Keele Hall, Staffordshire, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

In 1741 the Keele estate was inherited by Ralph Sneyd from his brother Dryden; by the time of his death in 1793 he had partly rebuilt the Hall, landscaped the park and made a walled garden. He was succeeded by his son Walter (died 1829) under whom, despite absences occasioned by militia duties, improvements continued. As soon as Walter’s son Ralph inherited the estate he launched an extensive landscaping campaign, bringing in William Sawrey Gilpin and later (among others) W. A. Nesfield, and around 1855 rebuilding the house. He was succeeded in 1870 by his brother, the Reverend Walter Sneyd (died 1888), and he by his son Colonel Ralph Sneyd. About 1901 the Colonel leased Keele, which after about 1910 went into decline. The University College of North Staffordshire (founded 1949) took over Keele in 1950, becoming the University of Keele in 1962. A campus was built, mainly west of Keele Hall, in the 1950s and 1960s, which was greatly enlarged following a doubling of student numbers in the 1990s. Nevertheless, many elements of the historic landscape remained intact in 1997.