Earlier Houses: There has been a manor house on the site of the current house since 1324.

House & Family History: The Shirley family (elevated to earls Ferrers in 1711) came into ownership of the Staunton Harold Estate in 1423 through marriage. The current house was built between 1677 and 1701, incorporating parts of the original medieval house. On May 5, 1760 the 4th Earl Ferrers was the last peer to be hanged in Britain for murder (he murdered his steward). Staunton Harold Hall was requisitioned by the government during World War II and used to house Italian prisoners of war. After the war the house was returned to the family in such a dilapidated state that the decision was made to break-up the estate and sell it, bit-by-bit, to individual buyers. The Church was given to the National Trust and the house was sold to a demolition company for £12,000. Staunton Harold Hall was rescued at the last minute by Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, who paid the demolition company £16,000 to purchase the house, which he converted into a home for the disabled. It served this purpose, and later as a hospice care home, until March of 2001, when the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation (owner of the property) came to the conclusion that Staunton Harold was an expensive and inappropriate place to care for terminally ill patients; thus, in 2002, Staunton Harold House was put up for sale for £1.75 million. Lady Selina Shirley, second daughter of the 2nd Earl Ferrers, was born at Staunton Harold; she is famous for founding the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion (she married the 9th Earl of Huntingdon in 1728), a Calvinist Methodist movement that still exists today.

Comments: The "AA Illustrated Guide to Britain" said of Staunton Harold in 1976: "one of the most beautifully proportioned and situated great houses in Britain." Pevsner, writing in "The Buildings of England: Leicestershire": "for position, Staunton Harold, the house and its chapel, are unsurpassed in the country -- certainly as far as Englishness is concerned."

Chapel & Church: The Church at Staunton Harold, The Chapel of the Holy Trinity, is owned by the National Trust and is open to visitors. It was one of only three churches built during the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Sir Robert Shirley built the Chapel in 1653 in defiance of Cromwell and was consequently arrested and installed in the Tower of London, where he subsequently died. Contact info for the Church only: Telephone 01332-863-822, Fax 01332-865-272, Email [email protected]. The National Trust does not own the house.

John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. II, p. 231, 1853.

Country Life: XXXIII, 490, 526 plan, 1913. CVII, 516 plan, 1950.

House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Grade II

Current Seat / Home of: John Blunt; Blunt family here since 1955.

Past Seat / Home of: Sir George Shirley, 17th century; Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers, until 1717; Washington Shirley, 2nd Earl Ferrers, 1717-29; Henry Shirley, 3rd Earl Ferrers, 1729-45; Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, 1745-60; Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers, 1760-78; Robert Shirley, 6th Earl Ferrers, 1778-87; Robert Shirley, 7th Earl Ferrers, 1787-1827; Washington Shirley, 8th Earl Ferrers, 1827-42; Washington Sewallis Shirley, 9th Earl Ferrers, 1842-59; Sewallis Edward Shirley, 10th Earl Ferrers, 1859-1912; Walter Shirley, 11th Earl Ferrers, 1912-37; Shirley family here from the 14th century until the 20th century.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home

Ownership Details: The National Trust owns the Church only, which is open to the public. The house is the private home of the Blunt family, who, since 2003, have let part of it for offices, conferences, photo shoots, and weddings.

House Open to Public: By Appointment

Phone: 01332-864-435

Fax: CHURCH ONLY: 01332-865-272

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk

Historic Houses Member: No