The second son of Thomas, Henry "of Headlam" soon inherited the new family estate. He married Anne, daughter of Henry Brackenbury of Selaby, and the two of them were responsible for the construction of Headlam Hall at the turn of 17th Century. As a gift to his wife, Henry had an elaborate oak fireplace installed in the main hall with the Birkbeck coat of arms displayed in the centre of the mantle. This feature still stands in pride of place to this very day.
The descent of the Birkbeck family thereafter was through the female line. By the mid 18th Century the property came into the possession of Lawrence Brockett as a result of his marriage to Anne, the great, great granddaughter of Henry and Anne Birkbeck.
The Hall then remained with the Brockett family for the next century and a half. The best known member of the Brocketts was the youngest of Lawrence and Anne's five sons, also called Lawrence. He became Regus Professor of Modern History at Cambridge by the age of 38, but died five years later after falling from his horse. He was buried at Gainford by torchlight, probably the church's last nocturnal burial.
The Brocketts were responsible for the alterations and re-building of the south wing and west elevation during the Georgian period. The addition of the north wing as a servants quarters in 1912 utilised stone and material from the demolition of an older dwelling to the east of the courtyard.
In 1912 the property was acquired by Lord and Lady Gainford (J.A Pease, M.P.), where they lived until their deaths in the early 1940's. The Hall then belonged to the Stobart family up until 1977 when it was acquired by its present owners, the Robinson family, who have farmed at Headlam for four generations.
Headlam Hall was purchased by John and Ann Robinson in 1977 as it was an opportunity to expand their neighbouring farm. At this time the Hall was more of a liability than an asset and was in a poor state of repair with a leaking roof and an overgrown garden that yielded 57 bales of hay on its first cut! It soon became apparent that the Hall needed an income to help with the costs of maintenance and up keep so work began to make the main ground floor rooms and a handful of bedrooms suitable for letting to private parties.
