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Dunham Hall

Visitors to Dunham in 2014 will find out about the story of the Stamford Hospital. This was an important, but brief, part of Dunham’s history, when the house became a First World War auxiliary hospital from April 1917 to January 1919.
The house that stands today was built in the 1730s by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington. At 19 he inherited a debt-ridden estate and a house in poor condition and dedicated his life to restoring its fortunes. He married a wealthy merchant’s daughter for her dowry, but the match was loveless and very unhappy. He began the reconstruction of the hall in around 1715, creating an unpretentious modern home and his shrewd investments included the purchase of exceptional quality silver, fine furniture and paintings. He planted thousands of trees in the park in the design which remains today. Dunham was left to George’s only child, Mary, who had a happy marriage to Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford.
Leaving and returning
Dunham continued to be a home to the Grey family for several generations until the 7th Earl, who inherited from his grandfather at 18, married his second wife Catherine Cocks, who had been a circus performer. Local reaction to the marriage was so bad that the Earl and Countess moved to their estate at Enville in Staffordshire and Dunham was left empty or let to tenants for 50 years. It was only in 1906, when William Grey, the 9th Earl, inherited Dunham and began transforming the hall into an elegant Edwardian home. He died in 1910 and as his young son, Roger, the 10th Earl, was under-age, the management of the estate was initially taken over by William’s widow, Penelope. Roger Grey was a popular landlord, he took great care of the estate and his tenants and throughout his life he tried to reacquire many of the works of art that had been removed from Dunham in the 19th century. On his death he bequeathed the house, all of its contents and the 3000 acre estate to the National Trust.