Title:
RECORDS RELATING TO GOSFIELD HALL
Level: Category
Miscellaneous
Level: Fonds
RECORDS RELATING TO GOSFIELD HALL
Level: Sub-Fonds
RECORDS RELATING TO GOSFIELD HALL
Admin History:
Gosfield Hall was sold by the Lowe family in 1947. On 24 May 1951 it was made subject to a Preservation Order, and in 1953 it was bought by Essex County Council. On 14 March 1956 the Council sold it to the Wayfarers' Trust Ltd for use as a nursing home. The Trust undertook the Hall's restoration and the nursing home opened in 1957, only to close in the following year. On 23 December 1959 the Trust sold the property to the Mutual Households Association Ltd, set up in 1955 in order to save country houses from demolition by converting them into apartments for retired people; between 1956 and 1970 it bought or leased ten houses. Gosfield Hall became the Association's fourth property, and the Hall was formally opened in June 1959. In 1965 there were 35 residents, each individual or couple having their own apartment but with shared use of the major rooms. These were regularly opened to the public.

The Mutual Households Association Ltd, under its later name of the Country Houses Association Ltd, was a charity registered under the Charities Act 1960 (number 261187), but in 1992 was removed from the register of charities as being exempt. In December 2003 the Country Houses Association Ltd went into liquidation and its houses were put up for sale. Gosfield Hall was acquired early in 2004 by a group of investors, and resold in December of the same year to Country House Weddings Ltd, who intended to operate the house as a wedding venue [http://www.savills.co.uk/c2, consulted 18 May 2006].

This note is based partly on an agreement between the Wayfarers' Trust Ltd and Essex County Council of 10 April 1957, and a copy conveyance to the Mutual Households Association Ltd of 23 December 1959, currently (2004) held in the Deeds Registry of Essex County Council (C/A 1869).
Acquisition Source:
Until their deposit in the Essex Record Office in June 2004 these records were in the custody of the administrator at Gosfield Hall, who has retained photocopies of them.

Key terms

TypeKey termsDescription
Subjects Building conservation Records relating to Gosfield Hall (introduction)
Subjects Marriages Gosfield Hall acquired by Country House Weddings Ltd, 2004
Subjects Old age Records relating to Gosfield Hall (introduction)
Place Names Gosfield Hall
Gosfield 		Records relating to the Hall (introduction)
Institutions Country House Weddings Ltd Records relating to Gosfield Hall (introduction)
Institutions Country Houses Association Ltd Records relating to Gosfield Hall (introduction)
Institutions Essex County Council Records relating to Gosfield Hall (introduction)
Institutions Mutual Households Association Ltd Records relating to Gosfield Hall (introduction)
Institutions Wayfarers' Trust Ltd Records relating to Gosfield Hall (introduction)