A Muckton Weekender

A Country House address given as “South of Muckton” may have deterred a few hangers on from making a trip for a social weekend, a bit of hunting, shooting and fishing or just enjoying the rolling rural environment of that particular part of Lincolnshire. 

The Burwell Park Estate was that place and in the summer of July 1926 it was put up for sale by auction from the Mason’s Arms Hotel in the nearby market town of Louth. The owner, Mrs Houstoun-Boswall was seeking a sale, possibly to meet the Tax liabilities following the death of her husband, Alfred in 1920. It may equally have been the case that she could not face living in the large mansion that they had purchased together just a short time before. 

The selling agents were London based, in Mount Street, West 1 to be specific and were marketing under the tag line of a “Capital Freehold Residential and Agricultural Estate on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds”. It was the countryside of Lord Tennyson, romantic and very English by association. 

Burwell Hall dated from 1760 with a striking red brick edifice of pleasing Georgian style and proportions comprising 15 bed and dressing rooms, 4 receptions, 3 bathrooms, lounge and servants hall with electric light from an oil engine and dynamo, central heating, hot water from a hotel boiler and cylinder, a bore hole water supply and a septic tank for the foul drainage. 

The telephone number was easy to remember, Swaby 2.

The whole included parkland, woodland, a farmstead, three cottages, two entrance lodges, stables and extended to 350 acres.

It was a proper Gentleman’s residence, country seat, sporting estate and rural retreat.

In terms of accessibility from London this could be reached by train in 3 hours from the nearest station at Authorpe. 

The Hall interior was grand in scale and decoration. The Lounge Hall was just under 30 Imperial Feet Square,

 the drawing room 27 feet by 15 feet, a library at 17 feet square, fine dining room 18 feet square, smoking room about the same dimensions, The Boudoir 18” by 12” with reference in the Agents Brochure of excellent Rococo Plasterwork to upper walls and ceilings.

There were 6 principal bedrooms on the first floor, most with an east or west aspect onto the sweeping carriage drive or maintained grounds. The second floor provided a further seven good bedrooms. There is no mention of staffing requirements but the domestic facilities of kitchen, larder, dairy, Butler’s Pantry and wine cellar were of good size and those servants who lived-in were accommodated in flats and lodges in the grounds.  

Adjacent to the Hall were the stables, a large building in character with coach house, harness room, granary and loft. 

What was described as the pleasure grounds included tennis and croquet lawns for partying, conservatory and billiard room. 

There were privileges that went with Manorial status of successive owners of Burwell Estate, not so much of a feudal entitlement to, for example, take the first born daughters of the peasants but the ancient and interesting Buttercross Hall in Burwell Village. 

The immediate surrounds of the Hall, mainly of woodland made up 137 acres of the total landed area. This was to be offered by auction as Lot 1. 

There were 7 other separate Lots of attraction to prospective buyers consisting of Park Farmhouse, modern farm buildings and two labourers cottages all in 122 acres as the main habitable elements and the remainder being parcels of timber copse, a prolific kitchen market garden, pasture, arable land, grass and 3 acres of lake and pond. 

It was an income generating estate with existing Tenancies on a yearly basis of the houses and land although giving good prospects of gaining possession if required for privacy and exclusivity of ownership. 

Rights were reserved for the owners to sell off the household furniture and other effects at any time before completion of a purchase. 

There was the usual small print relating to additional costs for Tenants fixtures and fittings. 

It was the Agents intention to offer the whole of the Estate first but if not successful to revert to the main Lot 1. 

There is a pencilled note on the 1926 Sale Brochure that Burwell Park Estate did not sell with bidding for the whole only reaching £8600 and Lot 1 was withdrawn at £4700. 

I expect that Mrs Houstoun Boswall was disappointed by the aborted sale. 

There is little information about what transpired from 1926 onwards although the Estate is thought to have passed to many different owners until 1958 when, in the words of a renowned architectural historian Burwell Hall was “ruthlessly demolished”. 

On aerial photographs today there is a thick growth of trees where the beautiful building once stood and the sorry looking remains of the adjacent stable block just hang on in there as a reminder of what once was.