Page 13 - Oundle Life August 2023

Christopher Hatton III, who modelled it into the classical mix of Elizabethan and Jacobean styles we see today.
The Hatton family kept Kirby Hall until 1764 when it passed to the Finch-Hattons. By the late 1880s, they abandoned the house and it fell into a state of disrepair. Many of its roofs had fallen in, the woodwork and some of the stonework had been stolen, and its windows broken. The ruin was left to the estate’s shepherd, who happily let his sheep roam at will through the once magnificent rooms.
With several of the rooms, including the Great Hall, now restored, Kirby Hall has become something of a movie star, with roles
in the 1999 version of Jane Austen’s ‘Mansfield Park’, Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ from the same year, and 2005’s ‘Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story’, starring Steve Coogan and
Rob Bryden. It has also been seen in Kenneth Clarke’s ‘Civilisation’ and has been a venue for the BBC’s ‘Antiques Roadshow.’
The house and gardens are now owned by the Earl of Winchelsea (a descendant of the Finch- Hattons who took possession of the house in 1764) but are managed by English Heritage. Both are open to the public. Tickets cost £9.50 for adults and £5.50 for kids. For opening times visit www.english-heritage.org.uk
Stuart Barker is a professional writer and author. He has a keen interest in local history and likes nothing better than riding round Northants visiting historical sites on his motorcycle.
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All images courtesy of ©English Heritage