Description:This view of the Long Gallery at Beaudesert Hall is from a glass negative believed to have been taken prior to a fire in 1909 in an adjacent part of the building. It is thought that the two men in the photograph are members of the Paget family with possibly the 6th Marquis of Anglesey standing on the left. If you recognise either person, please contact us.
Following the 1909 fire renovations were made to the building and also to the Long Gallery where traces survived from Lord Paget’s time. It was remodelled to restore its Elizabethan appearance. The Gallery was approximately 86 feet long by 18 feet wide.
In this photograph there are book-cases (on the right) sunk into the walls which were later removed during the renovations to be replaced by panelling. The ceiling is coved and plain. In a Country Life article published in 1919 it was mentioned that during the renovations the ceiling was entirely renewed but kept the coved appearance and adding a large design made of narrow ribs, forming interlinked circles, squares, and diamonds with heraldic devices in the panels and a foliage scroll at salient angles. This arrangement was created in a style typical in Elizabethan times.
Beaudesert Hall was the mansion of the Pagets, Marquesses of Anglesey. Its core was medieval, with later alterations. James Wyatt and Joseph Potter remodelled the interiors of the original Elizabethan House, built by Lord Paget, in a Regency Gothic style early in the 19th century. A century later, this was out of fashion and following a small fire, Beaudesert was completely remodelled by the 6th Marquess of Anglesey during 1909-1912. Lord Anglesey called in Captain Harry Lindsay to replace the Regency work with a series of rooms intended to represent different periods.
In 1920 two years after the First World War, Lord Anglesey decided that he could not afford to maintain both Beaudesert and Plas Newydd (on Anglesey). Plas Newydd became the family home and principal seat and many of the paintings and much of the furniture were moved to Plas Newydd, with surplus furniture and furnishings sold by auction around 1921. Beaudesert was put up for sale in 1924 and when no purchaser was found it was finally demolished around 1935. Many of the bricks with which Beaudesert was faced were used to replace the bricks polluted by coal smoke at St James’s Palace in London; they were of the similar date as those they replaced. The main staircase, known as the Waterloo staircase, doors, windows and much interior panelling were shipped to Australia and can be seen at a house called Carrick Hill, near Adelaide.
Beaudesert Park is an area of historic parkland, within which are the ruins of Beaudesert Hall, a walled kitchen garden, remains of a stable block, an ice house, ponds and cascades. The parkland is located on the eastern edge of Cannock Chase, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and comprises part of the country estate owned by generations of the Paget family between 1546 and 1935. The Beaudesert Trust own and manage Beaudesert Park and welcomes Youth organisations, such as Scouts and Guides, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Youth Clubs and Schools, Colleges and University groups. Beaudesert Park is used for various outdoor activities and educational experiences.