Walton Hall is a 16th-century country mansion at Walton, near Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, once owned by Lord Field and the entertainer Danny La Rue, now in use as a hotel which is now part of Accor Hotels. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The Manor of Walton was owned by the Lestrange family from the 15th century. In 1541 Barbara Lestrange, heiress of Walton married Robert Mordaunt. Their son Lestrange Mordaunt was created 1st Baronet Mordaunt in 1611.
In 1858 Sir Charles Mordaunt, 10th Baronet retained architect Sir George Gilbert Scott to design a new mansion house in the Gothic Revival style. The current Walton Hall has existed since the mid-18th century, but it sits on the site of several older manor houses and its cellars date back to Elizabeth I's time. It was Sir Charles Mordaunt who built the Georgian Manor house that guests stay in today, and the matching chapel where wedding blessings take place. The house was completed in 1862 and became infamous through a divorce scandal involving Sir Charles and his wife Harriet several years later.
In 1907 Walton Hall was purchased by Professor Vaughan Harley MD as a country house; he established a farm where he bred prize-winning shorthorn cattle, Oxford Downs sheep, shire horses and Large Black pigs. After his death in 1923, his wife and his daughter Diana Mary 'Dido' Harley (1906â€"1964) continued to live there. In 1931 Dido married Brigadier Eric Greville Earle DSO (1893â€"1965). At the outbreak of World War Two, Brigadier Earle was posted to Cairo, taking Diana with him, but by the time of their return the rectory and Walton Hall had been occupied by some 40 members of the WRNS, engaged on the code breaking activities at Bletchley Park. They lived in Walton Hall Cottage until the end of the war, then returned to the Hall for the rest of their lives.
In the mid-20th century, the property was owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a training camp for Army cadets prior to being sold to Lord Field, who restored the main building to be used as a family home.
Walton Hall became a girls boarding school in 1963 until 1969.
The house was purchased and restored by Lord Leslie Charles Field and used as a family home throughout the 1970's until it was sold to entertainer Danny LaRue who converted it to be used as a hotel. In the 1980s, Walton Hall was the focus of a timeshare venture which collapsed with debts of £5m; owner Graham Maynard was sentenced to 15 months in jail for fraud, but walked free having spent 8 1/2 months in a Spanish jail.
Today, the adjacent 1860s stable block (Grade II listed) is a time-share accommodation, which is not linked to the 1980s incident.
Walton Hall was featured in Series 5 of the BBC comedy Keeping Up Appearances'. In the episode, titled '"The Rolls Royce", Hyacinth and Richard drive a showroom car to Walton Hall.
References
Tayla and Daniel's Wedding Film - Walton Hall, Warwickshire - www.perfectmomentfilms.co.uk https://vimeo.com/perfectmomentfilms www.facebook.com/perfectmomentfilms.
External links
- The Walton Hall in Nr. Stratford-upon-Avon
- English Heritage: Images of England, photograph and detailed architectural description
