- Blithfield Hall
Blithfield Hall (pronounced locally as Bliffield), is a privately owned Grade I listed
country house inStaffordshire ,England , situated some 9 miles east ofStafford , 7 miles southwest ofUttoxeter and 5 miles north ofRugeley .The Hall, with its embattled towers and walls, has been the home of the Bagot family since the late
14th century . The present house is mainly Elizabethan, with a Gothic façade added in the 1820s to a design probably by John Buckler.In
1945 the Hall, then in a neglected and dilapidated state, was sold by Gerald Bagot, (5th Baron Bagot) together with its convert|650|acre|km2|sing=on estate to South Staffordshire Waterworks Company, whose intention was to build a reservoir. The 5th Baron died in1946 having sold many of the contents of the house. His successor and cousin Caryl Bagot repurchased the property and 30 acres of land from the water company and began an extensive programme of renovation and restoration.The 6th Baron died in
1961 and bequeathed the property to his widow, Nancy, Lady Bagot. In1986 , the Hall was divided into four separate houses. The main part which incorporates theGreat Hall is owned by the Bagot Jewitt Trust.Nancy, Lady Bagot and the Bagot Jewitt family remain in residence.
On a Monday in early September every year, villagers from nearby
Abbots Bromley visit the Hall to perform theAbbots Bromley Horn Dance .The reservoir was built in
1953 .Blithfield Hall is known as the home of a breed of
goat , theBagot goat . The part of the parish known as Bagot's Bromley took its name from ownership by the family.Bagot's Wood , the remains of the ancientNeedwood Forest also takes its name from the Bagots.References
* "Blithfield Hall - A descriptive Survey and History" Nancy, Lady Bagot (1966) English Life Publications
* [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=273790&mode=quick Images of England:Blithfield Hall]ee also
External links
* [http://www.bagotfamilyandblithfield.com Blithfield Hall website]
* [http://baggetthistory.com/blithfield.html History of Blithfield Hall]
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