Tales from the Big House: Nostell Priory
900 Years of Its History and People
Michael J. Rochford
- As
- long
- ago
- as
- the
- twelfth
- century,
- St
- Oswalds
- Priory
- at
- Nostell,
- near
- Pontefract,
- was
- home
- to
- canons
- of
- the
- order
- of
- St
- Augustine,
- and
- until
- it
- was
- dissolved
- during
- the
- reign
- of
- Henry
- VIII
- it
- was
- one
- of
- the
- wealthiest
- priories
- in
- the
- country.
- In
- secular
- times,
- a
- grand
- house
- on
- the
- site
- was
- home
- to
- the
- Gargrave
- family,
- whose
- rapid
- rise
- had
- seen
- Sir
- Thomas
- Gargrave
- attain
- the
- offices
- of
- Speaker
- in
- the
- House
- of
- Commons
- and
- High
- Sheriff
- of
- Yorkshire
- during
- the
- days
- of
- Queen
- Elizabeth
- I.
- But
- within
- a
- couple
- of
- generations
- the
- family
- was
- ruined.
- Sir
- Thomas's
- grandson
- and
- namesake,
- into
- whose
- hands
- Nostell
- had
- come,
- was
- executed
- in
- 1595
- for
- committing
- murder
- by
- poisoning,
- a
- deed
- shrouded
- in
- mystery
- and
- misinformation
- for
- centuries
- until
- now.In
- 1654,
- Nostell
- became
- the
- property
- of
- the
- Winn
- family,
- who
- were
- soon
- made
- baronets
- by
- Charles
- II,
- having
- shown
- him
- great
- support
- during
- the
- Civil
- Wars.
- The
- following
- century,
- Sir
- Rowland
- Winn,
- 4th
- Baronet
- of
- Nostell,
- began
- work
- on
- a
- brand
- new,
- magnificent
- Palladian
- house,
- known
- today
- as
- Nostell
- Priory,
- in
- honor
- of
- the
- medieval
- canons
- who
- had
- once
- worshipped
- on
- the
- site.
- His
- descendants
- would
- cede
- the
- title,
- but
- in
- 1885,
- another
- Rowland
- Winn
- of
- Nostell,
- who
- was
- Conservative
- MP
- for
- North
- Lincolnshire,
- was
- made
- Baron
- St
- Oswald
- following
- his
- partys
- election
- success.Featuring
- stories
- about
- the
- formidable
- Swiss
- wife
- of
- the
- 5th
- Baronet,
- whose
- daughter
- ran
- away
- with
- the
- local
- baker,
- grand
- political
- rallies,
- secret
- marriages,
- and
- even
- murder,
- _Tales
- From
- the
- Big
- House:
- Nostell
- Priory_
- offers
- the
- reader
- an
- exciting
- tour-de-force
- through
- some
- of
- the
- history
- of
- the
- site,
- and
- the
- owners
- and
- their
- servants
- who
- made
- this
- great
- house
- their home.
