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Ragdale Hall is a large hall in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England.
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History
The original hall was built in 1785 in the late Georgian period by Robert Shirley, 6th Earl Ferrers., was made of timber. It was destroyed by fire (date unknown). At that time it was known as Rakedale Hall. It was re-built in stone and It became known as Ragdale New Hall. It was built for hunting, which became fox hunting. It was purchased in 1908 from the Earl Ferrers Estate by Albert Cantrell-Hubbersty. In the early 20th century, it was owned by the Cantrell-Hubbersty family. Philip Cantrell-Hubbersty was the Master of the Quorn Hunt. He had no children and his widow sold the hall in 1955. It was last a private residence in 1959. Some time after that date it was bought by a Leicester industrialist by the name of Benton, who operated it as a country club, with a sideline of illegal gambling. Undesirable characters, such as the Kray Twins, started showing up, which may have contributed to a hurried sale in 1963. In 1968/1969 Ragdale Hall Country Club as purchased by Dimitrios Kaouklis (known locally as 'Jim'). He was a Greek Cypriot who had joined the Cyprus Regiment in the early part of WW11 and had fought in Palestine and Later on in Italy, where he saw action at Monte Casino. At the end of the war he met and married an Italian girl (née Parmentola) in Castellamarre di Stabia, Naples. In 1949 he, his wife and new born son migrated to England. Dimitrios Kaouklis commenced renovating the hall; rebuilding the old wing and adding 13 bedrooms as well as a modern kitchen. After a near drowning the partial moat was filled in. He became financially over-extended and sold the hall in 1973. It was purchased by Slimming Magazine, Audrey Eyton of the F-plan diet, who turned it into Ragdale Hall Health Hydro. It offers a destination spa. In June 1990 it was bought by two of the founders of Our Price (which itself was bought in 2004), who still own it today. In 2007 a thermal spa was opened.
Geography
The hall is east of the Six Hills junction of the A46 dual carriageway (Fosse Way) with the B676. It is in the parish of Hoby with Rotherby. It is east of the Charnwood borough boundary.