Rochford Hall
Grade I listed building in Rochford, United Kingdom
Rochford Hall is a manor in Rochford, Essex, England. During the reign of King Henry VIII, it belonged to Thomas Boleyn, who was then Viscount Rochford, and it was the marital home of his daughter Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, and Mary's second husband, Sir William Stafford. It is now privately owned by Rochford Hundred Golf Club where it acts as the clubhouse and is a Grade I listed building.
History
The manor was originally built in 1216, which is the date carved into an old joist, and some of the arched doorways are original. In its 16th century form Rochford Hall comprised a sprawling turreted manor with a moat and great hall.
Rochford Hall belonged to Sir Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne, as part of his rich inheritance from his mother Margaret Butler. Sir Thomas was created Viscount Rochford in 1525 and Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde 1529, and his title derived from his ownership of Rochford Hall. Following the second marriage of Anne's elder sister Mary to William Stafford in 1534, Rochford Hall was given to the couple as their principal residence. In 1550 the Rochford estate was sold to Richard, Lord Rich.
By the late 17th Century Rochford Hall was owned by the Child Family of Wanstead House, Essex, later Earl Tylney.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Rochford Hall” as grade I listed building in Rochford, United Kingdom. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as grade I listed building in Rochford, United Kingdom. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7354082. Authority coordinates are 51.581, 0.699. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1216, 1525, 1529 and 1534.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rochford Hall”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rochford Hall primary sources, Rochford Hall archive and Rochford research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rochford Hall”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rochford Hall” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.