Wolseley Hall ⁷⁰⁵⁰

Brief Description

The hall, which had belonged to the Wolseley family since before the Conquest, was demolished in the mid-20th century. The walled kitchen garden contains housing. The site, now in use as a nature reserve and headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, shows remnants of a failed business venture of 1990 to create a garden park with pools, shrubs and bamboos. Only the ice house remains.

History

The land was held by the Wolseley family from the 11th century until the mid-1990s. At one stage the estate contained a medieval deer park. Celia Fiennes reported 'a well wooded deer park, fish ponds, gardens good, both gravel and green walks, good fruit well dressed and pruned on well covered walls'. There were major alterations to the hall and offices by Trubshaw in 1821. A plan of 1826 shows the gardens enclosed within a loop of the river Trent which has been canalised in part to form a pool, screened by trees enclosing a walk or ride to north and west, creating a visa from the west front of the hall across a small formal garden and lawn. The 1885 Ordnance Survey map shows a two acre rectangular, quartered kitchen garden containing three buildings.

Visitor Facilities