Broughton Hall, in the very heart of the Cotswolds, is a majestic home with a fascinating history — including ownership by Anne of Cleves. Penny Churchill takes a look.
Before the introduction of 20th-century boundary changes, the tiny rural parish of Broughton Poggs in west Oxfordshire occupied a thin sliver of land between Broadwell, Langford and the county border with Gloucestershire, stretching for three miles from the high downland of the Cotswolds in the north-west to the village beside the Broadwell brook in the south-east. From the 18th century, the village itself effectively merged with neighbouring Filkins and the two parishes were formally united in 1954.
Throughout that time, the only building of gentry status in Broughton Poggs was Broughton Hall, an imposing country house set in extensive grounds on the south-western edge of the village, which was adopted as the manor house in the 17th century and later enlarged. It is this home which is for sale right now, impeccably located 5½ miles from Burford and three miles from Lechlade, and on sale with Butler Sherborn offering it at a guide price of £3.75 million.
The house has a rather fantastic spot in British history, having been part of the divorce settlement for one of Henry VIII’s wives. British History Online traces its passage through the 1500s, showing that Lord Hastings — later Earl of Huntingdon — sold Broughton manor to Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s chancellor and right-hand man, in 1537. Following Cromwell’s downfall and execution in 1540, the manor reverted to the Crown; and in 1541, a ‘life interest’ in the property was granted to Anne of Cleves by Henry VIII as part of her divorce settlement (or, technically, her annulment settlement).
Much has changed since Tudor times, but the Grade II-listed Broughton Hall boasts an array of original features from its various incarnations and extensions, including the grand reception hall, the colourful high-ceilinged drawing room, the panelled library, open fireplaces, sash windows and the newly added garden room.
The hall offers more than 8,400sq ft of elegant living space on three floors, including five reception rooms and a high-spec kitchen/breakfast room on the ground floor.
Above there are five bedrooms and four bath/shower rooms on the first floor, and a guest bedroom suite, plus three further bedrooms and a family bathroom on the second floor.
Broughton Hall’s 4½ acres of beautifully maintained gardens and grounds include a terrace, tennis court, carports and garages, as well as a historic stone pavilion.
As for Anne of Cleves? She didn’t hang on to the manor for long, which is perhaps not surprising when you consider that it was just one part of one of the largest divorce settlements in English history, which also saw her given Hever Castle and Richmond Palace. In 1545, the reversion was sold to Sir Thomas Pope of Wroxton, who owned a large estate in Broadwell. Broughton then passed through the Godfrey, Mowse and West families, before being sold in 1670 to William Goodenough, scion of a prominent Broadwell family.
In 1747, Broughton Poggs manor was acquired by the distinguished naval officer William Burnaby, who was knighted in 1754 and served as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1755. In 1824, Sir William’s grandson sold the estate to the Revd Bowen Thickens, after which it passed through the Thickens family to John Thickens, who was declared bankrupt in 1886. In 1902, Sir Charles Murray Marling sold the estate to Robert Trollope, who sold it in turn to John Norman Hardcastle; his executors offered Broughton Hall with a few acres of land for sale in 1950 and the rest of the estate was broken up.
The oldest part of Broughton Hall is the central section of the north-south range, which was extended and gentrified by the Goodenoughs, who added rooms to the west and created an access corridor between the old and new parts.
William Burnaby further remodelled the hall with the addition of a large, two-storeyed range to the south and, in 1748, diverted a road through the village in order to extend the grounds. Renovations from the 1970s included the rebuilding of the staircase, the creation of a mezzanine floor over the two-storey entrance hall, the addition of a new entrance porch and the re-roofing of the south range.
Broughton Hall is for sale at £3.75 million — see more details and pictures.
