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Stoke Rochford Hall is a large house built in scenic grounds, with a nearby golf course, next to the A1 in south

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. The parkland and gardens of Stoke Rochford Hall are listed Grade II* 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 ...

{{R from move ...

History

The remains of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

villa and bath house were identified by

William Stukeley William Stukeley (7 November 1687 – 3 March 1765) was an English antiquarian, physician and Anglican clergyman. A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric ...

in 1739 and again in 1824 and 1960. No substantive ruins are preserved. The

Neville family The House of Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in English politics in the Late Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England and ...

had a house on the site in the 14th century. The estate passed to the Rochfords in the 15th century, whence comes the name of the estate, and to the Coneys in the 16th century. The estate was purchased by Sir Edmund Turnor around the time he was knighted in 1663. The grand house he began building in 1665 was demolished in 1774. In 1794 the Turnors built a smaller house at Stoke that was replaced by the current structure in the 1840s. The present building dating from 1843 was designed by architect

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival, often referred ...

, for Christopher Turnor. For the rest of the 19th century and early 20th century it was owned by the Turnor family. Christopher Turnor's grandson sold of the Wragby estate in 1917. He started holding summer conferences at the hall. In August 1940, the estate was taken over by his first cousin, Major Herbert Broke Turnor. The Nottinghamshire Education Committee sent groups of school children there in 1939, a scheme encouraged by the owner.

Second World War

In 1940 the house was requisitioned by the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, and used for a variety of purposes. It became the headquarters of the Second Battalion, the Parachute Regiment. The ill-fated 1944

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

'drop' was planned in the library at Stoke Rochford. The RAF were at the Hall for two and a half years from 1940. From the 1970s the

2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment The Second Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), is a formation of the Parachute Regiment, part of the British Army, and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade. 2 PARA is an airborne light infantry battalion capable of a wide ran ...

held their annual dinner there, in May; it was their headquarters in the war for 18 months.

Kesteven College of Education

The house was purchased from the War Office by

Kesteven County Council Kesteven County Council was the county council of Kesteven, one of the three Parts of Lincolnshire in eastern England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 31 March 1974. The county council was based at the County Offices ...

in 1948 and became home to Kesteven College of Education, a teacher-training college that closed in 1978. In February 1948 Kesteven Council agreed to the conversion to a college, to cost £39,000, with £15,000 for equipment. The College planned to open in January 1949 as the Kesteven Teachers College , with 44 women in 1949. It mostly trained infant and junior teaching, with two year courses. Miss M Lindley was the first principal, who had also started Worcester Training College. It opened on 8 February 1949. Numbers would rise to 160. During the war and in the 1950s, it would hold fund-raising social balls, such as the Belvoir Hunt Ball, at the Kesteven Training College for Women Teachers. By 1952 there were over 100 at the Kesteven Training College. Miss Elsie Wainwright was acting principal from 1953-54. From 1954 the Principal was William Vawdrey Warmington. He had taught at the Moat Boys' School in Leicester, now Moat Community College. He died aged 61 on 2 September 1964. Mr Samuel Raymond Dawes, a former Maths teacher, became acting principal, becoming principal in January 1965. He was educated at Taunton Grammar School and Southampton University. He started the Maths department in 1955, and lived at 341 Harlaxton Road, in Grantham. He died on 24 April 1981. Women and men were not allowed in each others' rooms in the 1960s. There was a large fire on Friday 8 August 1969. There were 700 men and women in 1970. In October 1970 Kesteven Education committee approved a swimming pool. By 1975 it had 650 places. Kesteven Education Committee put the Hall up for sale in May 1977. In October 1977, the NUT showed interest. It was sold in November 1977 for £265,000, with 21 lecture rooms, 23 offices and 102 bedrooms. The College closed in July 1978.

National Union of Teachers

It retained a connection with education, as the training and

conference centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

of the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

. It was operated by the NUT from October 1978. It was formally opened on Saturday 11 November 1978. It had the Studio Theatre until around 1986. New tennis courts were built, under Stoke Rochford Management Limited. It was not solely used by the NUT, but also by national organisations and companies for conferences or seminars because of its situation close to the A1 and

Grantham railway station Grantham railway station is on the East Coast Main Line, serving the market town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. It is down the line from and is situated on the main line between to the south and to the north. Two secondary lines diverg ...

. On 25 January 2005 a fire gutted the interior of the hall. It was restored 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 ...

over three years at a cost of £12m. The hall has banqueting facilities, a sports club and a restaurant, and is used for

wedding reception A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for th ...

s and parties. In 2016 it was sold to Talash Hotels Group. On 17 April 2018, Stoke Rochford Hall joined Best Western Hotels and Resorts in Great Britain as part of its BW Premier Collection.

Events

From Tuesday 30 October 1979, the public inquiry into mining in the

Vale of Belvoir The Vale of Belvoir ( ) is in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, England. The name is from the Norman-French for "beautiful view". Extent and geology The vale is a tract of low ground rising east-north-east, drained by the ...

took place at the Hall, to last until May or June 1980. On Tuesday 8 May 1979 there was a preliminary meeting, attended by the Environment Secretary, chaired by Michael Mann (judge). Local residents put their case from March 1980. In January 1999 the Foreign Secretary gave a lecture at a meeting of the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

. The Defence Secretary,

Geoff Hoon Geoffrey William Hoon (born 6 December 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire from 1992 to 2010. He is a former Defence Secretary, Transport Secretary, Leader ...

, gave a lecture for the Atlantic Council in February 2000. The US Ambassador to NATO from 1993-98, Robert E. Hunter, gave a lecture for the Atlantic Council in February 2001.

Architectural style

The hall is built in a Jacobean style, with many chimneys. It was designed by William Burn, who also laid out the gardens in collaboration with

William Andrews Nesfield William Andrews Nesfield (1793–1881) was an English soldier, landscape architect and artist. After a career in the military which saw him serve under the Duke of Wellington, he developed a second profession as a landscape architect, designing so ...

. The gate lodge, also in a Jacobean style, was designed in 1834 by Cornelius Sherborne. The Orangery at Stoke Rochford Hall - geograph

The front elevation of the Elizabethan stables was re-erected and the stone frontispieces still stand in the park. This carries the dates 1676 and 1704, representing their original erection and re-building.

Golf

A golf course was laid out in 1924 by Christopher Turnor. It is still in use and is home to Stoke Rochford golf club.Stoke Rochford golf club
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References

External links

* {{Official, http://www.stokerochfordhall.co.uk/
Former Kesteven College

January 2009 ''Lincolnshire Life'' article about the Hall's restoration

Video links

On bridge overlooking lake video
Retrieved 18 December 2010

News items

''East Midlands Today'' September 2008

Fire in January 2005
Exhibition and conference centres in England Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire Grade I listed houses Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Lincolnshire Hotels in Lincolnshire Houses completed in the 19th century National Union of Teachers South Kesteven District