Foremarke Hall
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Foremarke Hall is a country house located near the village of Repton in Derbyshire. It was the ancestral home of the Burdett family, but it is now the preparatory school for nearby Repton School.
A Great Western Railway "Modified Hall" class steam locomotive, no. 7903 is named after this hall.
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[edit] Description
Foremarke Hall is currently the main building of Repton Preparatory School (sometimes abbreviated as Foremarke hall) which purchased the freehold of the current campus in 1967 with 40 acres of land and three cottages of the Hamlet. The Hall houses the school's administration/secretary offices and of course the Headmaster's office (2nd Floor). It also consists of the School's Boys' boarding houses and the School Library (2nd Floor). There are two Boys' Boarding Houses- Burdett House which is located at the Top floor and the quite-recent Francis House which is located at the bottom floor. The annex is now used as a 'Flexible' Boarding House (where non-boarding day-students may temporary board), recreational games-room, kitchen, catering area and dining hall.
David Hiorns, the then-famous architect, whose architectural firm in London still thrives today, ordered Foremarke Hall to be built[1] as a Stately home for The 5th Baronet of Foremarke-Francis Burdett in 1760 (Francis Burdett was actually born 10 years thereafter- 1770. The source above was from an accurate source however. It might have been that Francis'Grandfather "Sir Robert Burdett", 4th Baronet and MP of Tamworth requested it to be built for his expected heir, or simply for himself. Or perhaps the less-notable father of 5th Lord Foremarke who failed to inherit the Baronetcy off Sir Robert did so) The building is therefore Georgian and was in the Palladian architectural style with imposing portico, cursive, round domes, chamber/pillars and a magnificent south front.
In addition, an Annex was built as a Guesthouse and to house the Lord's retinue with a corridor at ground floor linking the two buildings. A double spiral staircase leads up to the pillared front entrance of the Hall and leads to the approx 1000 square feet main hall/living area of the building which consisted of two large fireplaces and a glass chandelier.
The Hall is four-storey high and consisted a large hall on the 2nd floor with an infamous portrait of Burdett which teachers and students claim 'Burdett's eyes seems to be staring at them in all directions'. A store room was built halfway in between the 2nd and 3rd floor above the Head Master's offices to house instruments. The 3rd floor houses the "Sick Bay" (one, or two dormitories, varied at different times, Matron/Nurse/Medical room, a TV/common room, a Spare-apparel room and Matron's flat. Half of the "Top Floor" boarding house is a private flat previously inhabited by Mr. Digby and family during 2000-2001, who was "Burdett Boarding House"'s head. From 2001-2002 it was inhabited by three one-year Gappers who graduated from Secondary school. From 2002 onwards, as of 2003, it was inhabited by a New teacher and New head of "Burdett House".
On the 2nd floor, next to the Television/multifunction room, in between the Library and the Main Hall is the high "Lord's Household area". At this part, the 3rd floor is 'taken out' which resulted in a large two-storey space in which large portrait-paintings of Lord and Lady burdett are hung. A glamourous L-shape red-carpeted staircase next to the library doorleads up to the 3rd floor household which is lined with Georgian carved wood-fencings. A pretigious chandelier hangs from the roof of the two-storey-area. Steps on the 2nd floor lead down to the 1st floor- Francis boarding house. During 2000-2001, the household was inhabited by the Headmaster- Mr. Paul Brewster and his family. From September 2001 onwards, as of 2003, the Headmasters moved to a two-storey cottage adjacent to the Girls' boarding house- "Nightingale" and the Design Tecnology block and Maths teacher Mr. Digby and his family- the housemaster of Francis boarding house, moved into the "Lord's household"
Facing the Front entrance of the hall is a circular parking space(used to park carriages at that time) centred by a grass-shrub roundabout and is known by the present school as the 'front square' which can be confusing as it implies the wrong shape. The rounded parking area attaches to a wide tubular drive which leads to two narrow drives going in opposite directions. Beyond the Front Square is a small lake. The campus consists of 2 woods, 2 fields now used as sport pitches by the school- Top Field, located next to the back-entrance of the Foremarke Hall and an other field, Lakeside, located next to the Lake. A small parish church was also built at the time of Sir Francis Burdett and is still in use. The Burdett family were buried at a secluded part of the church graveyard.
[edit] History
According to a directory published in 1846,[2] the hall was "erected about the year 1762" by Sir Robert Burdett[3]making it one of the oldest local buildings. (The nearby church however was erected and consecrated in 1662 by Sir Francis Burdett Bart).
The hamlets of Ingleby[4] and Foremarke (sometimes referred to as a manor) were under the Lordship of and owned by the Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet in 1829. The Baronetage of his family line began with Sir Thomas Burdett on 25th February, 1619, who was registered on the Baronetage census as "Burdett of Bramcote, Warwicks (Shorthand of Warwickshire). Francis married his lady- Sophia Coutts, daughter of the wealthy banker Thomas Coutts in 1793 which brought him a fortune. His daughter retained the maiden-name of her mother, hence the double-barrel surname Burdett-Coutts.
In 1835, the hall was described as
the beautiful seat of Sir Francis Burdett, most judiciously and romantically placed, amidst scenery of a rich, bold and varied character, upon the southern banks of the Trent – the hanging hills being crowned by thriving plantations. The house is spacious, and its appearance imposing to a considerable degree ; the pleasure-grounds are very tasteful, and lead down a valley, through finely wooded avenues to the banks of the river.
The Burdett family owned the hall until 1850 when Henry Allsop esquire resided there.[5] It could be that Henry Allsop was not the owner as the Burdett family were still reported as the owners in 1881.[6]
During the course of World War I the hall was taken over by the British army as a military hospital, today, the military identification plate nailed to the doors of the front entrance is still present.
In 1932, Kelly's directory[7] reported:
Major Sir Francis Burdett bart. D.L., J.P. lord of the manor and sole landowner, [has] a fine stone mansion, surrounded by beautiful trees and shrubs ; in the grounds is a lake of considerable dimensions.
[edit] Myths and the Unexplained
Myths have spread around Foremarke and elswhere that the ghost of Lady Burdett- Francis's wife haunting the Manor. A somehow truthful legend had it that Francis Burdett suspected of a disloyal tryst between his best friend and his wife Lady Burdett. Furious, driven by anger and out of control, he chased Lady Burdett from the Hall all the way up the path leading to the hill where the church is located and removed her right arm. The separated arm was never found which allegedly accounts for the reports of sightings of a bloody body part as well as the sad cries and apparition of a lady.
It was widely and evidently believed that during a school-night in 2002 at the Boy's Boarding House- "Top Floor" of the School, more than 5 boarders from dormitory (commonly known in the vicinity of the Foremarke, Ingleby hamlets and Repton village as "Bedder") facing the Front Square heard the noise of footstep-marching outside. At that time, most of the boarders were half-asleep or talking, with the exception of one listening to music. They were suddenly awakened and alerted by the loud and sharp sound of orderly footsteps- reminiscent to that of military-marching out in the Front Square, though with the exception of the student enjoying his music. The curtains were all drawn, and one boarder sought to undraw it and take a nervous peek. The instant the curtains were drawn, the ghostly sound immediately and uterly dissapated (vanished). This was universally agreed by all boarders of that particular dormitory, with the exception again of the one listening to music.
Unexpalined events also occurred in the opposite dormitory to the fore-mentioned dormitory above facing the "Top Field". Rumours of strange happenings circulated among students that also occurred simultaneously to the above events. For example a not-very-famous account of the scream of a lady, although probable to be from boarders, however the direction and origin of the scream was said to be unaturally vague- the course and whereabouts of the sound unidentifiable. There was an infamous story that circulated from a boarder's expirience- late at night, a boarder saw another room-mate out of bed, wandering about and running in circles at seemingly supernatural speed.During 2003, Some boading students claimed recurring mysterious voices and laughter from young females and small children late at nights.
Later in 2003, a famous account emerged- a boarder who slept alone on a Saturday night and encountered series of haunting and terrifying sounds and noises which started early on that Sunday morning on a sheet of plain paper. Apparent the "transcript" was so detail that it seemed unlikely to be hoax. The most infamous details, were the screaming of a lady and a child,loud Trucks and horse carraiges, and the choo-choo of a Steam Train. The student was said to be traumatized and spoke worryingly to a one-year Gapper the next morning. Another account tells of the sighting of a luminous object in the shape of a human crossing the Lake at unbelivably-high speed (The Lake is in front of the Front Square. There's a narrow stone pavement across the far-end of the Lake connecting the "Lakeside field" to the woodlands.)
In addition to the above rumoured accounts, a matron who had been in school for over 30 years claimed the sighting of a lady-apparition in the hall clad in white.
[edit] References
- ^ List of historic buildings and architects of the United Kingdom
- ^ History, Gazetteer and Directory of Derbyshire, Samuel Bagshaw, 1846
- ^ A View of the Present State of Derbyshire, James Pilkington, 1789
- ^ Directory of the County of Derby, Stephen Glover, 1827-29
- ^ Slater's Directory of Derbyshire, 1850
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, and Derbyshire, 1881
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, 1932
[edit] External links
| Derbyshire Schools |
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| Comprehensive Schools: Belper School | Brookfield Community School | Derby Moor Community Sports College | Frederick Gent School | Hasland Hall Community School | Highfields School | John Flamsteed Community School | Lady Manners School | Littleover Community School | Noel-Baker Community School | Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Ashbourne | St Mary's Roman Catholic High School, Chesterfield |
| City Academies: Landau Forte College |
| Independent Schools: Derby Grammar School |Foremarke Hall | St Anselm's Preparatory School |
| Public Schools: Mount St Mary's College | Repton School | Trent College |
| Junior Schools: Brimington Junior School | Dale Community Primary School | Saint Mary's Catholic School
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| Former Schools: Derby School | Chesterfield St Helena School |
