Rotherham The Unofficial Website An unofficial website about the Town and Borough of Rotherham

Rotherham's Halls & Stately Homes

As far back as Saxon times, England was divided into parishes ruled by the clergy and manors which were controlled by the secular lords and thanes. These did not always cover the same area. The ownership of manors was often sub-infeudated (let) eg. by a great lord to a lesser one, and frequently sub-divided into shares. This system continued after the Norman conquest in 1066. As one example, a manor held in 'Knight's Fee' meant that the owner had to provide a fully armed, horsed, accoutred knight together with his necessary attendants whenever the King or his liege lord required him to so. This was a considerable expense and needed a decent estate to fund the provision and upkeep.

Within each manor there was normally a large house which was occupied by the lord, his tenant or reeve (bailiff/agent/steward). Where country manors were owned by ecclesiastical establishments they were often under the charge of a granger (sometimes grainger as in the usual spelling of the surname) whose job it was to farm the land for the benefits of the clergy. A house called a grange usually started out this way though some of them ended up as substantial country houses. The law within the manor was administered by the lord of the manor or his representative. If the manor was divided there could be more than one big house. So every village and hamlet would have had its 'Big House' be it manor house, farm house or rectory.

This is not a full list; just those halls I have happened to come across in my reading and have managed to find some information worth mentioning. There are no manor houses, halls or stately homes in Rotherham that are open to the public for viewing, other than Clifton House which is now Rotherham Museum. Some have been demolished like Aldwarke Hall near Parkgate and Hooton Levitt Hall near Maltby. Aston Hall and Hellaby Hall are now hotels; others have become offices or old folks homes, which is at least marginally better than total destruction. Wentworth Woodhouse is a very grand stately home indeed and I understand that it is owned by a company called St Leger Construction who bought it from Rotherham Borough Council some years ago. Somebody has informed me that one of the directors is living there and doing it up, albeit very slowly. Another very grand home is Firbeck Hall which is owned by another building company and has been going to rack and ruin for a very long time.

Bramley Grange

A house for the granger was established by the monks of Roche Abbey in the Middle Ages. A new house was built for the Spencers in the mid 16th Century. This was extensively remodelled in 1756 but there is evidence of parts of the older hall in the present building.

Bramley Hall

Bramley Hall, belonged to the Eyre family who can be traced back to the 16th century. A sketch of Bramley Hall c.1720 shows a 17th century house with three gables. Bramley Hall has been much changed over the years and now divided into four dwellings.

Rawmarsh Hall

Rawmarsh Hall was one of the three manor houses of the manor of Rawmarsh, along with Aldwarke and Upper Haugh. It was built about 1568 and dismantled in 1932.

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