The History of Kelmarsh Hall
The estate has changed hands over the centuries, but the main historical figures are as follows:
The Osbornes were the first to have enclosed the land and united it into one estate. They are also thought to be the builders of St Dionysius ( St Denys) Church in the village.
William Hanbury, a noted antiquarian, completed the current Hall in 1732. His fortunes were bolstered by an advantageous marriage to a niece of Viscount Bateman. As well as acquiring Shobdon Estate in Herefordshire, the marriage led to his grandson William Hanbury III to succeed to the baronetcy.
The Naylors purchased the estate in 1864. Richard Christopher Naylor was a Liverpool banker, cotton trader and horse racing enthusiast who bought the estate for its hunting potential and cared for it through most of the Victorian era.
The Lancasters
Thanks to a fortune founded in iron and coal, George Granville Lancaster bought the Estate in 1902. His wife Cicely was of Hugenot family, Champion de Crespigny. Their son, Claude Granville Lancaster, inherited on his majority in 1924. “Jubie”, as he was known, became a Colonel in the Sherwood Foresters and an MP for Fylde and South Fylde (1938-1970). His elder sister, Cicely Valencia Lancaster inherited on his death in 1977.
The Trees
The Anglo American Ronald Tree and his wife Nancy rented the Hall from 1928-1933. Tree used his position as Master of the Pytchley Hunt as a launch pad into British politics becoming MP for Market Harborough until 1945. The couple later moved to another James Gibbs house, Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire. On their divorce in 1948, Nancy Tree returned to Kelmarsh Hall as the wife of the owner Colonel Lancaster. A well connected Virginian (her aunt was the formidable politician, Nancy Astor), she is most famous for her partnership in the decorating firm of Colefax and Fowler. The marriage was short lived and Nancy Lancaster ended her days and her gardening career at the much admired Haseley Court, Oxfordshire.
Following her brother's wishes, Cicely Valencia Lancaster set up the Kelmarsh Trust to safeguard the estate's future after her death in 1996.
