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Wollaton Hall 
WOOL-a-tun
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
Started 1580
Completed 1588
Status: Fully Extant
WOOL-a-tun
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
Started 1580
Completed 1588
Status: Fully Extant
Special Info / Location/ Date
Special Info
Phonetic Pronunciation of House Name
WOOL-a-tun
Location
Country
England
District Today
Nottinghamshire
Historic County
City / Town / Village
Nottingham
Latitude
52.949219
Longitude
-1.14392
Date
Start Date
1580
Completion Date
1588
Circa Date
Images
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Architects
| Designed | Beeston and Lenton gateways to Park |
| Date | 1823-24 |
| Designed | Camellia House |
| Date | 1822-23 |
| Designed | Alterations, repairs, and extensions for 6th Lord Middleton |
| Date | 1801 |
| Designed | Main park gateway |
| Date | 1790 |
| Designed | House |
| Date | 1580-88 |
Extant / Listed / References
Extant
Extant Type
Fully Extant
Extant Details
Listed
House Listed As
Grade I
Gardens Listed As
Grade II*
On SAVE Britain's Heritage's List of Buildings at Risk
No
Country House: Yes
References
Vitruvius Britannicus
Vitruvius Scoticus
J.B. Burke (Burke's Visitation of Seats)
Country Life
XLI, 544, 568, 592, 1917.
J.P. Neale (Neale's Views of Seats)
Vol. III, 1820.
Access / Ownership / Seat
Access
Open to Public Please note: Houses listed as being open "By Appointment" are usually country house hotels or B&Bs.
Yes
Historic Houses Association Member
Phone Number If calling from the U.S., delete the first "0" in British numbers.
01159-153-900
Fax Number
01159-153-653
Email
Website
Awards
Current Ownership
Current Ownership Type
Government
Primary Current Ownership Use
Museum
Current Ownership Use / Details
Owned by the Nottingham City Council. Used as a natural history museum, officially called Wollaton Hall Natural History Museum.
Seat ("Seat" is loosely defined
as any family that occupied the house for a period of 2 years or more)
Today Seat of
A Past Seat(s) of
Willoughby family, later Lords Middleton, 1588-1924.
Possible (Unsure) Seat of
History / Gardens & Park / Movies
History
Earlier House(s) / Building(s)
House Replaced By
Built / Designed For
Sir Francis Willoughby
House & Family History
One of the great Elizabethan prodigy houses, Wollaton was built by the Willoughbys (later Lords Middleton), an old Nottinghamshire family. The plan was taken from one of Serlio's books on architecture, to which Smythson added his own adornments. The work of Vredeman de Vries inspired many of the architectural details, such as the strapwork gables. The House cost £80,000 to build in 1588 (worth approximately £18 million in 2010 inflation-adjusted values using the retail price index) and took eight years to complete. Wollaton was sold by the Willoughby family to Nottingham Council in 1924 (Birdsall House in Yorkshire had been the family’s principal seat since the early 19th century); today (2012) it is the Wollaton Hall Natural History Museum. Between 2000 and 2007 the House underwent a £9 million restoration that returned much of its original splendor after years of institutional use. The money for the restoration came from international, national, and local sources and included £1.5 million that was spent on the restoration of the Camellia House. The famous Prospect Room, with its mid-18th century plasterwork and trompe l’oeil canvas pelmets, was beautifully brought back to life as part of the early 21st century restoration. The Banqueting Rooms in the towers (similar to those at Hardwick Hall) are only accessible via the roof using a spiral staircase. A bird’s eye view painting of Wollaton by Jan Siberechts, 1697, is in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut.
Collections
This field lists art objects that are currently or were previously in the collection of the house.
For information on the history of British currency, click here. To use a chart that allows you to compare the purchasing power of money In Great Britain from 1264 to any other year, including the present, click here. To use a currency conversion to see the current value of the British pound, click here.
For information on the history of British currency, click here. To use a chart that allows you to compare the purchasing power of money In Great Britain from 1264 to any other year, including the present, click here. To use a currency conversion to see the current value of the British pound, click here.
Comments
Wollaton is one of the finest Elizabethan houses in England and is frequently called one of the architectural wonders of Elizabethan England.
Gardens & Park
Garden, Park, Follies and Outbuildings
Wollaton is set today (2012) in 500 acres of grounds three miles west of Nottingham city center. Lenton Lodge, the former eastern gatehouse on Derby Road, now detached from the Hall and Park by urban housing, was restored 2006-08 by Chek Whyte Industries and sold as a 3,324 sq ft office. In the early 21st century £1.5 million was spent on the restoration of the Camellia House.
Chapel & Church
Movies
Location for Movies / TV
"A History of Britain" (2000 - TV documentary series).
Bibliography
| Author | Girouard, Mark |
| Year Published | 1996 |
| Reference |
| Author | Warner, Malcolm; Asleson, Robyn |
| Year Published | 2001 |
| Reference | pg. 63 |
| Author | Jackson, Anna; Hinton, Morna |
| Year Published | 2002 |
| Reference | pg. 15 |
| Author | NA |
| Year Published | NA |
| Reference | Vol 27, No. 1, 2006, pg. 53 |
Related Resources
There are no documents associated with this house.
