Beaumanor Hall has a rich and varied history. Built between 1842 and 1854 by architect William Railton for the Herrick family, it remained in their possession until World War II when the War Office requisitioned the estate. The Hall was used as a secret listening station to intercept encrypted enemy signals throughout the war. Leicestershire County Council bought the Hall 1974 as an education and conference centre.

William Perry Herrick (1794 – 1876), who built the house in about 1850, was born in Wolverhampton in 1794. His father was Thomas Bainbrigge Her, Rick, a barrister; his mother was Mary Perry, daughter of James Perry of Eardisley Park. William spent his childhood in his family home, Merridale House (now called Bantock House) in Wolverhampton. he went to Oxford and became a barrister. In 1832, his uncle, who owned Beaumanor, died, and as he had no male heirs, the property was inherited by William. He also inherited Earlisley Park in 1852 when his maternal uncle, James Perry, died. These properties and their associated landholdings made him a very wealthy man. He lived with his younger sister, Mary Ann Herrick (1796-1871), at Beaumanor. Mary Ann had inherited money from her mother in her own right and was a great benefactor. An account of her generosity was contained in a book about Leicestershire. It stated:

"Many were the gifts made to the church by this benevolent lady; to give an account of them is impossible. The best-known examples of her generosity are the almshouses at Woodhouse, built in 1856; a house for the schoolmaster and mistress at Woodhouse Eaves, built-in i860; the infant school in the same parish, built six years later; and the dispensary at Loughborough, built-in 1862, for 5000 pounds; the expense of the last two benefactions being shared by her brother, William Perry Herrick, Esq., of Beaumanor."

William also gave generously to the Anglican Church. In 1872, he paid for the construction of St Mark Church in Leicester with some help from his sister.

In 1862, William married Sophia Christie (1831-1915), 37 years his junior and the daughter of Jonathan Henry Christie, a London barrister. The couple had no children. His sister Mary Ann, who continued to live at Beaumanor, died in 1871, and William died in 1876. He left all his property to his wife Sophia and his relative Montagu Curzon on her death.

Sophia managed the Beaumanor estate for the next 40 years and was well-regarded by the tenants. She kept a relatively large number of household staff, Elizabeth Ellerbeck (1843 – 1919), the housekeeper who remained with her for over 30 years.

Sophia died in 1915, and Beaumanor was inherited by William’s relative William Montagu Curzon, who took the additional surname of Herrick in 1915 when he became the owner of Beaumanor.