// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Fanhams Hall haunted? Hall yes.
| Fanhams Hall | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Hertfordshire | |
General information | |
| Location | Fanhams Hall Road, Wareside, Hertfordshire |
| Coordinates | 51°49′21″N 0°0′41″W / 51.82250°N 0.01139°W |
| Owner | Exclusive Hotels and Venues |
Fanhams Hall is an 18th-century Queen Anne style country house in Wareside, Hertfordshire, in the south east of England.[1] It is a Grade II* listed building which is now operating as a hotel.
History
[edit]Built in the early 18th century, the house was subsequently enlarged in 1901, when the original brick building was encased and extended as a three-storey Jacobean style country house, roughcast with stone dressings.[2] The interior was decorated in the Arts and Crafts style with plasterwork by L A Turner and stained glass by Morris and Co. in the library.[3]
Fanhams Hall is noteworthy for being the birthplace and home of the first Lord Croft, Sir Henry Page-Croft, who was the youngest son of Richard Benyon Croft (benefactor of Richard Hale School)[4] and who was Winston Churchill's appointed Under-Secretary of State for War until 1945. The south-east wing of the house served as his living quarters, and the present-day bedrooms numbered 207-210 were Lord Croft's maisonette. In 1874, Fanhams Hall was also the birthplace and home of his sister, Anne, who later became the second wife of Liverpool Brewer Sir Charles Nall-Cain;[5] they lived at Brocket Hall, Welwyn until Lord Brocket's death in 1934, when Lady Brocket returned to Fanhams Hall where she resided until her death in 1949.[1]
The house was sold as a training centre to the Westminster Bank in 1951, to the Chartered Building Society Institute[6] in 1971, and to J Sainsbury plc in February 1986.[1][7]
J Sainsbury undertook a comprehensive scheme of extension and restoration at the site, to designs of the architect Nicholas Ray, including further bedrooms and a restaurant and meeting room pavilion wing, completed in Spring 1993.[8]
Garden
[edit]Lady Brocket's interest in horticulture influenced the employment of Japanese gardeners to create the Hall's formal gardens. Her ornamental lakes and choice of trees (such as Japanese maples) can still be seen in the present-day formal grounds, as can the "Fuji-yama Mound (Fujizuka)" which was built with earth from the Hall's lakes.[1] The gardens at Fanhams Hall are cited as one of the most famous examples of a Japanese Garden in England[9] and includes separately Grade II listed terracing and steps, stone Japanese lanterns, two bridges and three follies (two Japanese and one Austrian).[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
J Sainsbury undertook a restoration of the gardens, under the direction of landscape architects; Higson Pearson, with the resulting scheme being awarded the President's Award for Design in 1993 by the Landscape Institute.[17]
The garden is listed grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[18]
Current use
[edit]The Hall currently serves as a hotel and events venue, and is owned by the hotel group Exclusive Hotels and Venues. The Hall is still open to the public as a local meeting point. For example, the local branch of the Ancient Order of Foresters holds meetings within the grounds.[19]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 "Fanhams Hall". Ware Online. Ware, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ↑ Historic England. "Fanhams Hall (1000172)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ↑ "Fanhams Hall". Our Hertford and Ware. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ↑ "Richard Benyon Croft". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ↑ Cokayne, G.E.; Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed.. 13 volumes in 14. 1910-1959
- ↑ "Drinks Stolen". Hertfordshire Mercury. 15 May 1981. p. 12.
- ↑ "Sainsbury's Seat of Learning" (PDF). JS Journal. J Sainsbury plc. March 1986. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ↑ "Heralding a New Age of Learning" (PDF). JS Journal. J Sainsbury plc. July 1990. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ↑ Musgrave, Toby (20 October 2001). "J is for Japanese Garden". The Daily Telegraph. p. G2.
- ↑ "TERRACES, STEPS AND CISTERN AT FANHAMS HALL ON WEST SIDE OF HOUSE, Wareside - 1281161 | Historic England".
- ↑ "17 STONE LANTERNS IN JAPANESE GARDEN AT FANHAMS HALL, Wareside - 1077967 | Historic England".
- ↑ "AUSTRIAN HOUSE AT FANHAMS HALL, Wareside - 1077966 | Historic England".
- ↑ "THE GREEN BRIDGE AT FANHAMS HALL 240 METRES NORTH WEST OF HOUSE, Wareside - 1077968 | Historic England".
- ↑ "JAPANESE HOUSE AT FANHAMS HALL, Wareside - 1342249 | Historic England".
- ↑ "ZIG-ZAG BRIDGE IN JAPANESE GARDEN AT FANHAMS HALL, Wareside - 1204572 | Historic England".
- ↑ "SMALL HOUSE AT FANHAMS HALL, Wareside - 1204547 | Historic England".
- ↑ "Fanhams Awarded for Green Fingers" (PDF). JS Journal. J Sainsbury plc. January 1994. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ↑ "Settlement Appraisal: Ware" (PDF). East Herts Council. p. 18. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- ↑ "Minutes from Annual Meeting (2007) of Ware Town Council" (PDF). Ware Town Council. Ware, United Kingdom. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
External links
[edit]