’Twas the night before Christmas AND fire SWEPT THROUGH HISTORIC HALL
HAGLEY Hall, near Stourbridge, has been the home of the Lyttelton family since it was built in the 1750s by the Georgian statesman George, 1st Lord Lyttelton (1709-1773) on the site of the original house.
The hall was designed in the Palladian style by Sanderson Miller (1716-1780) and, according to the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, “several other amateurs were also consulted: John Chute of The Vyne, Thomas Lennard Barrett of Belhus, and Thomas Prowse of Axbridge and of Wicken.”
As lords of the manor of Halesowen, the Lytteltons have had an influence of Black Country affairs and several of the family have been lord lieutenants of Worcestershire.
Treasures
Disaster struck when the hall was almost destroyed in a fire on Christmas Eve 1925. Fortunately, no one was killed in the blaze. As molten lead poured through the house from the burning roof, staff ran through the rooms and corridors to save what treasures they could. The priceless 18th century tapestries by Joshua Morris were flung from the windows, along with many other valuables. At the height of the blaze when nothing more could be salvaged from inside, John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham (1881-1949) was heard to mutter “my life’s work destroyed”.
The library was destroyed in the blaze, along with the floors above, leaving the gutted space open to the sky. Around 1,700 historic books and manuscripts were lost to the flames.
Returned
The 9th Viscount Cobham set about restoring the hall. Most of the house was returned to how it had been but the uppermost floor, that had been occupied by the servants quarters, was not rebuilt, leaving the hall with a lower roof line than it had originally. He also reinstated Tudor panelling and an Elizabethan fireplace from the original house, that had been in store since the new hall was built in the 1750s.
Today, Hagley Hall is the home of Christopher Lyttelton, 12th Viscount Cobham, and is a hire venue for functions and events.