Hall Farm, Dadlington
Hall Farm today covers an area of approximately 18 acres which includes the house & garden, the yards & buildings, and the fields, but was originally a working farm of about 150 acres. Mark & Kate Walker are the second generation to take on the duty of upkeep at Hall Farm after it was originally bought by Kate’s parents in 1983.
The current house was built around 1800, on the site of a much older building, presumed to have been named The Hall, which is no longer standing, the foundations of which can be still seen in the cellar and in the 19th century barn with its stunning original oak roof timbers. The property is set out over three farmyards, surrounded by brick buildings, one group of which was refaced in Victorian times, therefore it is possible to see where the windows were bricked over. The house was extended in the 1930s and again in 1991 and was Grade 2 Listed in 1987 as being of significant architectural interest.
The house is built of hand made red bricks and roofed in hand made ‘blue rosemary’ tiles and is of typically Georgian “dolls’ house” layout with a Minton tiled floor in the hall. The cellar is very much older than the present house and is constructed from Carlton stones (the same as the village church of St James) which have a suggested date of circa 14th century.
The house overlooks the village green to the south and the site of the Battle of Bosworth to the North, where Richard III died and Henry VII was victorious and crowned King, so founding the Tudor Dynasty. One of the fields at Hall Farm in included in the official Battlefield site and many of the dead from the battle are buried in the graveyard at St James’s which is opposite Hall Farm. In 1511 Henry VIII visited the local area, ordering masses to the said in the Church for the souls of the dead killed in the Battle.
1873 saw the grand opening of the steam railway line from Ashby de la Zouch to Nuneaton, running across the edge of the property. During its construction between 1850 and 1870, gravel for ballast was dug out of the Village Green and one the fields at Hall Farm. The hole in the Green was filled some years ago and the Village Green restored, but the gravel pit at Hall Farm remains, now grassed over, and is a haven for wildlife. As the water table has risen it has created a natural wetland which is quite stunning. Still referred to locally as the ‘ballis’ hole, the pit field is a well-loved spectacle and can be viewed both from the public footpath running through one end, and of course from The Old Tractor Shed, our stunning boutique holiday let situated in prime position on the top of the pit with panoramic views stretching to the far horizon.
Visitors to The Old Tractor Shed will hopefully catch the stunning sunsets that we are so lucky to see.
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