A Victorian mahogany partridge cage, second half 19th century

Ken Hill was built by a Yorkshire family of industry, who had made their fortunes from the wave of engineering in Wakefield in the early 19th century. E. Green & Son, established in 1821 by Edward Green, were master ironmongers and their patents for re-circulating steam saw business boom. Edward’s son, Sir Edward Green (1831-1923) became MP for Wakefield, a Captain in the 1st West Yeomanry and was elevated to the peerage, as Baronet of Wakefield and Ken Hill in 1886.

Sir Edward’s personal interest in country estates began with his lease of Heath Old Hall, an Elizabethan house near Wakefield, which he set about restoring, remodelling and filling with large commissions of new furniture. By the 1870s business was expanding rapidly, and in 1877 Sir Edward bought the Snettisham Estate in Norfolk. He commissioned John J. Stevenson to build a new house, Ken Hill in 1879, whose previous work had mainly been urbane townhouses. Ken Hill is an interesting example of Queen Anne Revival architecture in Britain, yet with a more Gothic, irregular appearance. Originally intended as a shooting lodge, it was later extended and became the Green family’s primary residence. Sir Edward’s son Frank Green had acquired Treasurer’s House, York in 1898 and similarly collected paintings and antique furniture. The sale of Ken Hill and its contents in 1999 at Christie’s followed the death in 1996 of Sir Stephen Lycett Green, 4th Baronet and great-grandson of Sir Edward.