Gazetteer of
British Place Names

Fawsley Hall is a country house at Fawsley, Northamptonshire. The land around Fawsley Hall has belonged to the Knightley family since the early 16th century. The family entertained Elizabeth I and were supporters of Oliver Cromwell. The Hall comprises builds from several periods. Parts of Sir Edmund Knightley’s 16th-century house were added to in 1732 when the north wing, attributed to Francis Smith, was built. This was remodelled by Thomas Cundy in 1815 and again by Anthony Salvin at the same time as building the south-east wing of 1867-68. It stands within 2,000 acres of gardens and landscape partly designed by Capability Brown in the 1760s. The Hall was last lived in by Lady Louisa Mary Knightley until her death in 1913. She is remembered for befriending John Cary Merrick, ‘The Elephant Man’, and provided him with a cottage on the estate. With the house empty the last Knightley Baronet died in 1938 and the estate was inherited by a nephew, the sixth Viscount Gage of Firle Park, Lewes, in Sussex. The house was requisitioned in World War Two and suffered terribly at the hands of the military. By 1949 the house was in poor condition with lead stripped from its roof and with crumbling ceilings. When Pevsner visited in 1972 the house was woefully derelict. The Saunders family bought the house and converted it into a hotel and reinstated the missing roof. The hotel underwent a £4.5 million restoration in 2014-2015. It is within the council area of West Northamptonshire.
Historic England Grade I Listed 1075281.

Place Type: Historic House
Historic County: Northamptonshire
Lat, Long: 52.206601,-1.178654
Grid Reference: SP562568
Police Area: Northamptonshire
Council Area: West Northamptonshire
Civil Parish: Fawsley CP
Country: England

GBPNID: 301792
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Fawsley_Hall,_Northamptonshire_301792

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