Elaine Warner of Knowle LHS
28 Apr 2014
Springfield Hall is one mile from Knowle on the Kenilworth road where it takes a sharp right hand turn. Former owners were recorded by the parish’s Freckleton Dole to which they contributed, starting with Richard Goodall from 1685; the house had been shown in the 1605 Survey of Knowle. In 1739 it passed with 200 acres to Thomas Fisher, whose family had restored Barston Church after it was burnt down in 1721. There were several Thomas Fishers, but the one who died in 1780 passed Springfield to Richard Moland who had married his daughter, Mary. He built the present house, designed by Joseph Boromi (1739-1808) a pupil of Robert Adam who had recently completed Gt. Packington Church (1789). Moland died in 1797 leaving four daughters who, with Thomas Fisher’s only surviving daughter, Anne, sold Springfield with 200 acres to Joseph Boultbee in 1798 for £10,000 (land prices being high due to the Napoleonic Wars).
The Boultbee family came from Baxterley Hall, near Atherstone. Joseph died in 1806 and was followed by his son, also Joseph, who married Elizabeth Moore. Their son, Joseph Moore Boultbee inherited Springfield in 1848, and his son Henry in 1868. Over the years the Boultbees bought (eg Elvers Green Farm, Hall Farm) and sold various parcels of land so that by 1904 the deeds did not show the true holdings. Henry moved to Warwick in 1888 and the house was leased out. On his death in 1903 his son Charles inherited; he put the estate of over 600 acres up for sale in 14 separate lots. Many of the farms went to the sitting tenants. The central 200 acres fetched only £10,000, the same as in 1798, due to cheap imports of grain and (frozen) mutton which wrecked agricultural profits. The house with these acres was bought by George Eveson, the local coal merchant.
He sold the house and grounds in 1912 for £20,000 to George Jackson who became a great benefactor to Knowle. That year (the 500th Anniversary of its Foundation) he bought, anonymously, the Guild House and restored it – a fact revealed only after his death in 1948. He and his wife had four children – Clive, Guy, Mollie and Peggy – and they entertained generously at Springfield. The house was modernised with central heating and an electric lift. The glass conservatory was converted into a ballroom. There were five bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor, and nine and one on the second. The family moved to their other property, Oare Manor in Somerset, in 1941 when Springfield was requisitioned. The house was occupied by Singer Motor Company staff and the grounds were used to decoy German bombers away from Coventry. In 1946 it was sold with 90 acres to the City of Birmingham for use as a school for children with special needs. Currently there are 63 aged between 4 and 11.
The Jacksons also made major alterations to the outbuildings. The stables were rebuilt as an exact replica of the Kaiser’s stables in Berlin with 15 loose boxes and ancillary accommodation. There was housing for seven motor cars, including a Lanchester, and a cottage for Blundell the chauffeur. In WWI the stable block was used as a Voluntary Aid Detachment convalescent home with Mrs Jackson as commandant (for which she was later awarded an OBE), and her daughters as nurses; they also organised a collection for the Spitfire Fund. The elder son, Major Clive, served in both wars and lived for a time at The Gatehouse, Barston. He followed his father as Master of the North Warwickshire Hunt, which often met at the house, before WWII. Much of the estate was planted to give cover to foxes or game, eg the man-made Nappins Covert. Col Guy fought with the Warwickshire Yeomanry in North Africa and Italy, receiving a DSO.
Like other large houses, Springfield was well staffed. During the Boultbee era there were usually seven or eight domestic staff including a cook, footman, housemaids, etc. Outside staff were gardeners and a groom, all recorded in Censuses as living in the house or its outbuildings. The family claimed pews in Knowle Church especially for their staff. There were probably other staff who came in on a daily basis. The Jacksons had a larger staff – butler, housekeeper and eight maids, besides five grooms and an additional chauffeur.
Farmland was converted into a landscaped garden during Richard Moland’s occupation (1781-97). There was a croquet lawn, rose garden, walled garden for vegetables, greenhouses for peaches, figs and grapes, and two well stocked fishpools. The grounds, now partly overgrown, still possess the huge Wellingtonias, a tall Tulip Tree, and a small Maidenhair Fern Tree. There is a nature reserve with a study centre built in 1980 with facilities for the disabled. In the last few years the elegant bridge across the River Blythe on the estate has been identified as being by Sir John Soane.