Walcott Hall from the Hereward Way - geograph

Walcot Hall is a

Grade I listed 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 ...

Carolean country house in the civil parish of Southorpe, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies 2 km (1 mile) south east of the village of

Barnack Barnack is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough unitary authority of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England and the historic county of Northamptonshire. Barnack is in the north-west of the unitary authority, south-east of ...

. The house is now within the boundary of the

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

area of the ceremonial county of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

but it was part of the

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

, an historic area that was traditionally associated with

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. The house is constructed of limestone ashlar in two storeys plus attic with a rectangular floor plan of nine bays by five and a

Collyweston stone slate The Collyweston Slater pub in Collyweston with a Collyweston slate roof Collyweston stone slate is a traditional roofing material found in east-central England, primarily in Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Rutland. It is n ...

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...

. It stands in some 120 acres of wooded parkland as part of a 1400-acre agricultural estate. In the grounds are two temples by William Henry Ansell. The stables, north lodge and associated structures are Grade II listed.

History

George Whetstone George Whetstone (1544? – 1587) was an English dramatist and author. Biography Whetstone was the third son of Robert Whetstone (d. 1557), a member of a wealthy family that owned the manor of Walcot at Barnack, near Stamford, Lincolnshire. Geo ...

(1544? – 1587) was an English dramatist and author. He was the third son of Robert Whetstone (d. 1557), a member of a wealthy family that owned the manor of Walcot at Barnack, near

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber ...

. George appears to have had a small inheritance which he soon spent. The original hall on the site was owned by the Browne family whose members included Robert Browne MP. In 1662 the Brownes sold it to Bernard Walcot, who in turn sold it to Sir Hugh Cholmley, circa 1674. Cholmley built the present house in 1678 in place of the previous building. His arms are over a fireplace and 1678 appears on two rainwater heads. The architect is uncertain but the house shows the influence of John Webb. It was owned by the Gainsborough family between 1700 and 1720 and then the Nevile family until 1891. It was then sold to the Dearden family who owned it until 1963, when it was purchased by the Dennises. Members of both the Nevile and Dearden families served as

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

. During the Second World War the hall housed the remote

operations room A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center. Overview A control room's purpose is prod ...

for

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

and was then occupied by the

67th Fighter Wing The 67th Fighter Wing was a unit of the United States Air Force for four years, between 1946 and 1950. It was located at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. It is unrelated to the modern 67th Network Warfare Wing. History World War II Th ...

of the United States

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

. Their operations room planned and directed many of the Flying Fortress daylight raids on Germany. In 1947, a reward was offered for the "Return of Valuable Property removed from Walcot Hall, during the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

's Occupation, 1940-46. belonging to J. W. Dearden. Esq., including Old French Carvings, as part of the decorations of reception rooms, etc." The estate is now a commercial agricultural landholding. The hall is occupied by Darby and Catherine Dennis who sued for compensation over Harrier noise from RAF Wittering.

References

{{coord, 52.6245, -0.4074, type:landmark_region:GB-NTH_dim:400, display=title Country houses in Cambridgeshire Grade I listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Country houses in Northamptonshire Grade I listed buildings in Northamptonshire Buildings and structures in Peterborough