Dunham Massey Hall
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Dunham Massey Hall, usually known simply as Dunham Massey, is an
English 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 parish of Dunham Massey, in the district of
Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...
,
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
, England. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, it was temporarily used as the Stamford Military Hospital. It was designated a
Grade I 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 ...
on 5 March 1959. It has been owned by the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
since the death of Roger Grey, 10th and last Earl of Stamford, in 1976. Dunham Massey was rebuilt in the early 18th century by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington. He had inherited an older mansion from his father, which was in a very poor state of repair. There were significant alterations, especially internally, at the start of the 20th century. It has historic
formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a form ...
s and a deer park. The park and gardens are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.


History

'Old' Sir George Booth, 1st Baronet built the first mansion on the site in the early 17th-century. However, the house remained uncompleted by the time of his death and was only completed after the Civil War in the later 17th century by his grandson, 'Young' George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer. He inherited family debts and spent a considerable amount of energy investing in the future of Dunham Massey Hall; he planted trees to sell for timber and worked to recoup unpaid debts. The
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
's service courtyard dates from . The clock tower is inscribed with that date, suggesting that was when improvements were made to the
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
s. In the 1730s, John Norris was brought in to redesign the whole mansion by the 2nd Earl of Warrington, with a design of brick façade accentuated by bays and a stone centrepiece. George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington died in 1758 and, in a move remarkable for the eighteenth century, ensured that his only child, a daughter, Lady Mary Booth (1704–72), would inherit and control the estate. She married her cousin, Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford (1736–68), whose family properties included his estate of Enville Hall. Lady Mary oversaw the remodelling of the landscape at Dunham Massey, some of which, outside the park wall, was reputedly undertaken by Lancelot Capability Brown. Their son, George Harry Grey, 5th Earl of Stamford and Warrington, inherited both Dunham Massey and Enville Hall, along with other properties. In the 1780s, he commissioned a remodelling of the Great Gallery and the south front of the house by architect John Hope. He died in 1819 and his son, also George Harry Grey, but the 6th Earl of Stamford and Warrington inherited the estate and began to introduce modernisations to the house. The 6th Earl died in 1845 and his grandson, George Harry Grey, inherited it and became the 7th Earl of Stamford. He married twice: first to Elizabeth (Bessie) King Billage, a shoemaker's daughter from Cambridge; the second to Catherine Cocks, a circus performer. However, the local gentry rejected his choices of wife, which led him to leave Dunham Massey and move to Enville Hall. The house was managed by Robert Cox, Catherine's nephew, and rented to tenants for periods in the subsequent fifty years. The descendants of Catherine's niece Sarah Letitia Cox, still occupy Enville Hall today. The 7th Earl died in 1883 and his cousin, the Reverend Harry Grey inherited the title of 8th Earl of Stamford, but never lived at Dunham. At the time of his inheritance, he was living in South Africa, having left England due to alcohol and gambling addictions. He married three times: his first wife Susan Gaydon died in 1869; his second wife Annie Macnamara died in 1874. His third wife, Martha Grey, Countess of Stamford, a
Khoekhoe Khoikhoi ( /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa. They are often grouped with the hunter-gatherer San (literally "foragers") peop ...
woman, was the daughter of a freed, formerly enslaved, woman. She and the 8th Earl married in 1880. They had two children already, John and Frances, and their third, Mary, was born after they married. Despite their marriage being recognised by South African law at the time, it was not recognised under English law. This meant that, at the 8th Earl's death in 1890, his son, John, could not inherit and the title passed to William Grey, 9th Earl of Stamford, who was the nephew of the 7th Earl. He inherited the title, but no assets, until the death of the 7th Countess, Catherine Cox, in 1905. With his wife, Penelope Theobald, they led a programme of restoration for the house. The house was modified in 1905–1908 by architect Compton Hall and by interior designer
Percy Macquoid Percy Thomas MacQuoid (January 1852 – 20 March 1925) was a British theatrical designer and a collector and connoisseur of English furniture, and the author of articles, largely for ''Country Life (magazine), Country Life'', and of four books o ...
, in preparation for its reoccupation by William Grey, 9th Earl of Stamford. However, the 9th Earl died in 1910, just as the family was due to move in. Until these modifications, the southern front of the building had 11 three-storey bays; in order to make the building look more 17th-century in style, the third, fourth, eighth and ninth bays were reduced to two storeys, with
dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...
s and a centrepiece of three bays was added, with columns each side of the central bay as well as stone
pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
s. William Grey died in 1910 and was succeeded by his son, Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford, who donated the house, its contents, and the estate to the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
at his death in 1976. At the time, it was the trust's most generous bequest in its history.


Stamford Military Hospital

During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Penelope Grey, Countess of Stamford, wife of the 9th Earl of Stamford, made the house available to the
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
as a military hospital, becoming known as the Stamford Military Hospital from April 1917 to January 1919. It hosted 182 injured soldiers who had suffered injuries and needed medical care, but not life-threatening, ranging from gas poisoning to bullets in the brain. The
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
was run by Sister Catherine Bennett. Lady Stamford's daughter, Lady Jane Grey (later Turnbull), trained as a
nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
at the hospital. From 1 March 2014 until 11 November 2016, the main ward at Stamford Military Hospital (known as "Baghdad"), along with the operating theatre, nurses' station and the recreation room were recreated to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the start of World War I, along with actors playing the role of characters who worked, lived and recovered at the hospital.


Collections

Dunham Massey contains one of the most significant collections of
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
, largely collected by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington. During his 64 years at Dunham Massey, he accumulated over 1000 pieces of silver. One sixth of the original plate remains at Dunham Massey, with much of the collection being dispersed by the Countess of Stamford and Warrington (who died in 1905), widow of George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and Warrington (died 1883). The 10th Earl, Roger Grey, expended much money and effort in returning family heirlooms originally from Dunham Massey. There is a fine collection of
oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...
s and
watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...
s. The
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
wood-carving of the ''Crucifixion'' by
Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London church ...
, which hangs in the Library, is the earliest known work by the 17th-century wood carver. It is on this piece that he was working when he was discovered by
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...
in 1671. A group of paintings of the house and estate, known as the ''Harris Views,'' showing the 1730s mansion, were described by
Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins FLSW (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust f ...
as "the most remarkable topographical survey of any country house and its grounds to remain ''in situ''." There is also one painting is from 1690 by Adrien van Diest showing the earlier Elizabethan mansion. Another significant work in the art collection is an ''Allegory of Time'' by
Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...
. A life-sized statue of an exoticised black man wearing only a skirt of feathers, in a kneeling position and holding a
sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
above his head, was previously situated at the front of the house. It is believed to have originally been a
personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...
of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, produced by the sculptor
Andries Carpentière Andries Carpentière or Charpentière (1672–1737) was an English sculptor of French or Flemish descent active in Britain in the early 18th century. His name is sometimes anglicised as Andrew Carpenter. He worked in both marble and lead. Biogra ...
in after a figure by John van Nost for King William III's privy garden at
Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...
. In June 2020, after numerous calls were made for the removal of statues in Britain with links to the slave trade in the wake of the
murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...
, the National Trust said that the decision had been made to move the statue.


Other buildings

The chapel has oak panelling, pews and reredos. The silk wallcoverings in the chapel are a modern recreation, based on the original silk fabric, made in 2015–16. The double courtyard house is built of
Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...
brick, stone dressings and a roof of Westmorland and Welsh slate. The Carriage House, south of the kitchen courtyard, is Grade I listed. It has a clock turret, which displays a date of 1721. Also south of the hall are the stable buildings, also Grade I listed. They probably date from 1721, but the west side was extended in the 18th century. The Stables Restaurant is located in the upstairs of the South Stables, with an ice-cream parlour below. The oldest surviving building on the Dunham Estate is the watermill, possibly dating back to 1616. Originally built as a corn mill, it was later converted to a saw mill. It is Grade II* listed.


Gardens and park

It has historic
formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a form ...
s and a deer park. The park and gardens are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The park is also a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
, based on the significance of its mature timber fauna. The 300 acre deer park at Dunham Massey dates back to
medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...
. As of 2012, the gardens housed over 700 plant species, as well as 1,600 trees and shrubs; it hosts the largest winter garden in Britain. The Winter Garden has many
snowdrop ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family (biology), family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leav ...
s,
daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', '' ...
s and bluebells. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the eastern part of the estate was requisitioned for use first as a US Army camp and later repurposed as Dunham Massey POW Camp.


Listing and ownership

The stately home was designated a
Grade I 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 ...
on 5 March 1959. It has been owned by the National Trust since the death of the 10th and last Earl of Stamford in 1976. Over 439,000 people visited the site in 2020/21, making it one of the National Trust's top ten most popular sites; it was also the only site whose visitor figures increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.


See also

* Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester * Listed buildings in Dunham Massey


References


Citations


Sources

* Jenkins, Simon, ''England's Thousand Best Houses'', 2003, Allen Lane, (gives 3 stars)


External links


List of paintings on view
*

{{Authority control Burial sites of the Grey family Country houses in Greater Manchester Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester Grade I listed houses Grade II* listed parks and gardens Historic house museums in Greater Manchester Houses completed in the 17th century Medical museums in England National Trust properties in Greater Manchester World War I museums in the United Kingdom