Euston Hall

Earlier Houses: The current house incorporates parts of an earlier house on the site.

Built / Designed For: Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

House & Family History: Built after the Commonwealth for Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington and Charles II's lord chamberlain (and the "A" in the famous Cabal), Euston Hall was one of the great Restoration houses. The diarist John Evelyn stayed at Euston in October 1671 and described it as "a very noble pile, consisting of four pavilions after the French beside a body of a large house...formed of additions to an old house...with a vase expense made...very magnificent and commodious." The House passed to the dukes of Grafton when Isabella, only daughter and heiress of Lord Arlington, married Henry FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of Charles II by Barbara Villiers; FitzRoy was created 1st Duke of Grafton in 1675. In the mid-18th century Matthew Brettingham was engaged to remodel the house in the Palladian style for Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton (the town of Grafton, Massachusetts, is named after him), leaving us with the red brick house with stone dressings and balustraded stone parapets seen today. Brettingham also converted the original domes to pyramids, leaving them remarkably similar to those at Holkham Hall. Euston is illustrated and accurately described as it appeared after this work was completed in the 1819 book "Excursions through Suffolk." Two of Brettingham's four pavilions survive today at the entrance side of house (the other two were lost when the south and west wings were demolished in 1951). The north range contains a late 17th century dog-leg stair with bulbous balusters and hanging finials, a rare survival from Arlington House, the Earl of Arlington's grand London townhouse that stood on the site of Buckingham Palace.

Collections: Euston contains a noted collection of paintings of the court of Charles II, including works by Stubbs, van Dyck, Lely, and Kneller.
Garden & Outbuildings: Matthew Brettingham designed many garden buildings on the Euston Hall Estate. William Kent landscaped the pleasure grounds with John Evelyn and designed the archway temple in 1746.

Chapel & Church: The 17th century Wren style church is extant.
Architect: Matthew Brettingham the Elder

Date of Birth: 1699
Date of Death: 1769
Nationality: English
Notes: Brettingham the Elder was a follower of William Kent and was involved with Kent in the designs for Holkham Hall. The designs for Holkham were ultimately Kent's, in spite of Brettingham's later claims that the the great Norfolk palace was the result of his work. Brettingham did produce original plans for Kedleston Hall.

Date: 1750-56
Designed: Remodeled House for 2nd Duke of Grafton

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Architect: William Kent

Date of Birth: 1684-85
Date of Death: 1748
Nationality: English
Notes: Born as William Cant in Bridlington, Yorkshire, in the late 17th century, the future William Kent, who would be known in later life as "Il Signore," began as an apprentice coach painter in Hull, where his talent was soon noticed by a local squire, who, together with a number of the local Yorkshire gentry, raised the money to send Kent to Italy to study painting and architecture (he accompanied the collector John Tellman). Kent was "discovered" in Italy by Lord Burlington and became his protégé as an apostle of Palladian design. Burlington had big plans for Kent: he wanted to make him England's greatest history painter. Though this did not come to pass (his painting today is considered mediocre), Kent did become a very successful arbiter of taste. He was an architect and furniture designer, a painter, and an incredibly important landscape architect (he was one of the originators of natural landscape design and is considered by many historians to be the father of modern garden design). He was ahead of Capability Brown, Robert Adam, and Horace Walpole in setting new styles and began the trend toward controlling every aspect of architectural design. Among his followers were Matthew Brettingham the Elder, Henry Flitcroft, Isaac Ware, Stephen Wright, John Vardy, and Thomas Ripley. Though famous as an evangelist of Palladian design, his training in Italy, specifically the influence of the Italian Baroque, never left Kent's work (he was trained as a Baroque painter). The design of his famous console tables can be traced directly to Roman Baroque examples, and even some of interiors are Baroque, most notably his magnificently over-the-top staircase at 44 Berkeley Square in London. Little known is that Kent also designed for the theater, a result, very likely, of his admiration of the work of Inigo Jones.

Date: 1746
Designed: Landscaped Pleasure Grounds with John Evelyn. Designed The Temple for the Duke of Grafton.

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Architect: John Evelyn

Date of Birth: 1620
Date of Death: 1706
Nationality: English

Designed: Landscaped Pleasure Grounds with William Kent

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John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. I, p. 226, 1852.

John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. IV, 1821.

Country Life: CXXI, 58, 102, 148, 1957.
Title: William Kent: Architect, Designer, Opportunist
Author: Mowl, Timothy
Year Published: 2006
Publisher: London: Jonathan Cape
ISBN: 0224073508
Book Type: Hardback

Title: Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 1990
Author: Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (Editors)
Year Published: 1990
Reference: pg. P 528
Publisher: London: Debrett's Peerage Limited (New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc.)
ISBN: 0312046405
Book Type: Hardback

Title: Burke's & Savills Guide to Country Houses, Volume III: East Anglia
Author: Kenworthy-Browne, John; Reid, Peter; Sayer, Michael; Watkin, David
Year Published: 1981
Publisher: London: Burke's Peerage
ISBN: 0850110351
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Grade II*

Park Listed: Not Listed
Current Seat / Home of: Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton

Past Seat / Home of: Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, until 1685. Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, until 1690; Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, 1690-1757; Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, 1757-1811; George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, 1811-44; Henry FitzRoy, 5th Duke of Grafton, 1844-63; William Henry FitzRoy, 6th Duke of Grafton, 1863-82; Augustus Charles Lennox FitzRoy, 7th Duke of Grafton, 1882-1918; Alfred William Maitland Fitzroy, 8th Duke of Grafton, 1918-30; John Charles William FitzRoy, 9th Duke of Grafton, 1930-36; Charles Alfred Euston FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton, 1936-70; Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton, 1970-2011.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: Yes
Phone: 01842-766-366

Fax: 01842-766-764

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.eustonhall.co.uk/

Historic Houses Member: Yes

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