Life at Redgrave Hall 1770-

LIFESTYLE

On Monday last at Redgrave Hall in Suffolk, the seat of Rowland Holt Esq, Member for that County, there was a grand entertainment and Ball. The Company (consisting of Forty) being all assembled, about three o'clock were called in to Dinner, which consisted of two covers, and to avoid prolixity in description, must be allowed to have been in every respect superbly elegant. After dinner the Sparkling Champagne, Claret and other wines flew about, every glass being enlivened by a toast by the Ladies, who after having just taught us what a happy addition they make ever to our convivial hours, began to retire to tea and coffee. The gentlemen being unable to resist such beautiful attractions, presently followed them and soon after into the next room for Dancing.

About eleven o'clock the Company were called in to Supper, which if possible exceeded the Dinner in the choice of every delicacy in season; after which the Company again retired to the Ballroom and about three o'clock in the morning ended this elegant and agreeable Entertainment which sufficiently proved that mirth with decency and influenced by female delicacy is the highest stile of festive enjoyment.

(An extract of "a letter from Diss" from a newspaper article, c.1770;
collected by Miss T. Frere of Roydon)

A BALL AT THE HALL, c.1725

Verses by George Betts of Wortham (d.1727) of a Ball on ye illustrious fair Lady Lucy's birthday.

Jack Clerk and myself with ye trusty Freemoult
Rid to pay our devoirs to ye generous Holt.
Friend Gibbs was before us boxed up in his chaise,
And ye Prettymans roll'd in a coach in their ease.
The Lord of the Manor gave welcome to all,
But ye scheme we pursued was an elegant Ball.
Then each mortal squire had a partner divine
And ye lovely Miss Lovel by good chance was mine.

(from Katherine Doughty 'The Betts of Wortham, Suffolk, 1480-1905"; p.180)

The 'Lady Lucy' was Mrs Thomas Holt (née Lucy Knevett; b.16.02.1700; m. 1721; d. 11.04.1740). Thomas Holt was the second son of Rowland Holt I. 'Freemoult' was a wealthy inhabitant of Norwich, whose mansion is depicted on James Corbridge's map of Norwich, 1727.

THE ADMIRAL ORDERS TABLEWARE, 1810

An invoice for tableware ordered by the Admiral has come to light at the Spode Museum, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. It included a 'green edged dessert service' and a 'blue and white soup tureen', though unfortunately we do not know which patterns of porcelain he ordered. The bill includes 'rivetting 4 dishes and 1 plate' and 'mending 2 Tureens'. A cut-glass cover for a sugar basin is also mentioned.

Click here for a link to the Spode Museum's website.

Click for 80kb close-up

THE ADMIRAL ORDERS SHERRY FROM GIBRALTAR

In August 1804, Admiral Wilson received a bill from the Executors of the late Charles Dowers for transporting one hogshead (52½ gallons) of sherry from Gibraltar to Redgrave.

The bill included tax, customs, sea transport, lighterage, wharfage, landing and carriage, and included the services of two men armed with blunderbusses to guard the shipment overnight on London docks.

The total bill came to a prodigious £50.12s.

(HW Archive no.1412.23)

Port wine barrels in a cellar in Porto, Portugal - each of these is a hogshead


LIFE BELOW STAIRS

Redgrave Hall was run by an army of servants - see Census details below. Surviving domestic accounts from the 19th century show how much servants were paid, and also what they wore. CLOTHING When they were performing their official duties, footmen and other male servants wore a uniform known as livery.
	A livery button with the Wilson crest, found at Roydon Fen, Norfolk, perhaps lost by a servant during a shooting expedition on the Estate of the Frere family, Roydon Hall (5 miles from Redgrave). Courtesy of Diss Museum.
In 1840 William Candy, a tailor from Scole, Norfolk (a village 7 miles from Redgrave) submitted a bill to George St Vincent Wilson, which tells us what some of the servants wore. Among the items were : a blue and yellow striped sleeved livery waistcoat for the Footman (price 16s-6d), with cassimere breeches (£1-6s-6d) and gaiters (£14s-6d); a blue morning coat (£2-10s) for the Under Footman; a stout waterproof full-cut double-breasted greatcoat with cross flaps for John Peart the Coachman (price £3-13s-6d); a stout waterproof hat for the gamekeeper (£1-1s). The total bill, covering at least two years, came to £213-16s-6d !

AN OLD SERVANT Stephen Shaw was an old servant at the Hall who died in 1857, aged 80. Rev. Richard Cobbold of Wortham painted his portrait and recorded that "he loved to talk of all the Redgrave folks he had known at the Hall, from the days of the Holts down to the present time". See Dymond, D. (2007): Parson and People in a Suffolk Village - Richard Cobbold's Wortham 1824-1877; Wortham Research Group, p.213.


OCCUPANTS listed in the Census, 1881 and 1851

AT THE HALL, 1881 George H. Wilson His six children aged 1 - 10 Charlotte Wilson his cousin Trained nurse Ladies maid Cook Laundry maid Nurse Nursemaid Kitchen maid Under laundry maid Butler	IN THE PARK, 1881 Coachman Groom x 2 Gardener Gamekeeper Dressmaker Shepherds x2 Farm bailiff	THE STAFF, 1851 Butler Footman Coachman Groom Cook Housekeeper Kitchen maid Scullery maid Housemaid x 2 Ladies maid Gardener Gamekeepr Carpenter

	Life at Redgrave Hall 1770-1890


	When Rowland Holt rebuilt the Hall in the 1760's, he ushered in a century of high living. The Hall consumed huge amounts of the wealth generated by the Estate. In return it provided employment for many local traders and servants. The agricultural depression of the 1870's, however, started a period of economic decline which would eventually lead to the demolition of the Hall in 1946.


PUBLIC RELATIONS

REJOICINGS IN BOTESDALE An account of the reception given to Admiral Wilson on his return from an eye operation
AN ACCIDENTAL DEATH AT THE HALL On Friday afternoon a melancholy accident happened at the new building of Rowland Holt Esq at Redgrave. One of the principal workmen fell from a scaffold more than 50ft high, and was killed on the spot. (From The Public Advertiser, London. 9th Jan 1770; Country News, Diss, January 4th 1770)