Hothorpe Hall

Hothorpe Hall, in Theddingworth, Leicestershire, is a Georgian manor house near Market Harborough. It was the birthplace of Simon Elwes. It is currently used as a conference centre.

The present house was built circa 1801 by John Cook on the site of an earlier Tudor manor. The Cook family lived at Hothorpe until 1881 when John Cook's great-nephew, Henry Everett sold the estate to Sir Humphrey de Trafford, 2nd Baronet, who then presented it to his second son Charles de Trafford.

Charles then lived at Hothorpe for about 47 years, extending the house and in 1892 building a Roman Catholic chapel there. In 1892 he married Lady Agnes Feilding who also came to live at Hothorpe and they raised their family there.

The de Traffords left Hothorpe in 1928, initially letting the house to tenants. In 1941, Hothorpe was sold to a timber merchant and was almost immediately requisitioned for the housing of evacuee children during World War II. In 1955, Hothorpe was about to be sold for demolition when it was purchased by the Lutheran Council of Great Britain for use as a conference centre.

Hothorpe's history began in about 900 AD, although at this time it was named Ude-torp. A Danish Viking leader called Ude navigated his 80 foot long-boat from the Wash along the River Welland about as far as Marston Trussell. The river can be seen at the far end of the grounds.

According to the Domesday Book (1086), Hothorpe was then under the ownership of the Abbey of St. Edmundsbury, but by the time of Henry III (1216- 1272) it was under the control of a feudal overlord, Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon.

In 1330, Hothorpe was owned by Edmund Trussell, who married Margery d'Oserville whose family had lived here for about 34 years. The Trussells held the manor for 150 years, and then in 1482 there were three changes of ownership in one year.

William Villiers became Lord of the Manor in 1506, and the family held Hothorpe for about 94 years. It is interesting to note that in about 1600, Sir Edmund Montague of Boughton House, Kettering, laid claim to part of Hothorpe Manor -a claim dating back to about 1050. This was resolved by the owner of Hothorpe agreeing to pay 25 shillings a year to the Montagues. This right was subsequently transferred to the Spencer Estate of Althorpe and was increased to £5 per annum, which we still have to pay to Earl Spencer.

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