Old Hall

Old Hall

House and kennels, formerly the Stable Block to Mistley Old Hall. 18th century. The Hall was built for the Rigby family in the early 18th century, remodelled for the Rt. Hon. Richard Rigby to the design of Robert Adam around 1777, and demolished around 1844.

The building is constructed with a gault brick north face and red brick rear, with red pantiles and plain tiled roofs. It is arranged in an L-plan with the front wing facing north. The building is 2 storeys high with a parapet featuring a dentilled cornice and parapet verges with a central band to the inner bays.

The north front comprises 3:2:2 bays, with the centre breaking forward with rusticated quoins, a dentilled pediment rising above the parapet, and a tall rusticated semi-circular arch with keystone. A timber lantern rises above the pediment, with a square-plan base and an open octagonal head. Each of the compass faces features semi-circular arches with keystones, with alternate faces containing lower and upper lights separated by a band, and a concave pointed roof topped by a weathervane. A 20th-century flat-roofed porch has been added to the left of the archway. The south face of the archway has no pediment but features a parapet band and gauged brick archway with a semi-circular window above. Two windows to the right are separated by a chimney stack.

The south-west rear wing has a truncated gable lowered in the centre, with a chimney stack to the north, parapet and centre bands. The courtyard face features a 7-window range, all windows with gauged arches and vertically sliding sashes with glazing bars. Two vertically boarded doors and two windows occupy the ground floor. A left external chimney stack is visible on the front wing. The carriageway is paved with bricks and setts.

Richard Rigby, second of his name, made a considerable fortune and became Member of Parliament for Castle Rising and later for Sudbury. He held office as Vice-Treasurer for Ireland from 1765 and Paymaster of the Forces from 1768 under George III. He died in 1788 and was buried in the family vault at Mistley. By 1783 he held property in 13 parishes. The village was substantially developed under his patronage, and contemporary accounts describe Mistley as a place of over 50 neatly built houses, a harbour with whalers, a warehouse, shipbuilding yard, and a brick lime kiln shaped like a fort. In 1774 Rigby commissioned Adam to design a sea-bathing pavilion, though these plans were never executed, though work commenced on the Swan Fountain. In 1776 Adam was also instructed to remodel the Church and designed the Hopping Bridge. The Mistley Estate was inherited by Lt. Col. Francis Rigby; much was sold from 1801, and in 1827 Col. Frances Rigby died, leaving the estate to his daughter Frances, wife of Lord Rivers. The Hall itself was demolished in 1844 when the Estate was sold in lots.