Hall Barn is a historic

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 ...

located in

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

South Bucks South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Beac ...

district, in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England.

History

The Hall Barn estate was bought by Anne Waller in 1624. The house was built in the late-17th century by her son

Edmund Waller Edmund Waller, 3 March 1606 to 21 October 1687, was a poet and politician from Buckinghamshire. He sat as MP for various constituencies between 1624 and 1687, and was one of the longest serving members of the English House of Commons. Althoug ...

, a poet and Member of Parliament at various times between 1624 and 1679. His grandson added the south wing. The estate was sold by his family in 1832 to Sir Gore Ouseley, 1st Baronet, who rebuilt the southern facade and was

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. Sheriff is the oldest secular office under th ...

for 1835.

Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham, (28 December 1833 – 9 January 1916), known as Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baronet, from 1892 to 1903, was an English newspaper proprietor. He was the owner and publisher of ''The Daily Telegraph''. Bi ...

bought the estate in 1880 and made a number of renovations and improvements, and in the early 21st century, the estate remained under the management

Hugh Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham Hugh John Frederick Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham (15 August 1931 – 1 January 2005), was a British hereditary peer and journalist. Early life and education Burnham was born in 1931, the younger son of Major General Edward Lawson, 4th Baron Burnh ...

. Since his death it has been the home of his sister, Jenefer Farncombe (nee Lawson). There were royal visits to the estate, including from the

Duke of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge is a hereditary title of nobility in the British royal family, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city of Cambridge in England. It is heritable by agnatic, male descendants by pr ...

in November 1902, and from King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

and the Prince of Wales (later King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

) for a shooting party in January 1903. The

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

"took the salute" at Hall Barn in the 1940s at the

Girl Guide Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of The Girl Guides ...

County Rally. 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 house was used as a hospital supplies unit. In November 1946, the Hall Barn Estate was reported in ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

'' as being the "lovely home" and venue for the wedding reception for extended family and friends of the newly-wed daughter of the "charming" Lord and Lady Burnham. In the late 1960s, Hall Barn was substantially remodelled by the noted neo-classical architect Tom Bird (of Bird & Tyler Associates), with work completed in 1972. The Edwardian library and ballroom, which Lord Burnham considered ugly and difficult to heat (and which had unbalanced the late 17th century design), were pulled down, and a new south and east elevation created, using stone dressings and carved capitals from the demolished extensions. Despite the catalogue to the 1974 V&A exhibition 'The Destruction of the Country House' listing Hall Barn as 'partially destroyed', the remodelling returned the house to its Queen Anne core and saved Hall Barn from total destruction. Hall Barn is listed Grade II* on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

, and its landscaped park and gardens are also Grade II listed on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...

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History

Filming location

References