A History of Sprotbrough Hall (Doncaster History)
Contents:
As it approaches Doncaster the river Don flows between steep wooded banks, on the left side of which, a few miles from the town, stands Sprotborough Hall. Watch him seated in his little summer house; view him eyeing his little garden, of Doncaster, gives the information that Sprotbrough occurs in Domesday as a.
In , Sir Godfrey, M. Thus Copley amassed a considerable fortune, and in we find him abroad, in Paris, where his eldest son was born.
Thank you for all the information on this website which explains everything I will now be able to get a nights sleep. Part of the village was built on the site of Sprotbrough Hall, a large home built for the Copley family in Contact me You can get in touch either by email - symeon. Perhaps the Virgin Mary looking down on all who entered these religious doors. Natural gravitation, like that at Chatsworth, was out of the question. Its contents were sold in October and among the treasures were over 60 pictures including works by Rembrandt, Raphael and Van Dyck.
Sir Godfrey, at this time, conceived a taste for French things, and, returning to Sprotborough on Christmas eve, in time to celebrate his last Christmas in the old house, he forthwith demolished the previous building beyond possibility of discovery, and began the present edifice.
It is improbable that Sir Godfrey was inspired by any particular specimen of French architecture, and the tradition that the house is a copy of a wing at Versailles can not be corroborated by fact. These, confused in the mind of the Master Mason with English Carolean tradition, combined to produce Sprotborough.
Again, the slightly projecting piers in which the windows are set were as yet uncommon in England, while the 2 turrets in the angles of the wings are of French suggestion. Very uncommon are the 2 large area courts between the wings and the main block.
England's Lost Country Houses | Sprotbrough Hall
A comparison of the north front and the south front will at once show the purpose of the basement for they are built on different levels a hill. There, however, the basement does not form, as is usual in houses of this date built on a slope, a ground floor, but is concealed by a wall and hedge, with the result that the house appears to stand higher than in reality it does from this aspect. Except for those features, the house is mainly Jacobean.
The balustered skyline and the miniature entablature formed by 2 little strapwork scrolls and a piece of masonry above the central windows is reminiscent of pre-Inigo Jones taste. The gate piers on either side of the north front, with the pinnacles that surmount them, are again Jacobean. The excellent simple ironwork of these gates are, however, of more patently French feeling, though it is doubtful whether Sir Godfrey brought back the design.
Ornamental ironwork was largely under the influence, at this time, of Frenchmen working in England, such as Tijou, and it is, therefore, more probable that the design was procured in England.
Sprotbrough Pumping Engine
The exterior seems originally, from paintings by Knyff and others, to have been Ashlar in whitish-grey limestone, which is still visible in the rusticated quoins and elsewhere. The greater part of the surface however, had been stuccoed over, probably during the 2nd quarter of the 19th century, at which time all the reception rooms on the south side were redecorated in a plain and ugly manner.
The general aspect of the house is not materially altered by this complexion, and, from whatever point it is viewed, presents a stately appearance, with the grace which was the one only importation of Sir Godfrey.
The great ornamental importance of the heavy barred windows may have damaged, though not ruined, the scheme by the insertion of windows with thin bars. The effect of this substitution made the building look poor and flat. In a letter written in , Copley thus speaks of Dr. He is dead and had, they say, only a poor girl with him, who, seeing him ill, went to call somebody, but he was quite gone before they came,…….
It is rare that virtuosos die rich. Upon the floor of the chancel is a fine brass memento to another ancestor of the family, together with his wife who died in the year He is in full armour, the feet resting on a lion, and his hands closed as in the act of prayer, there are the places where the coats of arms have been in the corners. The east window has been much admired; it was designed and executed by Millar of London, who put up the large east window in Doncaster Parish Church. The commandments, which are placed on the reredos immediately under the window, were painted by Armstead, of Doncaster.
About mikeynma
The parish registers, which are written on vellum, go back as far as the year , and are very perfect. In them is entered a license granted to Thomas Wormley, of Cusworth, by Richard Winter, the rector of Sprotbrough, allowing him to eat flesh during Lent on account of his sickness; it is dated March 9 th , Along with the Fitzwilliam arms there are also those of Montague, and Mouthermer.
Passing from the church, a visit to the Hall and its beautiful gardens will afford no little pleasure. The river is seen winding its course through the valley; on the one side are green fields and hills, advancing here and retiring there; and on the other side high cliffs and rocks, crowned everywhere with the richest foliage, cottages of the peasantry and an old mill occupy the foreground, and a delightful murmur from the water flowing over the breakwater or wash. A bridge too, is now added to the scene, and contributes no little to the very pleasing variety of the view.
The gardens are extensive and full of variety and interest, and the walk in the wood immediately under them may be put in rivalship with those of note in the country.
- Sprotbrough Hall.
- Moose & His Lesson?
- A History of Sprotbrough Hall | Swinton Heritage Site;
- .
- Pinocchio (Rabbit Ears: A Classic Tale (Spotlight)).
In the midst of the grounds stands a Wych Elm Tree, whose gigantic height and vast circumference ranks it among the largest in England and affords a home for the feathered tribe who here warble their sweet notes without molestation. The trunk of this tree is about twenty feet around, and the boughs five hundred, and it is in a perfectly healthy state, I believe this to be the tree now standing within the grounds of the Methodist church on the corner of Brompton road.
The old Hall was built nearer to the church than the present one, and was taken down about the year The one which now is was then erected, raised as it is on a commanding terrace. It consists of a main body, nearly square, three stories in height, with two wings, and is said to have been built after a model of a wing in the palace of Versailles.
The position too as regards the country around it is very striking; far from the new terrace at the bottom of the garden the ground drops almost perpendicularly to the river, so that the hall stands high above the beautiful foliage which covers this declivity and the effect from the Warmsworth side of the river is similar. For more information on the interior of the hall click here. Now to the bridge over the river. The following is taken from the Doncaster Gazette on the occasion of laying the first stone:.
The bridge will be placed twelve feet above the level of the meadow, and consists of altogether, seven arches; three land arches at each side of twenty feet span; and a centre one of one hundred feet span. The road is then continued over a meadow adjoining the Corn Mill. The bridge above the river Dun will be a little more than three hundred feet long; having, on each side, a stone parapet, with the exception of the centre arch, whose sides will be protected by cast-iron palisades, upon which will be placed the coat of arms of the liberal donor; built of stone, with the exception of the middle arch which is of wood.
Navigation menu
The style of architecture of the bridge is Grecian, and the stone work will be pitch-faced ashlar, with quoins, and stringing of dressed ashlar; — altogether forming quite a rustic appearance. The view from the bridge will be quite imposing; both up and down the stream, and will be remarkably picturesque.
In the distance we have the bold outline of the cliff at Levitt hagg, and the line of the South Yorkshire Railway, flanked on each side with luxuriant woods, — first Sprotbrough plantings, then Pot Riddings, and opposite Butterbusk wood, and Conisbrough cliff, with the stream in the centre and the cascade at the old wash. This new approach to the Hall is most justly looked upon as one of the greatest improvements made upon the property. Nothing can be better executed than the work at the entrance, consisting of a lodge in the style of the Hall, with bronze gates for carriages and foot passengers, these latter retiring from the road in the segment of a circle.
The Rectory, in the village, contains every comfort a person need desire. The ground floor contained a dining room,and ante-room, library, drawing room, music room, boudoir and a gun room. The first floor included 11 principal bed and dressing rooms, the second floor 14 bedrooms. Sir Godfrey was MP for Aldborough from to He was again elected to Parliament, this time for Thirsk, in At that time it was the second highest in the world.
Despite engineering difficulties, Sir Godfrey was determined to produce a fountain comparable with that at Chatsworth. He designed a method of raising the water feet from a low near the river Don to a tank on the flat roof of Sprotbrough Hall.