Day 45 - Gainsborough Old Hall

Built by the Burgh family in 1460 and sold to the Hickman family in 1597, Gainsborough Old Hall is a "textbook of medieval architecture" says Simon Jenkins, despite various changes that have been made over the years to the building. Certainly it is one of the best persevered and impressive manor houses in England that has welcomed both royalty and the rich, including Henry VIII. However by the 1700's the building no longer paid host to royal visitors and by 1790 it served as the town's public hall and as a theatre. 

Across the centuries Gainsborough Old Hall seems to have been no stranger to dissenting religious voices. Early in the Reformation Lord Thomas Burgh III appears to be a keen convert to the Protestant faith and it is reported that he took a lead part in lively discussions that took place in Queen Anne Boleyn's household at meal times. Later records show that Lady Rose Hickman read an English language version of the bible that had been smuggled into England by her father from Antwerp. During the time of Queen Mary the family were involved in smuggling wanted Protestants out of the country. Some of the Mayflower Pilgrims worshipped here prior to fleeing to Holland.

Gainsborough Old Hall

Interior of the Great Hall 

It is no surprise that John Wesley records in his journal for Friday 3rd August 1759: "I preached in Gainsborough, in Sir Nevil Hickman's great hall... I was walking through a gaping, staring crowd, when Sir Nevil came and thanked me for my sermon, to the no small amount of amazement of his neighbours, who shrank back as if they had seen a ghost." Over the coming years Wesley would return to preach inside the Great Hall several times. At the the age of 84 Wesley wrote: 'In the evening I preached to a large congregation in Sir Nevil Hickman's yard! and how changed is that house since I was young....'

Stephen joins us today for his annual summer holiday.