 1951, but suffered serious damage from an owner in 1988–1990.

History

Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site belonged to

Leicester Abbey The Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis, more commonly known as Leicester Abbey, was an Augustinian religious house in the city of Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Robert de Beaumont, 2nd E ...

. It was then sold by the Crown to Francis Cave, whose grandson, Sir Alexander Cave, sold it on before 1625 to Edward Villiers, half-brother of the Duke of Buckingham. The hall belonged in the later 17th century to John Edwyn, whose grandson, also John, rebuilt it, but incorporated some parts of the 16th-century manor house. In 1770, his daughter Anna Edwyn married

Andrew Burnaby Andrew Burnaby (16 August 1732 – 9 March 1812) was an English clergyman and travel writer, mainly about the American colonies and Italy. Life He was born in Asfordby, Leicestershire, on 16 August 1732, the eldest son and namesake of the Reve ...

, archdeacon of Leicester, and so ownership of the estate passed to the Burnaby family. Later owners included Edwyn Burnaby, high sheriff of Leicestershire, his son Edwyn Burnaby, and his grandson Algernon Edwyn Burnaby. Baggrave Hall was the childhood home of Louisa Burnaby, a great-grandmother of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Soon after Algernon Burnaby's death in 1938, his son and heir Hugh Edwyn Burnaby sold the estate. It became the home of the Earle family, which sold it about 1975. The fabric of the building was severely damaged in 1988–1990 whilst in the ownership of an overseas company controlled by

Asil Nadir Asilkan Nadir (1 May 1941 – 9 February 2025) was a British Turkish Cypriot businessman. He was the chief executive of Polly Peck, which he took over as a small textile company. During the 1980s, he expanded it into one of the United Kingdom's ...

, who had bought the estate for £3 million. Stonework was removed, walls were undermined, and interior walls, floors and ceilings ruined. The current owner has undertaken to rectify the damage as far as possible. The exterior of the house can be viewed close at hand from a public footpath that runs between

South Croxton South Croxton (traditionally pronounced "crow-sun" �kroʊsən is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It had a population of 261 in the 2011 census. It is north-east of Leicester city centre. Nearby ...

and

Lowesby Lowesby is a small parish and township situated in the district of Harborough District, Harborough in Leicestershire. It is 8 miles east of the county capital, Leicester, and 90 miles north of London. Geography Lowesby parish is located 500 fee ...

Legend

According to legend, the hall was named after an incident involving a maidservant. She is said to have let a beggar woman take refuge at the hall, but later noticed by the boots that this was a man in disguise. Fearing he was a robber, she murdered him and wrapped his body in a potato bag, in which he was buried.

References

{{Authority control Country houses in Leicestershire Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Leicestershire Harborough District