Gosfield 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 ...

Gosfield Gosfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located around two miles west of the town of Halstead. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1362. Places of note include the following: *Gosfield Hall: ...

, near Braintree in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is 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 ...

. The house was built in 1545 by Sir John Wentworth, a member of

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...

’s household, and hosted royal visits by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

and her grand retinue throughout the middle of the 16th century. John Wentworth,

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

, who died in 1613, left "a splendid inheritance" to his eldest son, Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, who ruined the family through extravagance. Sir Thomas Millington was in residence by 1691. He reconstructed the Grand Salon which remained the state banqueting hall for a long time. During the same period he had guest rooms built above the Salon. His crest, a double-headed eagle, may be seen above the central doors on the courtyard side. The mansion was built round a central courtyard, and the west front still has a fine Tudor façade. The east front was remodelled by John Knight after he came into possession in 1715 and again later in the 18th century for

Earl Nugent Earl Nugent was a title the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 21 July 1776 for Robert Craggs-Nugent, 1st Viscount Clare, with remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his son-in-law The 3rd Earl Temple and the heirs male of his body. Cr ...

(1702–1788), who also remodelled the south front and created the mile-long lake. The magnificent ballroom was added and the deer park landscaped for the property to become a family home for his son-in-law the

Marquis of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...

(1753–1813). Later during the French Revolution, Gosfield Hall became the home of the Comte de Provence, the future

King Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

, and his wife Marie-Josephine-Louise of Savoy who had fled France to live in exile in grand style, with more than 350 courtiers and staff in attendance from 1807 to 1809. Much restoration work was done by Samuel Courtauld who owned the house between 1854 and 1881. In the early 20th century the house was virtually abandoned, but it was used as a base for troops during the Second World War. More recently, the Hall was owned by the

Country Houses Association The Country Houses Association (CHA) was a British charity (a friendly society with charitable status) that converted country houses into retirement flats and maintained them from 1955 until its liquidation in 2004. History The Country House ...

until it went into liquidation in 2003. It is operated as a wedding venue. Gosfield Hall - geograph

References

{{reflist 1545 establishments in England Houses completed in 1545 Country houses in Essex Grade I listed buildings in Essex Grade II listed parks and gardens in Essex Grade I listed houses Louis XVIII