Kitchen wing immediately west of Braunstone Hall

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KITCHEN WING IMMEDIATELY WEST OF BRAUNSTONE HALL

II

Kitchen wing of Braunstone Hall, a small country house, dated 1776 by the architect William Oldham (who later became the Lord Mayor of Leicester).

MATERIALS: Built of red brick and stone with a hipped, Swithland slate roof.

EXTERIOR: The kitchen is of two storeys and is attached to the western end of the main range by a corridor. It forms a block around the four sides of a small courtyard with three sash windows to each facing side.

INTERIOR: Internally rooms have been altered by being opened up to form classrooms, resulting in the removal of some ceilings and partitions. In addition to the alterations there has also been some loss owing to damage done to the building. No notable internal features of historic interest survive.

HISTORY: Braunstone Hall and the attached kitchen wing and associated stable block and walled garden were built in 1776 for Clement Winstanley by a local architect and builder William Oldman (who later became the Lord Mayor of Leicester). The hall was built on a rise overlooking Charnwood Forest and set in 100 acres of parkland. Clement died in 1808 and the next to become heir was his eldest son Clement, J. P. Lieutenant-Colonel of the Leicestershire Militaria from 1802-9. He was also the Chairman of the Leicester and Swanington Railway which opened in 1832. He died unmarried in 1855. After a brief spell in the ownership of his nephew James Beaumont, Braunstone Hall passed to James' sister Anna Jane Pochin. Anna relinquished the estate in 1904 in favour of her son Richard Norman who changed his name by deed poll to Winstanley. In 1925, while still in residence, Leicester Corporation compulsory purchased Richard Winstanleys' land in Braunstone for much needed housing.

SOURCES: John Nicholls, History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester (4 vols., London, 1795-1815)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The kitchen wing of Braunstone Hall is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is a C18 kitchen wing which survives well. * The architect was William Oldman, later Lord Mayor of Leicester, which adds interest. * Group value with Braunstone Hall, stable block and walled garden is also of significance.