Hamstall Hall
According to Ian Ferris (A
Survey of Hamstall Hall, 1984),
‘No source, either
documentary or structural, gives details of
the earliest manorial centre, and indeed it
is not until 1518 that a reference to the
‘capital mansion’ of the manor allows a link
to be made with the present site of Hamstall
Hall’.
Looking between the pepperpot
gatehouses which once formed the entryway to
Hamstall Hall, one has the best viewpoint
for understanding the history of these
buildings.
 The
Watchtower now looks rather decrepit, but it
was once a status symbol of the first order.
Its function was never military. It was a
place from which the lord of the manor could
survey his estate and the lands beyond. It
is said that four counties can be seen from
the top.
Built in the late 15th or
early 16th century, the tower dates from the
time of the Cotton family and is probably
the oldest visible part of the manor to
survive. Under the Fitzherberts and the
Leighs the tower was linked to the rest of
the Hall by a luxurious suite of rooms.
Eventually these were reserved for the Leigh
family when they were in residence. When
this wing was demolished the tower was once
again left in splendid isolation as a folly.
The Gatehouses were built in
the Jacobean period, probably around 1620,
at a time when the Hall was rebuilt.
Overlooking the garden on the
east side of the Hall is a Jacobean porch.
It is supported by Doric pillars, a stone
tablet with surrounding scrollwork and an
elaborate balcony with ornamental strapwork.
This beautiful structure attests to the wealth of the lords
of the manor at this time. It was probably
built by the Leigh family in the early 17th
century.
The Hall as seen today is
largely Elizabethan in origin and is only
the remains of a much larger range of
buildings. Stebbing Shaw drew the house in
1797. Inside there are timbers remaining
from the earlier medieval structure.
Looking at the manor buildings from the
Blithbury Road, one sees primarily the
working farm which remained after the Leigh
family had ended their residence in Hamstall
Ridware. The farm buildings are grouped
around a courtyard which was formerly
entered through the 17th century Great Barn.
Other buildings include a malt house,
stables, cart sheds and a cowbyre. These
range in date from the 16th to the 20th
centuries. These farm buildings were
converted into the Ridware Arts Centre in
the 1980s and subsequently into private
houses.
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