How did a staircase from this Reformation-era country house end up on the other side of the world?
Melanie Bryan takes a look at the intriguing history and sad ending of Beaudesert Hall.
Beaudesert Hall (beaudesert meaning ‘beautiful wilderness’) was situated on the southern flank of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, and had been in the same family since it had been gifted by Henry VIII to Sir William Paget, in 1546.
Over the years, the hall had, like any home, been modernised, extended and tweaked as it was handed down through the generations. So, therefore, it was only natural that when the Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey, inherited the pile in 1905, he deemed it necessary to put his own stamp on things.
The exterior of Beaudesert was not being as lovingly cared for as the interior at the time of Country Life’s 1919 visit.
The Great Hall was a recreation by Captain Harry Lindsay. The 24-foot-long oak table itself was acquired from a sale at Holme Lacy, where is was used by the servants.
He implemented a programme of renovations, redecoration and repairs — as well as bringing the building bang up-to-date with the installation of some new-fangled electricity. And he was on the verge of moving in when disaster struck.
In November 1909, a fire, believed to have been triggered by the newly-installed wiring, took hold in the servant’s quarters. Despite swift action from the local fire brigade, 15 rooms were badly damaged. Luck, however, was, believe it or not, on Paget's side. The weather that night was still, and the property shrouded in fog, which fortuitously stopped the fire spreading further.
You could have forgiven him for calling it quits — especially as he had also inherited the equally-sizeable Plas Newydd on Anglesey at the same time as Beaudesert — but he was determined to turn the latter into his family home.
The Waterloo Staircase — which now resides quite a long way away from its original home in leafy Staffordshire.
Paget redoubled his efforts, tasking Captain Harry Lindsay, a relative of his soon-to-be wife Lady Marjorie Manners, with the alterations to the building that would be a nod to the different distinct design eras it had lived through. These included an impressive, oak clad, Great Hall as it would have looked prior to Henry VIII’s 'acquisition’, and a tapestry room featuring a striking new Jacobean-style plasterwork ceiling. There was also to be a Queen Anne-style bedroom, and, in the place of a 19th century Neo-Gothic archway, a beautiful rafter ceiling studded with a carved beam believed to date to the time of Henry VII.
The First World War raged on while these alterations were being made and, when it finally ended, the UK, depleted of both men and money, launching a swingeing taxation system to help regenerate the country.
Suddenly, owning and running two huge estates (and a vast London town house) was no longer a viable option. Paget invited Country Life to record his work at Beaudesert, and then, in 1924, put the property into which he had ploughed so much love and money on the market.
It failed to sell.
Beaudesert was, however, kept in good repair — so much so that in March 1935, Harry Roy was able to entertain more than 325 guests who danced in the oak-panelled long gallery and yellow drawing room until breakfast was served. It was to be the grand old building’s last hurrah. Soon after, the demolition men were invited to bid for the task of dismantling thing.
A Frontispiece from 1912 showing Lady Marjorie Manners before her wedding.
In a letter to The Lichfield Mercury, dated June 26, 1935, the peer felt compelled to explain his decision to do away with Beaudesert Hall: 'The feeling of my family and myself can be imagined, and my regret at the demolition of the house is increased by the feeling of separation from Staffordshire friends.
‘Unfortunately I have not been able to occupy Beaudesert since 1920. The very heavy burden of taxation, since the war, has made it impossible for owners all over the country to maintain everything as in pre-war days, and many heart-breaking decisions have had to be taken; in some cases it has been possible to preserve houses and beauty spots.
In this case Beaudesert has been offered again and again to every possible public body, colleges, British Red Cross Society, school authorities and others, and in every case it was found to be unsuitable for the purpose.
In 1932 Beaudesert was offered for sale by public auction, but not a single bid was made.
It was after long hesitation and not easily, that I finally agreed to the course which has now been adopted. Yours, ANGLESEY.
P.S.—Although the sale is advertised to take place shortly, it would be possible to take advantage of any practical suggestion by which Beaudesert might be preserved.'
The letter fell on deaf ears — a report in November 1935 states that Birmingham City Council acquired about 3,000 square feet of oak from the 17th century Long Gallery.
The demolition had begun.
Despite its destruction, many parts of the building were salvaged and live on today across the globe, including at St James's Palace, London, and, somewhat more surprisingly, in a (then) new-build home in the Adelaide Hills of southern Australia.
The latter belong to Ursula and Edward Hayward who attended a sale of effects while on their honeymoon. The couple purchased the panelling, doors, windows and hefty cast iron and oak Waterloo Staircase — which they subsequently installed in their new home, Carrick Hill. built their new home, Carrick Hill, around. That property is now a tourist attraction in its own right.
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