There has been a manor house at Patshull since before the Norman Conquest; a population of nineteen was recorded in the Doomsday Book, but there is no record of there ever having been a village of Patshull.
The family who lived at Patshull Hall, were for three centuries the Astleys. They supported the King during the Civil War and were firstly created Knights and then Baronets for their loyalty after the Restoration (1660). They sold the Estate in 1765 to Sir George Pigot, and it remained in that family until 1848. At this time the Estate was sold to William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth, of Sandwell Hall near West Bromwich, for his son Viscount Lewisham who came to reside here later the same year. The names of all those families are found in various forms in the local area, mainly as the names of the public houses.
Patshull Park remained in the Dartmouth family until 1958 when it passed to the Crown in lieu of death duties. During the Second World War the house was used as a Rehabilitation centre for the wounded Servicemen, and was used for the same purpose for civilians from 1966. Patshull Park Hotel was completed in the grounds in 1980.
The hall, which can be seen today from the golf course, was largely built in the 1730s with extensive additions in 1850 by Lord Dartmouth. The former House was considered “old and low” by Sir Richard Astley in 1698, but it had been described earlier in the century as “the most accomplished and delicious mansion in the whole country”….fashion had obviously changed! Sir Richard died before the new Hall was built, the work being carried out under the direction of his son Sir John Astley.
Once the new Hall was completed Capability Brown landscaped the grounds, and work on the Great Pool began in 1768. The Doric Temple, which now forms part of the hotel was built in 1754.
Famous events at Patshull Hall included the visits of the M.C.C. to play cricket in 1875 and 1876, a new pavilion being constructed especially. In 1900 the Duke and Duchess of York, later to become King George V and Queen Mary, stayed at the Hall; Queen Mary was to stay at the Hall again in 1939.
There has been a Golf Course on the Estate in an area known as High Park since the beginning of the twentieth century, the present course was designed in 1978 and completed in 1979.
