The village of Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England lies near the post road from Birmingham to Warwick. Adjacent parishes include Lapworth, Wroxall, Rowington, and Balsaal. Nearby are Solihull, Knowle, Barston, Shirley, Packwood, Warwick and Kenilworth. Baddesley Clinton is about 7 miles northwest of the town of Warwick and about 6 miles southeast of Solihull. There are a total of 1366 acres in Baddesley Clinton Parish, making it a small parish. In 1730 the parish only had 13 houses and probably had a population of about 65.
A residence at the site of Baddesley Clinton Hall is said to go back to the twelfth century or earlier. The thicker walls in the east half of the south side are probably relics of this early period. Most of what is now visible is from the mid to late fifteenth century and was possibly the work of John Brome, who purchased the manor in 1438 and almost certainly his son Nicholas Brome,
The manor building, now made of locally quarried grey stone, forms three sides of a square with the open northwestern side having only a low wall along the moat. The spring-fed moat, which is very ancient, completely surrounds the manor house. The moat is between 20 and 40 feet wide and roughtly 25 feet deep. (See modern photo attached to the page of Nicholas Brome.) There is architectural evidence that a wing of the building once enclosed the, now open, northwest side of the square. If so, this wing was demolished some time ago. Baddesley Hall is considered one of the most celebrated specimens remaining of the defensive architecture of the 15th century.
The entrance to the central courtyard is by an early 18th century permanent bridge on the northeast side that crosses the moat and passes through an embattled tower. This tower may be of recent origins, because early drawings of the manor show a gate between two lofty square pillars at this spot. It is likely, also, that the original bridge was a drawbridge. The outer oak door with massive hinges probably dates to the fifteenth century, possibly installed in 1459.
Many of the windows of the manor house have stained-glass coats of arms of the various families associated with the manor. The arms of Nicholas Brome are in the dining room window. These arms are also carved on the mantle of the large fireplace.
Above the present entrance is a magnificent banqueting hall paneled in oak. Originally it had a high-pitched ceiling, but now has a plain ceiling. The Great Hall of the Manor has a carved stone fireplace erected about 1634 probably replacing a smaller fireplace. Dining and drawing rooms are nearby. (See floor plan attached to the page of Nicholas Brome.)
On the second floor there was a gallery extending around all 3 sides of the building and open to the courtyard. From this gallery the rooms of the upper floor could be reached.
There is, no certain date when the Bromes occupied the hall because there are records of claims and occupation by others, throughout the 15th century. John Brome Junior’s baliff’s accounts refer to building stone being carted to the site in the mid 1440’s and in 1457/58. A hall door was purchased in 1458 at a cost of 14 shillings, 9 pence. These records support the idea that John Brome Junior was constructing or, at least, remodeling the Hall.
Certain features of the architecture, particularly in the north range or front of the hall, point to Nicholas Brome as an individual who made the most improvements in the house. One of these features is the presence, in both wings, of uncusped window lights. The use of gun ports at strategic locations are like those installed at Kirby Muxloe at the same time. Nicholas Brome probably installed these defensive measures as a precaution based on the experiences of his father.
When the house passed from the Brome Family to the Ferrers family in the 16th century, considerable remodeling took place, especially in the interior. There were also later changes in the early eighteenth and late nineteenth century.
There is a “secret” cellar passage reached by a trap door in the brew-house. It runs within the wall from east to west towards the moat and from there under the former west range of the building to the northwest angle and possibly to the north gateway. It was probably first used as a secret means of retreat in the fifteenth century.
The Manor of Baddesley Clinton passed to the Ferrers family, when Constance Brome Ferrers passed it on to her grandson Henry Ferrers. It is said that later, during the Tudor Period, the Ferrers family gave refuge to Catholic priests trying to hide from the persecution of Elizabeth I. There are tiny “priest holes” still visible at the manor house where these priests could be hidden. The Ferrers Family remained Catholic through the Protestant Reformation and held the manor hall until 1980. It is now owned by the National Trust of Great Britain.
In modern times there are stories that Baddesley Clinton Hall is haunted because residents have reported loud shouting and sounds of footsteps from empty rooms. This, of course, cannot be confirmed in any scientific manner, but speculation is that it is the spirit of Nicholas Brome, the murdered priest or both. One could even speculate that is the spirit of the murdered John Brome, who has wandered back to his manor from his burial place in London.