Venue Type & Location
Performance Spaces
Overview
Located in the S region of Cannock Chase, Beaudesert was a residence of the Trumwyn family and later a palace for the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry before Henry VIII’s seizure of monastic properties saw the hall’s transfer to William Paget in 1546. The house was demolished in 1935.
Performance History
The Paget family may not have had a performance troupe of its own but Paget records detail rewards to touring troupes. Beaudesert is a possible location of performances.
Current Status
History of the Venue
1259: Earliest known reference to Beaudesert as property held by the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.
1292: Reference to Beaudesert as property held by the Trumwyn family and ‘released’ to the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Stebbing, Staffordshire, 212).
By early 14th c.: Hall served as the palace of the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.
1546: Beaudesert surrendered to the crown and granted by Henry VIII to William Paget.
1569: Earliest known date of renovations to Beaudesert under Paget.
1573: John Greaves, a carpenter, contracted to re-lay floors and perform other alterations.
1575--6: Construction of a garden began.
1576: A petition from Greaves to the Paget family demanded payment for the construction of cellars, a gallery, 27 new doors, and a new mantle stone for the hall.
1578: Chapel demolished.
Late 16th c: Solar block added to the great hall to extend its length.
1583: Work on the hall ceased after Thomas Paget fled to Paris.
1585: Contents of the house, including unused building materials, dispersed and sold. Manor considered as a possible residence for Mary, queen of Scots, but rejected owing to its unfinished and unfurnished state.
1587: Thomas Paget’s barony and family estates declared forfeit.
1593: Beaudesert reported to have been 'of late enlarged and new re-edified by the late lord Pagett' (Colvin, 'Beaudesert' 93).
1604: James I restored William Paget’s title and lands, including Beaudesert. The family did not take up residence, but used the income from mills, forges, and agricultural land associated with the estate.
ca. 1604--28: Walled forecourt constructed.
1629: Beaudesert sold to James Fitzhugh.
1732: Beaudesert reacquired by the Paget family. The W front remained the property of the Fitzhughs and was leased to the Pagets.
1771-2: Major renovations conducted under the supervision of the Wyatt family of architects, including the extension of the hall at the lower end to 80' in length.
182x: Further renovations carried out according to plans by Joseph Potter.
1909: Interior damaged by fire. W front purchased by Charles Paget. Restorations eliminated the additions by Wyatt and Potter and created period rooms, including a late medieval Great Hall and a Queen Anne bedroom.
1924: Estate put up for sale.
1935: Hall demolished.
Record Source
Patrons who owned this venue
[No data found.]
Bibliographic Sources
- Colvin, Howard. 'Beaudesert, Staffordshire'. Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society 29 (1985): 107--23.
- Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996--2006
- Niven, W.. Illustrations of Old Staffordshire Houses. London: n.p., 1882
- Pevsner, Nikolaus. Staffordshire. 1974. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1996
- Shaw, Stebbing. The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire. 2 vols. London: n.p., 1798
- Tipping, H. Avray. Beaudesert--I. Staffordshire, A Seat of the Marquess of Anglesey. Country Life 46 (22 Nov. 1919): 658--65.
- Tipping, H. Avray. Beaudesert--II. Staffordshire, A Seat of the Marquess of Anglesey. Country Life 46 (29 Nov. 1919): 688--94.
- Tipping, H. Avray. 4 & 5-English Homes: Period III, Late Tudor and Early Stuart, 1558-1649. 9 vols. London: Country Life, 1922 4 & 5: