Rival Reviews: Speke Hall
It seems unfair to judge a Country House when visiting over the extended Christmas period, but I will anyway.
Speke Hall’s inscription commemorates its building
Speke Hall is a Tudor timber-framed manor house, flanked on one side by the River Mersey, and the other by Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. Being so close to the river is unusual for a house from this period, but we can hardly blame the Norris family for the latter.
The drive to this rare Tudor marvel made it all the clearer that Speke Hall exists in its own countryside bubble, framed as always by those iconic National Trust wrought iron gates that seem to preserve the idyll of England’s green and pleasant land within their perimeter. Apart from the occasional sound of jet engines coming and going you would never know the airport is so close. Thankfully, John Lennon is not busy.
I am joined again by two accomplices, confusingly named Gemma and Emma, who have already accompanied me to Hardwick Hall, and we are back to explore an Elizabethan property of an entirely different kind. Speke Hall began construction in 1430, and was likely named for the cruck-beamed hall that owner Sir William Norris inherited in 1524. At the time Henry VII sat on the throne, more interested in securing the latest wife and an heir than small things like the the national religion, but the ultra-Catholic Norris family would be in for a few nasty shocks in the coming years as the religious pendulum swung between Protestant and Catholic on the whim of Henry’s infamous cadre of children. This instability meant that Speke’s future was far from secure, until William’s great-great-grandson cannily converted the family to Protestantism in the 17th century. Whether this change of heart was borne from genuine belief or a more urgent need for an easier life, presumably the Lord only knows.
Over the next couple of centuries, various owners would restore, maintain or leave Speke Hall in a state of decay, the manor rolling through states of repair like some enormous Tudor yo-yo, until in Richard Watt V and his wife Adelaide Hignett of Chester restored the manor for good in the 1850’s. They went for a Gothic Revival vibe, which married well with the Tudor timber-frame style and almost certainly would have done numbers on TikTok. Sadly however they both died soon after, Adelaide in 1861 and Richard four years after.
Speke Hall’s interior corridor, one side Tudor panelling, the other Morris wallpaper
Whilst their daughter, also Adelaide, moved to Scotland to grow up, Frederick Leyland took up residence, a multimillionaire by today's standards, manager of the Bibby shipping line and billiard enthusiast (not historically noted but rather something we can assume due to the addition of a large billiard room to the hall during his renovations). Leyland was also a patron of the arts, and it was probably under the advice of artistic jack-of-all-trades Dante Gabriel Rossetti that he installed William Morris wallpaper in key rooms of the house. A piece of advice that Rosetti doled out that must have been purely aesthetic, and not at all dictated by the fact that he was a founding member of Morris’ decorating firm. Anyone who has stepped foot in the V&A gift shop will be familiar with William Morris’ designs. Three of these original wallpapers are still intact at Speke Hall, Rosetti must be very pleased with himself.
Finally, in 1877 Adelaide (the daughter) returns home, and quickly and wisely installs central heating and fire fighting equipment to her very wooden house, though in which order I couldn't say. Adelaide died in 1921, generously naming three members of the original Norris family her trustees. In kind of a dick move, they then sold much of the estate to Liverpool Corporation, hence the airport, before the National Trust took joint custody in 1943 and finally wrestled full control of in 1986, presumably to their great relief, to preserve for future generations.
And so here we are! ‘Forever, For everyone’ seems only in effect on certain weekends, so that is why we and many, many other people roll up to see the house in all its glory on this rainy Sunday when the house is actually open. We learn on entry that the Speke Hall is decorated in accordance with the Christmas Season, and that only the ground floor is open. Emma, a Liverpool native, is fuming, she has been here before and has apparently been allowed to go about crawling around in the attic or something, though she did not specify whether this took place during business hours.
The frontage of Speke Hall peering over the hedge and the moat
We proceed immediately to the house, where we queue for a few minutes before gaining entry through a comically small door. This time is spent admiring the splendour of Speke’s frontage, it is seriously impressive and entirely beautiful. Set in unassuming lawns, the house perched surrounded by a moat garden, the foliage is simplistic, and this is in part why the hall pops. Its black and white beamed exterior is at odds with the greens of nature, the narrow casement windows emit no light, so that the stained glass they hold is hardly visible, even the shambling nature of the sagging walls have a certain dignity.
However, there is no dignity to be found when climbing through the front door. An amusing trick is played on visitors, where they queue towards a large and imposing black arched door, assuming, as would be logical, that this door will do what doors are designed to do and open. We wait, then a steward sticks their head out of a hatch in the bottom left corner that turns out to be the actual entrance. If you are thinking of a dog door, you are not far off.
If there is one thing Tudors and Victorian did well, it is the Gothic, and this peculiar marriage permeates Speke Hall. It is gloomy, verging, I fear, on the dark, but it is cosy and charming in equal measure. The House is built round a central courtyard, which lets in much-needed natural light through the multitude of windows. In the courtyard, two yew trees, amusingly nicknamed Adam and Eve, provide shade. The house is busy, the unfortunate side effect of reduced opening hours, and so patience is needed to properly explore the spaces. Stewards dressed in various eras of garb are on hand and, like all good stewards, are merely waiting to jump on the first visitor to look even mildly curious. One caught me out from where she was hidden behind a door.
Highlights from the house include the Great Hall, where hangs a supposedly life-size portrait of the Childe of Hale, John Middleton, born in the nearby village of Hale in 1578, and said to have been over nine feet tall. Well, maybe. The William Morris wallpaper is as tasteful as ever in the Library, and the Jacobean ceiling panelling in the Oak Parlour is certainly worth looking up for. I dare say I would have liked it all better with less people, more of the house on show, and not really any Christmas decorations. At a National Trust property on the cusp of December, however? Hell would freeze over first.
Amenities:
Lunch
God save us from a National Trust sandwich. Gemma’s Festive bap was particularly dire, kind of like the Grinch’s idea of a joke. The Victoria Sponge and Toffee Apple Cake was good though.
Is the cafe in the Stables or Kitchens?
Stables! Renovated first by Leyland in the 19th century and presumably again by the National Trust to shill their horrible sandwiches.
Can I take my dog?
You cannot take your dog into the 600 year-old Grade I listed building. Outside is fine.
Can I take my kids?
If you must.
Walks
Due to the Liverpool Corporation owning most of Speke Hall’s old estate, there is not much walking to be had. A whip round the edge of the estate has lovely views over the Mersey, and some of the airport if you like that kind of thing, and the Secret Garden within the grounds is a pleasant distraction for 5 minutes while you finish your coffee.
Well, what did you think?
7/10 - A rare gem in an unusual location, a Tudor house with a Victorian heart. However, I feel I can't give a fair review having only seen half of the offering and because the house is set up to be extremely festive - for that reason if nothing else, I will be back.