Ayscoughfee Hall is thought to have originally been built in the early 15th Century as the home of local wool merchant Richard Alwyn. Dendrochronological or tree-ring dating has recently been carried on some of the original roof timbers, which have been dated to around 1450, making the Hall over 550 years old!
Throughout its history the Hall has continued to grow and develop, with each owner changing the building to represent their needs and the fashions of the time. This explains the rather Gothic-looking Victorian frontage, the Georgian ceiling best seen from the Entrance Hall, and the whole host of Medieval features exposed and explained throughout the Hall.
Once the home of the prestigious Johnson family, Ayscoughfee Hall spent much of its life as a private house for a succession of families, before being purchased by the people of Spalding during the early 20th Century. Since then it has served as a library, School, Council Offices and most recently as the District's museum.
Ayscoughfee Hall has recently been closed for renovation and refurbishment, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, South Holland District Council, Lincolnshire Tourism and the Friends of Ayscoughfee.
The museum has been fitted with new displays and is now open to the public.
Aysoughfee is currently undergoing an exciting project with NAU Archaeology. For more information, please see 'Ayscoughfee Gardens' or this is a link to NAU's website, where you can learn a lot more about the day-to-day events on site: www.nau.org.uk
