The History of Abington Manor

If you love history then you will love this location.

The Manor House would have been at the centre of the village listed in the Domesday Book.

The name Abington is Saxon and probably means Ab’s farm and was definitely a settlement at the time of Domesday.

The manor house we see today was built in the 15th Century and was home to Shakespeare’s last remaining relative, his granddaughter Elizabeth Bernard who is buried at the church not far away.

In 1669, vast parts of the original Manor House were demolished to make way for a larger, more lavish extension, retaining of course, the Great Hall and Oak Room.

In 1845, Abington Manor was sold to a Londoner who leased out the Manor to Dr Octavius Pritchard who used the property as a mental asylum. It remained as an asylum until 1892. Conditions in the asylum are not believed to have been overly cruel or unpleasant, however it has been reported that during this time two patients hung themselves. The property further exchanged hands in 1897 when it was given to the people of Northampton. It has remained as a museum until present day.

The History of Gresley Old Hall

In the mid 18th century the house had an estate of 600 acres and was set in a fenced park, but in 1789 the house was said to be ‘hastening fast to decay’ and the property was subsequently dismembered for coal mining, the house tenanted as a farm and the outbuildings converted for use as a pottery in 1794. In 1895, when the mining had destroyed too much of the estate for farming to be viable, it was converted into tenements. It then lay derelict for some time before being purchased by a Miners’ Welfare club, which employed Vernon Brice ARIBA to make it habitable in 1953. The house now stands in a remnant of the former park, once again derelict!

The History of Belgrave Hall

Belgrave Hall an amazing 18th century building and was home to several families throughout its time as a family dwelling.

Built in 1709 by Edmund Cradock, a Leicester hosiery merchant, the building was completed in 1713 unfortunely Edmund and his dear wife Ann died only two years after its completion.

The house, fronting onto Church Road, on a site adjacent to Belgrave Church. The house is a three-storey building, and you can still see today the lead rainwater heads with the Cradock family crest, some of which have a 1709 date and others with 1713.

Belgrave Hall has been home to many wealthy business men over the years, and all the owners have played a key part to the economic, social and charitable life of the community.

The family of John Ellis purchased Belgrave Hall in 1845 and were noted for their good work in the community. Ellis, a wealthy businessman, was responsible for bringing the railway to Leicester in 1833.