Nevill Holt: The Development of an English Country House

Abstract

Nevill Holt Hall, in south-east Leicestershire, is an extensive and complex country house of many periods, which has received little detailed architectural study. This paper, based on a comprehensive analysis of the building fabric and documentary evidence, examines the development of the house from its origins in the late thirteenth century to the present day. A wide range of contributions from every century make up an extraordinary amalgam, reflecting the whole pattern of development of the English country house, and present an intriguing challenge to the archaeologist and architectural historian. Evidence from the timber roofs suggests that the unusual, great, elongated plan took shape at an early date. Ensuing generations continued to add to and adapt this underlying structure, but no single owner, it seems, had the breadth of vision, fixity of purpose or, perhaps more crucially, depth of pocket to impose order on this rambling and uncoordinated complex.