Hilton Hall is an 18th-century mansion house now in use as an Office and Business Centre at Hilton, near

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

, in

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, ...

. 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 ...

History

The original manor house was commissioned by Sir Henry Swinnerton early in the 14th century. In 1547 the marriage of Margaret Swynnerton to Henry Vernon of

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

, Derbyshire took place: both were members of an important

recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

families. The house and estate were inherited by Margaret in 1562, on the death of her father Humphrey Swynnerton, the deed being dated 8 May 1564, and incorporated into the Vernon estates on her death in 1587. The house was altered, in early

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

, in the early 1720s by Henry Vernon,

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities as ...

. It was substantially extended in the early 1830s, when a third storey was added to the main building, skilfully replicating the Georgian design and raising the 1720s' pediment with its coat of arms to the higher level; the moat was partly filled in and a lower extension created at the rear of the main house for kitchens and service facilities. The main block has giant corner pilasters capped by urns. The Vernon family erected an unusual hexagonal tower in the grounds, which they dedicated to the memory of Admiral

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' E ...

and his capture of Portobello, Panama from the Spanish in 1739. The monument is Grade II listed. The family sold the estate in 1955 to Sidney Thomas Pickard who then sold Hilton Hall and a small portion of land in 1958 to the nuns of the Order of St Joseph of Bordeaux. The nuns sold the property in 1984 and between 1986 and 1999 it was occupied by Tarmac plc as a corporate headquarters. It is now a commercial office and business centre.

References

External links

Official websiteEnglish Heritage listing
{{coord, 52.6444, -2.0724, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title Grade I listed houses in Staffordshire South Staffordshire District

History

See also

References

External links