Blake Hall is a country house and gardens near Chipping Ongar in Essex.
The house is based around an original fabric dating from the 17th century or older, but was largely rebuilt in the 18th century and later remodelled by George Basevi in 1822. It was home of the Capel Cure family for over 200 years.
After the operations centre at nearby RAF North Weald for Sector E, No. 11 Group RAF was bombed by the Luftwaffe in September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, floors and interior walls from a portion of Blake Hall were removed, and a new "ops room" (Operations Room) substituted.
The Grade II* listed building is now set at the heart of its own conservation area. It is available to hire for weddings and civil ceremonies.
Blake Hall station, now closed, was named after the hall though it was about a mile to the south-west.
Famous quotes containing the words blake and/or hall:
“The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“Having children can smooth the relationship, too. Mother and daughter are now equals. That is hard to imagine, even harder to accept, for among other things, it means realizing that your own mother felt this way, too—unsure of herself, weak in the knees, terrified about what in the world to do with you. It means accepting that she was tired, inept, sometimes stupid; that she, too, sat in the dark at 2:00 A.M. with a child shrieking across the hall and no clue to the child’s trouble.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)