Galway Collection: Family Seats
Serlby, in the parish of Harworth in North Nottinghamshire, was the property of the de Serleby family during the medieval period. Following the death of Anthony de Serlby, the last of the line, it remained in the possession of his widow Gertrude, who subsequently married Sir George Chaworth. In the early 16th century it was sold to the Saunderson family of Blyth.
Illustration of Serlby Hall in 1796
The Serlby Hall estate of about 500 acres was purchased by John Monckton, later 1st Viscount Galway, from the representatives of Mary Saunderson of Blyth in 1725. He was responsible for the construction of a brand new mansion a little way away from the old manor house. Work was begun in 1740 by the architect James Paine (c.1716-1789). A great park was laid out, in the process of which the old village of Farworth was demolished.
The hall was substantially remodelled by Lindley and Woodhead of Doncaster in 1812, and further alterations were made by the 7th Viscount Galway in the early years of the twentieth century. The old manor house remained in use, and was inhabited by the 4th Viscount Galway at the end of the eighteenth century while the new Hall was let to Mr Gregory Williams. The old house was used as a clubhouse and refreshments room for visitors in the early twentieth century. There was an auxiliary military hospital at Serlby during the First World War, and a prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Following the death of the 9th Viscount Galway in 1971, the process of selling Serlby Hall was begun. The remaining contents were sold at auction in 1978, and the Hall was sold to a private owner in 1981
Serlby Hall, after the renovations of 1812
The hamlet of Cavil in the parish of Eastrington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was conveyed from the Cavil family to Robert Monckton on his marriage in 1454. It passed to the Viscounts Galway, and was still in their possession in 1912.
The medieval Cavil Hall was demolished in the eighteenth century and a new hall built on part of the old moat. The hall suffered from subsidence and was demolished in the 1950s. Cavil has the alternative spellings of Cavill and Caville
Hodroyd Hall, at South Hiendley in the parish of Felkirk near Barnsley in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now South Yorkshire), is an Elizabethan manor house currently used as offices.
It was inherited by Sir Francis Monckton (d c.1655) from his cousin Marmaduke Berrie (formerly Marmaduke Monckton), who had married Mary, daughter and heir of Richard Berrie of Hodroyd Hall. When the 1st Viscount Galway purchased Serlby Hall in 1725, he moved there and let out Hodroyd Hall to the Methley family of Shafton.
It declined to the status of a farmhouse over the next hundred years. The Hall and estate were sold by the 7th Viscount Galway in 1911
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