Berrington Hall

Berrington Hall is a neoclassical country house in Herefordshire, five kilometres north of Leominster. Henry Holland designed it between 1778 and 1781 for Thomas Harley, replacing an older building. The exterior is plain, but inside the rooms are finely detailed. The house holds the Elmar Digby furniture collection and paintings by Thomas Luny. Visitors can also see the Charles Paget Wade costume collection and the servants’ areas, including a Victorian laundry and a Georgian dairy. The estate has belonged to several notable families. The Cornewall family owned it from 1386 until Thomas Harley bought it in 1775. Harley was a banker and former Lord Mayor of London. Later, the Rodney family lived there for ninety-five years. In 1901 Frederick Cawley, a Manchester businessman and MP, purchased the estate. The National Trust took charge in 1957 after the Cawley family donated it. Berrington’s landscape was the last designed by Capability Brown. A ha-ha wall, restored by local craftsmen in the late 20th century, separates the lawns from the park. Nearby, Berrington Pool is a lake and island protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The gardens and grounds offer quiet walks beside the water and through the parkland.