Relhan Collection : 232 Kirtling. Alias Catledge Hall

Relhan, Richard, 1782-1844

Relhan Collection

1800This view was apparently drawn from an existing engraved copy (see Pickles and VCH). It was dated 1800 by Benton on the basis of (234), but it was a popular subject for engravers and Relhan may well have copied all his Kirtling views from such sources rather than make the long journey from Cambridge himself. Kirtling Hall was built 1537 for Edward, 1st Lord North, Chancellor of Court of Augmentations (dealing with monastic properties after the Reformation, a lucrative role), on a more ancient castle site. The original castle was first documented in 1219 and works on the buildings and moat are recorded in C13, C14 and C15, including a new hall inside the moat for the Earl of Warwick in 1424. Two sides of a moat, which survive, were perhaps part of the one which surrounded the original C13 castle. Soon after 1537 Edward North reshaped the earthworks, and had constructed most of the house and gardens by 1556. Layer (1586-1640) describes ‘a very statelie house of the Lord North mounted on a prittie hill from the park whein it standeth, being mooted and having a most statelie rise by many steppes up into the house’. By the 1660s North descendants had made it the largest country house in Cambs. Its landscaped garden included elaborate water features and a moat stocked for fishing. Until 1677 Kirtling Hall belonged to this rich and politically powerful family but until 1625 was rarely occupied, for the families had homes and responsibilities elsewhere, their most eminent politician being Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guildford who, as Lord North, was Prime Minister 1770 to 1782 and led Great Britain unsuccessfully through the American War of Independence. When in residence Roger North in particular was accompanied by the huge household of a nobleman, so the Hall had to be kept ready for those times. In 1625 Dudley, 3rd Lord North (d. 1666) made the Hall his permanent home, as did his son, d.1677. They kept a considerable household and made improvements to the hospitality and comfort the house could offer, were patrons of music and literature, had a large and well-stocked deer park, kept fish in the moat, and were involved in local and county administration. A watercolour, by ‘Matthew’, shows the full picture of the Hall and Gatehouse in1760, set within a lovely and informal setting, with rough grass and mature trees and figures that do not seem at all aristocratic, indicating the family is absent. VCH published an engraving of a similar scene. After 1677 the Hall was rarely used and was managed by agents. Furniture was sold to pay debts, and in 1748 parts of the Hall were demolished. The S front was kept intact, and there was refurbishment for family use. However, by the 1770s it was considered uninhabitable. After this the site of the house was planted with trees and the surviving Kirtling Tower was given new gardens and an avenue of walnuts. The house was demolished 1801 by the 9th Lord North. The present Kirtling Tower consists of the Hall's C16 gatehouse and a Victorian wing (233). Lewis 2000; Palmer 1935; Pickles 2009; VCH 2002; Watkin 1981