Stanford Hall, Leicestershire

Private
The Hall is a fine symmetrical building of the William & Mary period, set in an extensive grassy park. Set back to one side are the stables and other service buildings, arranged around courtyards, with vegetable gardens behind. The house has some grand rooms, notably the Ballroom, grandly resplendent in pink and gold, and having a fine coved ceiling with four trompe l’oeil shell corners. The Library contains five thousand books, as well as many interesting manuscripts, the oldest dating from 1150. Other rooms contain objects collected by the family over the centuries. Drawing rooms overlook the Park. Upstairs, grand bedrooms contain four poster beds and tapestries.
As one can see from the website picture, the driveway heads straight for the centre of the house, before veering aside towards a parking area in front of the stables. The present house entrance is here, up a flight of steps at the side of the house and into a narrow central passage. The house is open infrequently, and my 2011 visit seemed more like former times, when the genteel visitor would turn up at the gates and be shown around the house by a servant, than like a slick National Trust operation. Our tour was hastily adjusted so that we could see the Ballroom before the owner occupied it for a pre-booked private function. The ballroom, with its coved and painted ceiling, is quite impressive, and the other grand rooms are worth seeing. We were not shown many of the upstairs rooms. I would have liked to have been able to find out a bit more about some of the objects on display.
In 2024, I had a tour of the downstairs and upstairs rooms, with many of the objects on display being described by the guide. The Ballroom’s painted ceiling has been cleaned since my last visit.
In the Stable block, there is a large tea-room upstairs, a souvenir shop, and an unusual replica of an 1898 flying machine. This is a full size replica of “The Hawk”, one of four flying machines designed and successfully flown by Lt Percy Pilcher RN, a friend of the 6th Lord Braye. Pilcher was killed flying “The Hawk” at Stanford in 1899. A walled garden lies behind the stable block.
The River Avon, dammed to make a lake, flows near one side of the house, and a long pond is on the other side. The Stanford church (turn left as you leave the estate) contains several impressive monuments to past residents of the Hall and is worth a visit.
In 2024, the house was open for two weeks around Easter, plus on a few other dates in conjunction with ‘special events’ in the Park, or Bank Holidays.
website: http://www.stanfordhall.co.uk
All pictures 2024. For interiors, see Stanford Hall website.