The origins of Bromham Hall are unclear, probably in the
14th or 15th centuries. It is known that the house was
altered and enlarged in the early 16000s, and then further altered around a
hundred years later.
On their website, Bedfordshire County Council describes
the hall as follows:
'Bromham
Hall is the manor house of Bromham Manor and thus had the same ownership, at
least from medieval times including the Dyve family (who enlarged it), the
Trevors, Rices and Wingfields. The property was valued in 1927 under the 1925
Rating Valuation Act at which time it was owned and occupied by Richard Skinner
who had recently bought it. The valuer found that the property was entered by a
"Poor Pass[age]" Hall with a dining room facing east and measuring 23
by 27 feet. There was also a smoking room (13 feet by 21), a "flower
room" and two drawing rooms measuring 16½ by 20 and 22½ by 19 feet respectively.
Seven steps led up to the first floor and a bedroom measuring 13½ by 26 feet, a
further three steps leading to another bedroom measuring 15 feet by 14 and a
bath room. A further three steps led to a study measuring 23 feet by 11 with a
bay of 13 by 3 feet. Again three steps led up to a "tiny place"
measuring 7½ feet square. A dressing room measuring 12 feet by 20 lay at the
top of the usual three steps and then five more steps led up to a
"platform" measuring 12 feet by 8 feet.
Leading from the hall was a cellar and, again on the ground floor, a kitchen
measuring 17 feet square, a scullery ("poor"), an old butler's
pantry, boot room, wc and coal store, all "little used". The ground
floor also contained a breakfast room measuring 18 feet by 17 with a stone
floor, a "big store place", a servants' hall, scullery
("big"), larder ("big and cool") and another, smaller
larder.
Another exit from the hall, up "v. small poor stairs" led to a
landing with a wc and cupboard, a small study and a bedroom measuring 18 feet
by 17 from which down two steps and along a "tiny pass[age]" lay a
bedroom measuring 19 feet by 15. two steps then led down to a bedroom measuring
16 feet by 17 and a cupboard. A 12 by 17½ and a smaller bedroom also lay on
this floor along with a bathroom ("fair"). An attic floor lay above
with 7 attic bedrooms which had a "slope but not bad" and a set of
back stairs downwards to a separate landing with two or three
"derelict" rooms and a bathroom ("good") and two further
bedrooms.
The grounds exceeded 14 acres and contained a loose box with two stalls, five
further loose boxes, a harness room with four rooms over and two large coach
houses. There was also a garage for 3 cars, a 2 stall stable and 2 hen houses.
There was a walled-in kitchen garden with a potting shed and lean-to, a heated
peach house measuring 46 feet by 12 and a vine and flower house 74 feet by 14½
.The grounds also contained a fruit or store room ("big with glass
side"), another potting shed and heated glass house measuring 9 feet by
30, with an apple room, onion room and stoke hole, outside lay a vegetable
garden. There were also large store rooms, a workshop, a 3 bay open wood shed,
a mess room, an old dairy, a gas engine, dynamo and battery house, three little
hovels and a "rough orchard".
Two cottages stood in the grounds, one a bungalow occupied by Thomas Stanford
comprising three rooms and a scullery, the other a cottage occupied by
Frederick Lord with a living room, kitchen and three bedrooms upstairs - all
"quite good". These houses had shared use of a washhouse and laundry
and water had to be fetched from a pump.
Overall the valuer noted: "V. nice picturesque old House. Repairs v.
heavy. Damp in some rooms especially Din[ing] & Draw[ing] R[oo]ms. Approach
being spoilt by Building in old Park now sold off".
The Hall was listed by the Department of Environment in 1952 at which time it
was considered to have late medieval origins, enlarged in the 17th century,
with new windows in the 18th and other additions later. The walls were of
coursed limestone rubble and the roof of old clay tiles. The listing report
noted, as can be seen from the 1927 valuation, that the plan was complex.'
Steve Humm has some further information:
'Evidence of occupation from the Roman period has been found in the area
including pottery, bones and a stone figure that is preserved as part of
Bromham Hall. Traces of circular huts mixed with Roman remains would suggest a
Romano/British population was thriving in the area. Bromham is mentioned in the
Domesday Book as Bruneham and later as Brimeham. The manor was then in the
possession of Hugh De Beauchamp, a prominent local landowner, who held at least
44 lordships within Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Almost certainly these
lands were given to De Beauchamp for services to William of Normandy during the
conquest of 1066. The Manor consisted of 6 hides of land including a mill
valued at 20 shillings.'
Bromham Hall
MK43 8HU
