Located in the countryside approximately 2 miles W of Abbots Bromley, Blithfield Hall has been the property of the Bagot family by marriage since at least 1362, and their residence since 1367.
Though it was constructed in the 14th c., there is no extant evidence of the original building materials within the present-day hall. By the 16th c., the hall consisted of 4 ranges around a central rectangular courtyard and was surrounded by a moat.
A 16th c. entrance hall with a paneled ceiling, possibly built on the site of the medieval gateway, stands in the middle of the S range. The plaster decoration and vaulting within are 19th c. additions. The S range itself is of 16th c origin at the latest; remains of its timber-framed wall existed as late as 1988. It contained a gabled W wall as late as 1686. Some of the W range dates from the 15th c.: timber framing, 2 fireplaces with 4-centred heads, and a ground-floor doorway leading to the courtyard with decorated spandrels. Two stone fireplaces with moulded jambs and 4-centred openings in the W range were built in the second half of the 16th c. The range also contains a study with late 17th c. paneling. The N range is a double pile whose N side was constructed c. 1740 but whose S side, facing the courtyard, is medieval in origin. The W side of the N range contains the great hall and its 16th c. roof and paneling.
Blithfield Manor is a known performance venue during the residence of Walter Bagot (1557–1622), whose household accounts record expenses paid to players. A Stafford mayoral account also indicates a payment made to players who came to Stafford from Blithfield in 1629--30, but these players' connections to Blithfield, Blithfield Manor, and/or the Bagot family, if any, are unknown.
Privately owned Grade I listed building.
1362: Marriage of Ralph Bagot to Elizabeth Blithfield. Hall became property of the Bagot family.
1367: Bagot family took up residence at the hall.
1398: Action brought by Sir John Bagot against Robert Stanlowe, a carpenter, for 'work so negligently carried out that the house had fallen into ruin' (Emery, Medieval Houses 2. 365), suggesting that renovation work had been done.
Late 16th c.: Probable date of construction of bay window at upper end of great hall and installation of lantern in the ceiling (Meeson, Roofs 61).
1738: Records indicate that Richard Trubshaw was working on renovations.
1740: Additional rooms added to the N side of the hall.
1769: Moat filled up to make space for construction at the SW corner of the house.
1820--4: Extensive renovations in Regency Gothic style covered most of the house’s 16th c features.
1945: Hall and its estates, reported to be in poor condition, sold by Gerald Bagot, 5th Baron Bagot, to South Staffordshire Waterworks Company.
1946: Hall and 30 acres of land repurchased by Caryl Bagot, 6th Baron Bagot. Renovation and restoration of the hall commenced.
1959: Hall put up for auction and purchased by Nancy, Lady Bagot.
1986: Hall divided into 4 separate houses.
