- Sandon Hall
Sandon Hall is a 19th century country mansion, the seat of the
Earl of Harrowby , atSandon, Staffordshire , five miles north northeast ofStafford . It is aGrade II* listed building set in 400 acres of parkland.The Manor of Sandon came to Thomas Erdeswicke by marriage in about 1339 and was held by that family until the death of
Sampson Erdeswicke in 1603. Thereafter it passed by marriage until it came toWilliam Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton in the 17th century. The old manor house was replaced by a new house built in 1769 for Archibald Hamilton by Joseph Pickford of Derby.The estate was purchased by
Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby in 1776 who retained architectSamuel Wyatt to carry out extensive extensions and improvements. The house was severely damaged by fire in 1848 and was rebuilt in 1852 byDudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby to a neo Jacobean design by architectWilliam Burn .In the park stands a
Doric column erected in memory ofWilliam Pitt the Younger in 1806.The house is not generally open to the public but since 1994 the family have made it available for weddings and corporate hospitality events. Visits by parties are possible by prior arrangement.
References
* [http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=272295&resourceID=5 English Heritage: Architectural details of listed building]
* "A Survey of Staffordshire, Containing the Antiquities of that County" Erdeswicke and Harwood (1820) pp42-4 Google Books
* [http://www.sandonhall.co.uk/history.asp History of Sandon Hall]
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