Gainsborough Old Hall is a timber-framed medieval manor house and has had many famous visitors over the years including Richard 11 and Henry V11.
Gainsborough Old Hall was not only the home of the Burgh family but also a demonstration of their wealth and importance. By 1596, however, the Burghs had fallen on hard times and the house was sold to the Hickman family. Although a number of “home improvements ” have been made over the years it remains a “textbook of medieval architecture” (Simon Jenkins “England’s Thousand Best Homes”).
Famous visitors to the Old Hall inlcude Richard III, Henry VIII, John Wesley and the Pilgrim Fathers.
Gainsborough Old Hall was given to the nation in 1970 by descendants of the Hickman family.