Swinfen Hall is an 18th-century country mansion house, now converted into a hotel, situated at
Swinfen
Swinfen is a small community about two miles south of Lichfield in the civil parish of Swinfen and Packington, Staffordshire.
Swinfen is referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086 when the Manor was held by the Bishop of Lichfield.
The present ...
, in the
Lichfield District
Lichfield () is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield.
The dignity and privileges of the City of Lichfield are vested in the parish council of the 14 km ...
of
Staffordshire in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It is a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...
.
The Hall was built in 1757 by Samuel Swynfen to a design by architect Benjamin Wyatt (father of
James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
), and remained the home of the Swinfen and Swinfen Broun families for almost two hundred years.
Samuel Swynfen (of Swynfen) sold Swinfen Hall to his kinsman, Samuel Swinfen of Walbrook House. The latter died without any children, and left his estate in his will to his nephew Samuel Grundy (the son of his sister Anne, who had married Thomas Grundy of Appleby, Leicestershire) — on the condition that he take the surname of Swinfen and procure an Act of Parliament to that effect. Samuel Grundy (now Swinfen) duly changed his name by an Act of Parliament of 1748.
However in 1770, Samuel Swinfen also died without children and the Hall passed to his brother, Thomas Grundy, who also then changed his name to Swinfen, by an Act of Parliament of 1771.
Deed Poll Office: Private Act of Parliament 1771 (11 Geo. 3). c. 26
/ref>
Thomas Grundy (now Swinfen) was the grandfather of Samuel Swynfen whose will was contested in a series of trials from 1856 to 1864 and raised important questions of ethics in the legal profession.
The Hall was extended and improved in the early 20th century by Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Swinfen-Broun
Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Alexander Wilsone Swinfen-Broun JP (1858-1948) was a soldier, magistrate, High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire,Inscription on Beacon Park monument and benefactor of the city of Lichfield, England, where ...
. On his death in 1948 the estate was bequeathed to the Church and City of Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
, and most of the land was sold off. The Hall stood unoccupied for many years until acquired in 1987 by the present owners and converted to a hotel.
Patience Swinfen, widowed daughter-in-law and heir of Samuel Swinfen, who died in 1854, was involved in a celebrated legal case related to his will.
See also
*Grade II* listed buildings in Lichfield (district)
There are over 20,000 Grade II* listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the district of Lichfield in Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands ...
*Listed buildings in Swinfen and Packington
Swinfen and Packington is a civil parish in the district of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It contains twelve buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of t ...
References
External links
*
{{coord , 52, 39, 4, N, 1, 48, 9, W, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title
Grade II* listed buildings in Staffordshire
Hotels in Staffordshire
Houses completed in 1757
Lichfield District