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| Castle Hill House |
The site of Hinckley Castle... was purchased in 1760 by William Hurst, Esq., who built a mansion upon it. William Hurst was a hosier and High Sheriff of Leicestershire. After his death his son Nicholas lived in the house until at least 1805. The house was of two storeys with a symmetrical three-bay facade, redbrick with elaborate stone dressings/quoining etc.
Castle Hill House was the home of George Canning (1770-1827; Prime Minister in 1827) from March 1807 until April 1811 within easy reach of Dr. Robert Chessher.
Chessher was treating Canning's son, Charles George, who was lame. On 14 June 1820 the contents of Castle Hill House were auctioned on the premises.
Then the house became a boarding school run by Harriet and Sophia Critchley from about 1828 and was then the residence of Edward Ken Jarvis, a local solicitor, from about 1835 until 1844. A later occupant was Mrs Catherine Ellis, a proprietor of land and houses, and by 1876 the property was owned by Stephen Pilgrim of the firm of Pilgrim and Preston, solicitors. It remained in the hands of the Prestons for many years, acting as the County Court.
Castle Hill House's last use was as the headquarters of the Hinckley Co-operative Society, who took the decision to pull it down in 1976 in favour of a modern development.
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| A plan of Castle Hill c.1887 |
