I would be grateful if anyone could tell me about the current state of play with Sawston Hall near Cambridge. Has the Hall be sold yet? Is there a public campaign by Catholics to raise money and buy the Hall?
Monday 26 April 2010
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The hall is under offer, and I understand there is a 'lock-out' in place for a limited time. We (Sawston Hall Heritage) continue to try to raise the funds to secure the place.There is a full-page appeal running in the Universe and people are very keen that the house should retain it's dignity as a heritage centre, and are very generous. We, never-the-less hope and pray that there may be someone out there to buy the house outright, and our charity would help them to keep the important aspects, such as the chapel and the Priests-hole in good repair. Please let me know if I can help any further.
I very much hope that the Hall can be purchased by the Sawston Hall Heritage Fund and become a place of Catholic Heritage.
I visited the Hall about five years ago when it belonged to Cambridge County Council. There was only one employee on site who wouldn't let me see the priest hole. The Hall looks magnificent - what a great opportunity this is.
I'll let you know what happens, Father. I am sorry you were not able to see the Priest's-hole when you visited. You will understand our feelings towards the need to keep important monuments like this available for people to see.
According to a report in The Sawston Scene June/July 2010 edition Sawston Hall has been sold to a Stephen Coates who ever he may be!
Yes, Mr. Coates and his family have bought the hall and are thrilled. Sawston Hall Heritage are very happy at this outcome as it always was a family home until the 1980s, and Stephen Coates has been talking to us frequently and is happy for us to remain involved with the hall. We are in discussions with him as to how best to do this. Our reasons for hoping to establish a heritage centre there were primarily to prevent developers or hoteliers from destroying the catholic history, but this way it will remain intact.
Stephen Coates......Sawston Hall, pictures and story to follow.
I visited the hall one Sunday a few years ago when it was an English language school and actually had the pleasure of going into the priest's hole...actually it felt more like an oubliette - but they released me eventually! I found the chapel to be delightfully tranquil, but was sad to see much evidence of general dilapidation in several areas of the building. My wife, who was a landscape gardener at the time, was drooling over the possibilities presented by the rather unloved gardens. I have tried to keep up to date on developments at what was once my family's ancestral home without much success. I sincerely hope that Mr Coates breathes much needed new family life into the property after so long a period of formal useage.
The hall was sold off earlier on this year. It's rumoured to one of the owners of Lotus cars, but I cannot confirm this currently.
My father was stationed at Sawston Hall during WWII when the U.S. Air Force was using the Hall for operations. I visited there around 1999 when it was a school. The beautiful chapel was converted into a classroom and the stain glass was covered up. I am hoping the new owners will bring it back to life. I am interested in learning more about the Hall and the town of Sawston. Any suggestions of where I can begin? Thank you.
My father was stationed at Sawston Hall during WWII when the U.S. Air Force was using the Hall for operations. I visited there around 1999 when it was a school. The beautiful chapel was converted into a classroom and the stain glass was covered up. I am hoping the new owners will bring it back to life. I am interested in learning more about the Hall and the town of Sawston. Any suggestions of where I can begin? Thank you.
I am interested in the current state of the Hall; I am hoping to go to Britain next year and tour the most important hiding places for a novel I am writing. I had understood it to be sold to a developer.
The Hall sold to a private purchaser two years ago.
The thing to do is to write to the new owner of Sawston Hall and ask if you can visit in order to see the priest hole. Fr R
Sawston Hall is now for sale at £6 million by Savills Estate agents in Cambridge.
http://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbcarslac110104
Not sure whats 'gone wrong' as current owner Stephen Coates has spent thousands £s on both the hall & the grounds as a home for his family
I am hoping to get to England and would like to know if Sawston is open to visitors at all. I would particularly like to see the priest hole as this is one of my big interests. Who do I contact about visiting? Is the hide usable? I know it was under repairs for awhile.\
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Mary, the old Hall at Sawston is now a private house and any enquiries should be directed to the present owner. I don't have any details about the owner. Fr R
The problem is that it is being associated with hauntings rather than it's catholic history.
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