melodysparks | The New Wayne Manor - Wollaton Hall, Nottingham

Wollaton Hall is a country house standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton, Nottingham, England. Wollaton Park is the area of parkland that the stately house stands in. The house itself is a natural history museum, with other museums in the out-buildings. The surrounding land is regularly used for large scale outdoor events such as rock concerts and festivals.

Wollaton was built between 1580 and 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby and is believed to be designed by the Elizabethan architect, Robert Smythson, who was the architect of Hardwick Hall. The building is of Ancaster stone from Lincolnshire, and is said to have been paid for with coal from the Wollaton pits owned by the Willoughbys

The grounds, Wollaton Park, are the home to the Intercounties Cross Country trials in March of each year, as well as many other events.

The enclosure of Wollaton Park required the destruction of the village of Sutton Passeys. It was enclosed by Henry Willoughby, 6th Baron Middleton with a 7 mile red brick wall,[5] at the start of the nineteenth century. Originally 790 acres, land sales have reduced the park to 500 acres.