Leslie Melville constructed a private school on Hall Lane, which was attended by 70 children, each of whom paid 1p-2p per week. In 1884, he commissioned the architect John MacVicar Anderson to build the present house. The old hall, still being in a good state of repair became accommodation for the servants and the staff. There were numerous servants employed by the family. The 1901 Census shows that there were six domestic maids, a butler, three footmen and a groom at the hall as well as outdoor gardening staff. In 1903, the old hall burnt down and was removed from the site. Photos of the old hall have been preserved by Branston History Group. Albinia died in 1918 and Alexander died the following year in 1919. In 1920, the property was sold. In the intervening years the site of the old hall has been sensitively redeveloped. The Melville family provided land for the village hall and recreation ground on Lincoln Road, Branston in the early 1920s. The heir of the Leslie-Melville family is the Lord Balgonie, and many items from Branston Hall are now found on the family's estate in the Scottish Highlands. Grounds The grounds were once grazed by sheep but since around the year 2000 have been mechanically mown. There are many large beech trees and sycamores. Wildlife include muntjac deer, tawny owl and great cormorant. Lamium galeobdolon, Galium odoratum and Ruscus aculeatus grow in the beech woods and these are considered to be indicators of ancient woodland. Other plant species typical of shady woodland include Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Sanicula europaea and Mercurialis perennis. In 1906, 10 Bronze Age axes were found on the grounds of Branston Hall. On the grounds there is a spring-fed well, known as Anne's Well, which it is believed supplied fresh water to the old hall building (photographs here). The well was probably named after Anne Casey, who owned the property in the 1700s, or possibly St. Anne. It is covered with a stone which bore the inscription: "Clear may thy Waters ever flow, Nor Gusts of Ruffling Tempest know, Pure and unsullied as the fair Whose Emblematic Name you bear" There is evidence of boating on the lake, in former times (remains of a small boat and boathouse). References External links Branston Hall Hotel website Country houses in Lincolnshire