Kirby Hall NN17 3EN
Entry: Free for EH members
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About:
Nestled in the countryside of Northamptonshire – the county of ‘spires and squires’ – Kirby Hall is one of England’s greatest Elizabethan and 17th-century houses. It was built in the 1570s for Sir Humphrey Strafford, and at the time was the apogee of architectural innovation. After Stafford’s death, Sir Christopher Hatton, one of Elizabeth I’s favourite courtiers, bought Kirby Hall and added a suite of state rooms fit to receive royalty. Although Elizabeth never visited, it later became a favourite of King James I on his royal progresses.

The honey-coloured ruins are now a magnificent, romantic shell, while the gardens have been recreated in their late 17th-century form.

Kirby Hall was built to the north of the medieval village of Kirby and probably incorporated elements of an earlier manor house. With easily worked soils suited to arable and pastoral farming, the area has a long history of occupation stretching back to the Romans. In 1086 there were six households recorded in the settlement, and this had grown little by the 16th century, with only ten able-bodied men recorded in 1539.

The manor passed through several hands before Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwycke (or Blatherwick), a nearby manor, bought it in 1542. Soon afterwards he styled himself as ‘of Kirby’, suggesting that Kirby had now become his principal residence.

After his death in 1548 his son, also Humphrey, inherited Kirby, and began building the house which remains today. By this time, little of the village remained, and the expansion of Kirby Hall’s gardens in the early 17th century probably swept away any surviving vestiges.

Open: Seasonal - See website

Dog Friendly:
Dogs on leads are welcome outside - in the ruined areas, gardens and grounds only.

Entry Charge:
Variable prices (see website)

Parking:
Free parking for about 30 vehicles, 100 metres from entrance. Car park contains some difficult surfaces for wheelchair users. Disabled visitors can be set down just outside the entrance.

Facilities:
Shop 
Picnic area
Toilets
Exhibition
Gardens

Notes:
Via compacted gravel path from main gate. Whole ground floor easily accessible to wheelchair users.
The paths are of compacted gravel except in the parterre where they are of loose gravel. Alternative entrance from forecourt to gain entry to garden.
Most of the site has uneven surfaces.
There is a sheer drop signed from the bank to the parterre.

Contact:
Website: www.english-heritage.org.uk
Tel: 0370 3331181