Alford Manor House
Encyclopedia
The Manor House is a Grade II listed building which can be found on West street within Alford
, Lincolnshire
, England
. It is believed to be the largest thatched manor house in England and was built to a traditional H plan in 1611. It is a very rare example of a composite structure, featuring a wooden frame with reed and plaster (visible from within the house), encased in brick. Ground floor and first floor rooms feature design interventions from Georgian through to Victorian times, whilst the attic floor is virtually untouched since 1611.
The house owes much of its existence to the wealth of one of its owners, Sir Robert Christopher. The house was inherited by his granddaughter, Lucy, who married John Manners, Duke of Rutland. Thereafter Alford Manor House was inhabited by tenants, one of whom was John Higgins, who arrived in about 1820. He was a friend of Charles Darwin's father, Robert, and was the local Land Agent. He established his office in the nineteenth century annex which you can see on the east wing of the house.
It was his descendent, Dorothy Higgins, a doctor and member of Alford Town Council, who bought the property in 1958 and gifted it to the town in 1967. Alford Civic Trust was established then to manage and look after the property.
The house itself is unusual in its construction: most properties of the period were built, using a wooden frame with wattle and daub infill, or with a brick infill, so that the wooden beams would be visible from the outside as well as from inside the property. However, Alford Manor House was encased in brick, and the brick was not merely ornamental: it was tied into the structure of the building via wall plates and floor joists.
The house was renovated and re-thatched during the period 2004-2006.
The house is owned by Alford and District Civic Trust Ltd which is a Registered Charity (No. 252330).
Alford, Lincolnshire
- Notable residents :* Captain John Smith who lived in nearby Willoughby* Anne Hutchinson, pioneer settler and religious reformer in the United States* Thomas Paine, who was an excise officer in the town....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is believed to be the largest thatched manor house in England and was built to a traditional H plan in 1611. It is a very rare example of a composite structure, featuring a wooden frame with reed and plaster (visible from within the house), encased in brick. Ground floor and first floor rooms feature design interventions from Georgian through to Victorian times, whilst the attic floor is virtually untouched since 1611.
The house owes much of its existence to the wealth of one of its owners, Sir Robert Christopher. The house was inherited by his granddaughter, Lucy, who married John Manners, Duke of Rutland. Thereafter Alford Manor House was inhabited by tenants, one of whom was John Higgins, who arrived in about 1820. He was a friend of Charles Darwin's father, Robert, and was the local Land Agent. He established his office in the nineteenth century annex which you can see on the east wing of the house.
It was his descendent, Dorothy Higgins, a doctor and member of Alford Town Council, who bought the property in 1958 and gifted it to the town in 1967. Alford Civic Trust was established then to manage and look after the property.
The house itself is unusual in its construction: most properties of the period were built, using a wooden frame with wattle and daub infill, or with a brick infill, so that the wooden beams would be visible from the outside as well as from inside the property. However, Alford Manor House was encased in brick, and the brick was not merely ornamental: it was tied into the structure of the building via wall plates and floor joists.
The house was renovated and re-thatched during the period 2004-2006.
The house is owned by Alford and District Civic Trust Ltd which is a Registered Charity (No. 252330).
External links
- Alford Manor House - official site