History of The Hall

Built around 1610 by John Hall, The Hall is an outstanding example of early Jacobean architecture.

The Hall Family

Have you ever wondered why our Grade I-listed Jacobean mansion is called 'The Hall'?

Built around 1610 by wealthy mill owner John Hall, the Hall family are known to have been active in the town’s weaving industry as early as 1170. Over the centuries, the Hall family enhanced its wealth and status by renting out land and buildings and by extending its landholdings via acquisition and marriage.

At John Hall's death, a special Act of Parliament was passed to secure The Hall to Rachel Baynton, his illegitimate daughter, on her marriage to William Pierrepont when she was 15 years old, making Rachel a very wealthy teenager. Rachel’s husband would go on to become the 1st Duke of Kingston, making Rachel the Countess of Kingston. The young couple would have two children together, Evelyn and Frances

The Handsomest Man in England

Rachel became the Duchess of Kingston with The Hall subsequently renamed Kingston House. William would die of smallpox in 1713 aged only 21. Rachael would pass away in 1722 at the age of 27, long rumoured to be from a broken heart. Her son Evelyn Pierrepont would become the second Duke of Kingston and inherit The Hall.

The Second Duke of Kingston, Evelyn Pierrepont was a previous resident of The Hall, known as Kingston House throughout the 18th century and owned substantial pockets of land around Bath Abbey which became known as Kingston buildings which are still present today.

Reputed to be “the handsomest man in England” and one of the most sought-after peers on the marriage market the Duke was famed as an early excavator of the famous Roman Baths.

The Duke inherited property around Bath Abbey just as a construction boom driven by the increasing popularity of the city as a spa resort was beginning. As the Duke’s workmen began digging they uncovered the spectacular remains of the eastern Roman Baths and created a sumptuous private bathhouse, known as the Duke of Kingston’s Baths.

However, it was his marriage to a woman named Elizabeth Chudleigh that would make Evelyn Pierrepont one of the sensations of the Georgian Age.

A Dishonourable Duchess

Notorious for her topless masquerade costumes, Elizabeth Chudleigh would commit perjury by beginning an improper liaison with the second Duke of Kingston Evelyn Pierrepont. This unbecoming affair would occur while Elizabeth was still married to her husband, Augustus John Hervey, whom she had previously married in secret to maintain her place and social standing as a maid of honour to the Princess of Wales.

After he died in 1773, Elizabeth inherited the estate and used it as a holiday home. In 1776, Elizabeth Chudleigh would become the first woman to be tried and convicted of bigamy in Great Britain. Such was the notoriety of this courtroom spectacle that thousands of tickets were sold to witness the five-day trial in Westminster Palace with even eight months pregnant Queen Charlotte even in attendance.

Claiming the privilege of peerage upon her guilty verdict, Elizabeth fled to Europe to avoid the punishment of bigamy leaving the estate uninhabited.

The Moulton Legacy

In 1805, the estate was bought by Thomas Divett a London industrialist. He replaced the old grist mill that stood to the south-west of Kingston House with the five-storey Kingston Mill. Kingston House was then used as a workshop and accommodation for weavers and by 1848 it was said to be sadly decayed and worn. In the early part of the 19th century, the woollen industry in Bradford on Avon was in serious decline. The introduction of factory working in the north of England, the failure of the local bank, unemployment, and the subsequent emigration of many of the workforce had a disastrous effect on the town’s economy.

The house and the town were rescued in 1848 by Stephen Moulton who purchased Kingston House and the adjoining mills. Stephen spent two years carefully restoring the fabric which included replacing decayed stone to the south front and reglazing the windows. He also made various changes to the house, primarily alteration of the main access from the south side to the north and associated modification to the ground floor plan.

A Pioneering Rubber Industry

Earlier Stephen had moved to America to pursue his business interests. There he became acquainted with Charles Goodyear who discovered the vulcanising method of treating rubber to make it a useable material. Stephen returned to England to manufacture rubber under licence and was encouraged by his friend, Captain Palariet of Woolley Grange, to establish his new venture in Bradford-on-Avon. With vacant woollen mills, water power, and a willing but unemployed workforce Bradford on Avon was an ideal choice and the business prospered.

In 1891 Spencer Moulton was formed by a merger with London-based engineer George Spencer and in 1956 Spencer Moulton became part of the Avon Rubber Company. The rubber industry in the town ended in 1992. Kingston House, later to be re-named once again as The Hall became the family home of four generations of the Moulton family and remained so until Stephen’s great-grandson, the renowned engineer and inventor, Dr Alex Moulton.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

The Hall has historical and significant links with Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The renowned British civil engineer and mechanical engineer, who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", personally approached Stephen Moulton in 1859 to specifically design rubber mast mounts for the Great Eastern steamship.

At the time of the Great Eastern's launch, it was the largest ship in the world. Sadly, no dock or harbour in the world at the time was big enough to cope with the gigantic steam-powered liner and would not become the great passenger ship Isambard Kingdom Brunel intended it to be.

The handwritten letters from the pioneering British civil engineer sent to Stephen Moulton are on display here in the Hall.

Alex Moulton

Few 20th-century engineers have made such a contribution to the transportation field, as Alex Moulton.

Alex Moulton innovated the automotive world with his ground-breaking rubber suspension systems. However, the industrious engineer and inventor is best known for developing the Moulton bicycle, renowned for speed, efficiency, durability, and comfort.

By 1970, one-third of bicycles sold in the UK were Moulton-inspired. Today the Moulton bicycle is highly sought-after worldwide.

The Moulton bicycle is both competitive and comfortable and is a widely acknowledged design icon that is still produced on the estate today.

Moulton and The Mini

On August 26th 1959 – the Mini was launched.

The innovation of British-Greek automotive designer Alec Issigonis, the Mini is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture and would be featured in several famous motion pictures, most notably in the 1969 British comedy caper film, The Italian Job.

The vehicle's small yet spacious design was ground-breaking in many ways from its wheel drive and transverse engine, however, it was its ground-breaking rubber suspension system designed by Alex Moulton that would make the Mini one of the most popular British cars of all time.

Alec Issigonis and Alex Moulton were great friends and daring collaborators, with The Hall providing a stimulating setting for many brainstorming and conceptual conversations between the pair in which the initial ideas for the Mini and its innovative engineering would come to fruition.

The Alex Moulton Charitable Trust

The Alex Moulton Charitable Trust was founded by Alex Moulton in 1977. Following his death in December 2012, the assets of the Moulton Estate passed to the Charitable Trust for safe-keeping, conservation and preservation.

The Trust’s vision is to nurture and inspire future generations of innovating engineers and designers and to inform, excite and engage the community in the unique industrial legacy of the Moulton family of Bradford on Avon.