PARK HALL,
In the parish of Whittington, the residence of Richard Henry Kinchant, Esq., is situated a little more than a mile east from Oswestry, and about the same distance from Whittington. It is one of those ancient timber mansions, few of which are now remaining in England, perhaps none in so perfect a state of preservation, and exhibits a fine specimen of the domestic architecture of bye-gone days. The estate on which it stands formed a portion, in ages past, of the once extensive and densely-wooded park appertaining to Whittington Castle, when that ancient stronghold could boast as its possessors in succession the powerful baronial families of Tudor Trevor, Peverel, Gwarine de Metz, and Fitz-Alan.
In those somewhat rare and beautifully-delineated maps of English counties, by Saxton, published in 1577, it is styled “The Park Hall.” This very singular and time-honoured structure is presumed to have been built in the reign of Queen Mary (1553–8), by Robert ap Howell, otherwise Robert Powell, the first of that name seated at Park, son of Howel ap Griffith, of Oswestry, descended from a younger son of Ievan Vychan, of Abertanat, a junior branch of the royal line of Powys. It remained in this family until the death of Thomas Powell, High Sheriff in 1717; his line terminated in an heiress, Jane Powell, who sold the estate to Sir Francis Charlton, Bart., of Ludford, in the county of Hereford. Subsequently this property and that of Blundel Hall, near Bishop’s Castle, became vested in the Kinchant family, by the marriage of John Quinchant (as the name was then spelt), of Stone House, near Ludlow, Shropshire, a Captain in the 32nd Regiment of Infantry, with Emma Charlton, daughter of the before-mentioned Sir Francis Charlton. By this marriage the present possessor of Park derives his pedigree from the Princes of Powys-land.
The house is 126 feet in length, the façade presenting numerous pointed gables, terminating in pinnacles. The entrance to the Hall is through a porch, and over the original oak door, which is of considerable thickness, and studded with large square-headed nails, is the following inscription, carved on stone, the letters in bold relief:—“Quod tibi fieri non vis alteri ne feceris.” The chimnies, of solid brick-work, are quadrangular, a small space intervening between each, and crowned with a heavy mass of masonry uniting them together, and so placed as to present an angle to each of the cardinal points: thus formed they have resisted the tempests of three centuries. The hall is wainscoated, and is 33ft. long by 23ft. wide: it contains several old family portraits of the Charlton and Kinchant families. There is an oak table in it, cut from one plank, resting on massive turned pillars; the length is 23ft. by 4ft. in width, and 2½ inches thick: at one end is carved the date—1581. Over a door in the hall, leading to the great staircase, the arms of Powell, Needham, and Corbet, are painted in separate panels, of a deeply-recessed oak moulding. Thomas Powell, of Park Hall, who died in 1588, married Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Corbet, Knight, of Moreton Corbet, and his son, Robert Powell, married Anne, daughter of Robert Needham, Esq., of Shavington, sister of the first Viscount Kilmorrey. The large dining-room is beautifully wainscoated in diamond-shaped panels, and the mantel-piece is a noble specimen of rich oak carving. It bears the date 1640, with this motto carved on a scroll:—“Nec vi nec vento.” A Colonel Jones, of Shropshire, engaged with Cromwell’s army, bore this motto on his banner, yet it does not appear that he ever resided at Park, or was connected with the Powell family. The ceiling is a fine example of plaster-work, and, as there appears no date upon it, is probably coeval with the house. It is ornamented with figures of birds, horses, and stags, and the central compartment has a representation in bold relief, of Neptune and his attendant Tritons. The great staircase, leading to the drawing-room, long gallery, and bedrooms, is a good specimen of the style of the 16th century; the balustrade of massive oak, the strong upright pillars, having pointed finials, are carved with a T like ornament, such as is of common occurrence on the ancient stone crosses of Wales. Underneath the window, on the first landing-place, is carved this sentence:—“Accurate cogita immutabilia.” Here are also two fine paintings, the one by Holbein, representing the great reformers, Luther, Wyckliffe, Melancthon, and others, seated round a table; the other painting a boar hunt, after Schneider. The upper rooms are all wainscoated, and abound in elaborately-carved old oak furniture, some bearing dates early in the 17th century. The gallery, extending nearly the entire length of the house, is hung with several old family portraits. There is a beautiful little chapel abutting on the west wing of the house; the windows are stained glass, the interior is wainscoated, and the whole arched over with oak panelling; over the entrance is carved on stone these words:—“Petra et ostium Christus est.” There is a gallery to the chapel, approached by a door from the drawing-room. On the south side of the garden is a terrace of considerable length, and in the centre stands a remarkable sun-dial, in stone, bearing several Latin inscriptions, alluding to the rapid flight of time: on the pediment is the date 1578. All the letters and figures on this stone, and all that are found in various parts round the house, are carved in relief. This dial fronts the south, and has no less than seven complete dials on it. On the terrace are likewise the fragments of several large stones and dials, bearing inscriptions in Latin.
In the List of the High Sheriffs of Shropshire will be found the following names, owners of Park Hall:—
| Robert Powell | 1647 |
| Thomas Powell | 1717 |
| Job Charlton | 1748 |
| John Charlton Kinchant | 1775 |
| Richard Henry Kinchant | 1846 |