Loring Hall is a private

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

care facility in

North Cray North Cray is an area in South East Greater London, London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Sidcup and south of Bexleyheath and is south-east of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London in the Metropo ...

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Belvedere, London, Belvedere, Crayford ...

. Formerly known as Wollet Hall or Woollet Hall, it is a

Grade II 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 ...

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

Blue Plaque for the Viscount Castlereagh

The present building was constructed in 1760 on the site of an earlier Tudor house known as "Waletts". Its owner in this period was Neighbour Frith, Esq, a London

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

merchant. Frith was the last member of a family who had held land in North Cray for many years: his father, John, and grandfather, Roger, are buried at nearby North Cray parish church. In 1776, Frith willed Woollet Hall to his nephew, the Rev. Edward Cockayn, who adopted the surname Frith. Cockayn subsequently leased the house to a Mr Trimmer, probably Joshua Kirby Trimmer of

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in southeast London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley. It had a population of approximately 15,600 in 2021 and is southeast of Charing Cross. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London ...

, whose son, the geologist Joshua Trimmer, was born at North Cray. From 1811, the house was the country residence of British Foreign Secretary,

Viscount Castlereagh A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is s ...

, later Marquess of Londonderry. In 1822, Castlereagh, after suffering a possible nervous breakdown, committed suicide there by cutting his own throat, aged 53. His residence at the house is still commemorated by a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

installed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. Subsequent to Castlereagh's ownership the house was owned by a banker, Richard Gosling. The Gosling family did not use the name Woollet Hall during their time there. By the 1850s, the Hall had been purchased by Frederick Friend, whose family occupied it until the late 19th century. In 1939, the building and grounds were purchased by

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

and Woollet Hall was renamed Loring Hall after the first warden of Goldsmiths College, Captain William Loring, who was killed at Gallipoli during the

First World War 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 ...

. The main part of the hall was used as a hall of residence for male students and the stable block and associated house were used as an accommodation for a Head of Hall. The grounds became football, hockey and cricket fields for use by the students of Goldsmiths. Goldsmiths College sold the hall and grounds to Bupa in the 1980s, who converted it into a care home. In 1999, it was bought by the charity Sargent Cancer Care for Children and was renamed Malcolm Sargent House. In 2003, it was sold again to a company called Oakfields Care, and since March 2004, it has operated as a care facility for those with

learning disabilities Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty ...

References

External links

{{authority control Houses completed in 1760 Grade II listed buildings in Kent Hospitals in Kent Psychiatric hospitals in England Health in Kent Grade II listed houses Country houses in Kent

History

See also

References

External links