Ragley Hall in the parish of

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

is a stately home, located south of Alcester and eight miles (13 km) west of

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-w ...

. It is the ancestral seat of the Seymour-Conway family,

Marquesses of Hertford A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

History

The house was built by

Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway (c. 1623 – 11 August 1683) PC, FRS, of Ragley Hall, Alcester, in Warwickshire, was an English peer and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1681 and 1683. Origins ...

(1623–1683) to the designs of William Hurlbert, with modifications by Robert Hooke and was completed after his death in 1683. The interior was subsequently modified on at least three occasions, to the designs of James Gibbs circa 1750–56; of James Wyatt circa 1778–83 and of William Tasker circa 1871–73. It became the home of Anne Conway and she was visited there by a number of notable people including

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mat ...

, Thomas Vaughan,

Lilias Skene Lilias Skene or Lillias Skein (8 November 1628 – 21 June 1697) was a Scottish Quaker preacher, prophet and poet. Early life She was born in 1628 as Lilias Gillespie, one of eight children born to Lilias ''née'' Simson (d. 1627), the daugh ...

, Henry More, Ezechiel Foxcroft, Elizabeth of Bohemia and Christian Knorr von Rosenroth. Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont was Anne's physician from 1671 until her death in 1679. The secondary seat of the Seymour-Conway family, Earls of Hertford, was Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk and their London

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

was Hertford House. Financial instability of the Seymour family left the house threatened with demolition more than once. In 1912, following the death of Hugh Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford, the estate's trustees recommended that the house be demolished. However, during World War I and World War II, the house found use as a military hospital. Hugh Seymour, 8th Marquess of Hertford, who in 1940 inherited Ragley Hall from his uncle George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford, fought to save it after the war. It was refurbished between 1956 and 1958, when it became one of the first stately homes opened to the public. In 1983, the painter Graham Rust completed a huge mural including pets, friends and family members which is known as "The Temptation" and is exhibited on the Southern staircase. Ragley was the site of the

Jerwood Sculpture Park Jerwood is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Colin Jerwood, the vocalist for the Anarcho-punk band Conflict *Frank Jerwood (1885–1971), British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics *John Jerwood (1918–1991), British ...

, opened in July 2004. The Park included works that won the Jerwood Sculpture Prizes, and the work of Dame Elisabeth Frink, among others. However the site was closed in April 2012.

In popular culture

Ragley Hall has occasionally been used as a location for filming, including: the 1982 television version of '' The Scarlet Pimpernel''; the fourth episode of the second series of the science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', titled " The Girl in the Fireplace", first broadcast in May 2006; and the fourth season of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series "

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

References

External links

{{commons category, Ragley Hall
Ragley Hall website

Alcester & Ragley Park Cricket Club

Jerwood Sculpture Park
Buildings and structures completed in 1680 Houses completed in the 17th century Country houses in Warwickshire Grade I listed buildings in Warwickshire Grade I listed houses Historic house museums in Warwickshire Gardens in Warwickshire Art museums and galleries in Warwickshire Gardens by Capability Brown 1680 establishments in England