Manor with royal links could become special school

A Grade I-listed manor house that was once a royal palace and has links to Geoffrey Chaucer could become a special school.

Journey Education Ltd has applied to City of Doncaster Council to turn Hatfield Manor into an independent school for 28 pupils with "high functioning autism and anxiety".

The school's owner, Angela Cousins, said the property had received few other offers when it was last on the market and that its condition was deteriorating.

Described as "one of the least-known royal residences", the Georgian building retains features from a 12th Century moated hall and is thought to have been built on the site of King Edwin of Northumbria's palace.

After the Norman Conquest, the manor was granted to the De Warenne family and in 1336 King Edward III's son William, who died soon afterwards, was born there.

It later became a royal hunting lodge, whose visitors included The Canterbury Tales author Chaucer. In 1628 it was gifted by the Crown to Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, the Dutch engineer who drained the nearby fens to create fertile farmland.

The building had been vacant for two years before Cousins purchased the site and requested permission to change its use from a residential dwelling to a school.

The current Journey Independent School is based in the Balby area of Doncaster and takes children aged 5-18 with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), whose places are arranged by the local authority.

In documents submitted to council planners, Cousins stated she and her representatives had been in discussions with the council and Historic England for 18 months regarding the sympathetic restoration of the building.

She added: "We were the sole party to come forward with a credible plan to acquire and restore it. The building is currently deteriorating at an accelerating rate - subject to near-weekly criminal intrusion, structural collapse and the irreversible loss of historic fabric."

Further supporting documents claimed Hatfield Manor is one of the most "historically significant private sites in the north of England" due to its royal connections.

Cousins' company commissioned a historic building survey by an archaeological consultancy, which made "staggering" findings about the manor house's heritage.

The statements continued: "We had no idea about this building and definitely not the historical significance of it, and we can only put this down to the fact that it has remained a private residence locked away from the public.

"Their report concludes that Hatfield Manor House ranks as one of the most important early domestic buildings in the north of England."

It added that priceless wall carvings and panelling had suffered water damage due to a lack of roof repairs by previous owners.

Cousins stated the school would be open to the public for seasonal events such as Christmas, maypole dancing and a harvest festival.

The statement concluded: "This building needs saving now. We are ready to save it."

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