Harvington Hall

Harvington Hall is a moated medieval and Elizabethan manor house in the hamlet of Harvington in the civil parish of Chaddesley Corbett, south-east of Kidderminster in the English county of Worcestershire.

For the village of near Evesham, see Harvington.
Harvington Hall
Harvington Hall, May 2015
Location in England
General information
Typestately home
LocationChaddesley Corbett, Midlands, Worcestershire
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°22′04″N 2°10′51″W
OwnerRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham
Website
www.harvingtonhall.com

It is open to the public.[1]

History

Harvington Hall belonged to the Catholic Pakington family. It was constructed by Humphrey Packington during the 1580s. Mary Yate (née Pakington), daughter of Humphrey, came into possession of Harvington Hall upon his death on August 6, 1631. She became Catholic upon her marriage to Sir John Yate. She founded the Dame Mary Yate almshouses on Harvington Hall Lane.

In 1647 it was pillaged by Roundhead troops. The Hall later passed by marriage to the Throckmorton family from nearby Coughton Court. During the 19th century it was stripped of furniture and panelling and the shell was left almost derelict.

From 1722 till his death in 1743, Hugh Tootell served as one of the chaplains to Robert Throckmorton. It was here that he wrote The Church History of England from 1500 to 1688,[2] which was published under the pen name "Charles Dodd", a name Tootell had adopted as a student to spare his family the penalty under the Penal Laws for sending him abroad to school.[3]

Since 1923, Harvington Hall has belonged to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and is particularly notable for its vestment-hide and seven priest-holes, four of which are built around the main staircase and are thought to be the work of Nicholas Owen.[4][5][6][7] The false fireplace in the Marble Room led to two hides in the attics. An altar stone is said to have been discovered in a secret recess in one of the angle turrets.[8]

Harvington Hall was given to the Archdiocese of Birmingham by Ellen Ferris (1870–1955), whose son Robert was Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1970 to 1974 and later became Lord Harvington.

  • Library with priest hole
  • Withdrawing room with priest hole
  • Grave of Lord Harvington and his mother at St Mary's Catholic Church, Harvington. The roof of Harvington Hall is visible in the background.

See also
  • Father Wall

References
  1. "Visiting – Harvington Hall". Harvington Hall – Step Back in Time. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. Burton, Edwin. "Hugh Tootell." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 17 January 2019
  3. "Hugh Tootell (alias Charles Dodd)", Firmly I Believe and Truly: The Spiritual Tradition of Catholic England, (John Saward, John Morrill, Michael Tomko, eds.), OUP Oxford, 2013, p. 302ISBN 9780199677948
  4. "Harvington Hall Priest Holes and Hides". Britain Explorer. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  5. Julian Yates, Error, misuse, failure: object lessons from the English Renaissance, U of Minnesota Press, 2002, ISBN 0-8166-3961-2, ISBN 978-0-8166-3961-8. p. 187
  6. "The Priest Hides – Harvington Hall". Harvington Hall – Step Back in Time. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  7. Harvington Hall- Inside the roof hide. Tudorstuff blog, Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  8. Foley, Henry. Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus, Burns and Oates, 1878, p.34 n.3 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Further reading
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