The estate became dominated by its neo-Elizabethan mansion after a fire of 1843 destroyed one third of the predecessor and various landscape features were added which have resulted in building and grounds being Grade II* listed. Between the turn of the 21st century and its closure in 2012, the estate has been a wedding venue, a conference centre, and a hotel. Aside from the manor house and its immediate surroundings, the park is home to office buildings and a lake.
Architecture
The current house is situated approximately 50 metres (160ft) south of the original manor house. Rebuilt by Daniel Burr in 1848 following a huge fire, the new manor was built in the Elizabethan style, and incorporated the figured wooden staircase, some stained glass, and the chimney stacks from the 1636 house, which was later demolished.[1][2]
Park
An ancient pollarded oak in Aldermaston Park
Aldermaston Park is an ancient and derelict wood pasture, featuring numerous examples of pollardoak and sweet chestnut. In the mid-16th century, the park was 286 acres (116ha), by 1721 it was 436 acres (176ha) and by 1860 it was considered 780 acres (320ha).[3]
Robert FitzAchard (1070–1161[5]) was granted the Aldermaston estate in 1100 by Henry I of England; no records of the house at this time have survived. FitzAchard was a distinguished Norman soldier whose son built the north transept in the parish church. According to the Pipe Rolls of 1168, the name had become Aldermannestun. The Achard family hosted Henry III at the manor in 1227,[1] but granted a long lease of the rectory and glebe to Priory of Monk Sherborne (Pamber Priory); the family are all buried at their secondary manor of Sparsholt.[1] The estate descended to Peter Achard who died in 1361 with a female heir (daughter); it was inherited by Thomas de la Mare as his son-in-law.[5]
Elizabeth de la Mare, whose male relatives predeceased her, inherited Aldermaston. She married into the Forster baronets' family from Northumberland.[6] Stephen Forster, an ancestor, had previously become the Lord Mayor of London in 1454.[6]
Forster descendants (1490–1752)
The Forster coat of arms
Elizabeth's husband, George Forster, was the son of Sir Humphrey Forster I from Harpsden near Henley.[6] When Elizabeth and George married, George became the owner of Aldermaston Manor along with other manors previously owned by the De la Mare family.[6] He was knighted by Henry VII in 1501, becoming Sheriff of Berkshire and Oxford in 1517. He was made a Knight of the Bath in 1525. His assumed wealth meant that he was part of Henry VIII's entourage at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.[6] George was succeeded by his son, Humphrey II, in 1533, a high sheriff.[6]
During Humphrey II's lordship, he faced strong disputes with Francis Parkyns (alternatively spelled "Perkins"[7]), who was the brother of the Squire of Ufton and tenant of nearby Padworth Manor. Parkyns was unhappy with Forster's "over-lordship" of Aldermaston, and Forster retaliated by breaking into Parkyns's house and severely assaulting him while he ate breakfast. Anne Parkyns, Francis's wife, begged for his life. Forster – along with an armed entourage – dragged Francis to Ufton, where the family of his brother Richard were breakfasting. More violence broke out, with Lady Marvyn – Richard's wive – also begging for Francis's life to be spared.[6] Francis was eventually taken to Aldermaston where he was jailed in the lock-up behind the village pub.[6]
Humphrey was later succeeded by his son, William (who married Jane, daughter of Anthony Hungerford).[5][8]
Elizabeth I visited Aldermaston twice. Her first visit, in 1558, was during the lordship of William, and the second – in 1592 – during his son Humphrey III's tenure.
Humphrey III's son, William II, fathered a son – Humphrey IV – in 1595.[5] He and his wife Anne began building a mansion house, known as Aldermaston House, in 1618 by laying a new cornerstone.[6] The house was completed in 1636,[1] and was dedicated with a short verse:
We live and build with one mind and dedicated both our lives and this house to God and to fortune. In the year of our Lord 1636
Sir Humphrey and Lady Anne Forster, on the completion of the predecessor mansion, Aldermaston House, in 1636,
Shield of Forster. Sable a cheveron engrailed between three arrows argent.
In October of the following year, a regiment of Parliamentary troops under the command Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester camped in the Aldermaston area.[6] They were defending the crossing at the River Kennet, an operation that came about due to Humphrey Forster's staunch Royalist support.[1] All the estates were sequestered because of these affiliations during the English Commonwealth and returned on the restoration of 1660.[1] Humphrey IV died in 1663.[5] His grandson, an MP, Sir Humphrey Forster, 2nd Baronet (c. 1649 – December 1711), died at the age of about 62 when the Baronetcy became extinct.
Above: The gatehouses and Eagle Gates at the north entrance to the estate Below: The Charity Gates at the east side of the estate
Congreve family inheritance (1752–1843)
The Congreve coat of arms
In 1752 Forster direct descendants died out and the estate passed to Ralph Congreve as third husband of Sir Humphrey Forster, 2nd Baronet's grand-niece and heir.[6][10]
In 1780 the estate passed to his second cousin, William (a relation of the dramatist of the same name[11]). Many changes to their estate occurred during the William's ownership. The lake by the house was created by damming the stream. The wrought-iron Eagle Gates, at the north-west of the estate, were won at a game of cards so taken from Midgham.[12] To install them, the estate's north-west lodge (a dower house[9]) was dissected (removing the 60 square metres (650sqft) centre section). The estate's east gates are known as the Charity Gates; Congreve's daughters frequently sat by the gates and gave alms to the poor.[6]
In approximately 1800, Congreve had a stable block built due west of the house; this is extant and until the site's vacancy was used office space.[13]
William Congreve's butler at Aldermaston House, John Manning, died on 31 August 1811. Congreve erected the headstone on his grave in the village churchyard.[14]
On 13 January 1843, a serious fire destroyed more than a third of the manor house.[15] William Congreve never recovered from the fire and died the same year.[16] The Congreve name is retained in the name of a cul-de-sac in the village.[17]
Aldermaston Manor[n 1] passed into the Court of Chancery, and was eventually purchased in 1849 by Daniel Higford Davall Burr.[15] Since 1836, Burr had owned the Alvington manor in Gloucestershire (having inherited it upon his mother's death). Her family, the Higford family, owned Alvington from the 17th century.[18]
Burr was somewhat eccentric, keeping monkeys and snakes as pets. He commissioned Philip Charles Hardwick to build today's edifice in a Neoclassical style; the present mansion house was built using as much of the old material as possible that had been saved from the fire.
Burr died on 29 November 1885 at the age of 74, and the estate passed to his son, Higford Higford (who, rather than taking his father's surname, assumed the name of a distant ancestor).[18] Higford only lived at Aldermaston for a few years before putting it up for sale. He sold Alvington in 1912.[18]
In 1893, the estate was bought for £160,000 (equivalent to £18,879,446in 2021) by Charles Edward Keyser, a stockbroker[15][19] and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.[20] Keyser, who was born on 10 September 1847 and came from Hertfordshire[21] had previously established a successful career in the City of London, having gained a Master's Degree in Law at Cambridge University. His accumulated wealth allowed him to specialise in his chosen area, and he became a distinguished figure in English church architecture, specialising in medieval churches.[22]
Keyser's attention was drawn to Aldermaston by his sister Agnes, who said that the court reminded her of her stay at Sandringham House. Keyser seized the opportunity to buy the estate when it was put up for sale at the Hind's Head.[22]
Keyser died in 1929, at the age of 81. His death certificate lists the place of death as Bucklebury.[23] Keyser's estate was valued at £770,000, resulting in an Inheritance Tax of £150,000. The lessened agricultural income from the estate was then less than the cost of its maintenance in 1929.[19] Keyser's wife, Mary died in 1938. Their son, Charles Norman, had no interest in running the estate and his heavy asthma led him to move to Adderbury, Oxfordshire.[19] Muriel and Sybil, their daughters, had expensive taste with racehorses and ponies, and their brother sold the whole estate to a syndicate, Messrs Cribble, Booth and Shepherd, for £100,000 who auctioned it in lots at Reading Town Hall, beginning on 20 September 1939.[19] Many of the lots were bought by their occupants. The house and its immediate grounds were bought by Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) for £16,000.[19]
Airfield and opening of AWRE (1939–1965)
Despite the AEI purchase, the location was soon earmarked by the government for an airfield, RAF Aldermaston, to operate as a satellite field for RAF Andover.[2][6][19] During World War II the land and house were requisitioned by the government as a barracks for the Women's Land Army, the USAAF HQ XIX Tactical Air Command was for some months stationed at the house and anti-aircraft batteries were stationed in the grounds.[6][24] After the war, the airfield remained in use and was run by BOAC, who operated it as a pilot training academy then from 1947 to 1950 as a civilian airport. Air use was transferred to Blackbushe and Luton Airports.
After the closure of the airfield, the park was returned to AEI. which used it as a plasma research laboratory.[2][25] They built the now demolished MERLIN reactor between the house and the lake – the first commercial scientific reactor in Britain, which was opened on 6 November 1959 by the monarch's husband, Prince Philip.[26] The airfield became the UK's Atomic Weapons Research Establishment—later the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)—for research, commissioning and de-commissioning of most such weapons. Periodic UK opposition to nuclear weapons was in the late 20th century was most prominently expressed in the Aldermaston Marches from London and High Wycombe, with its later marches organised in 1972 and 2004.[19]
Commercial use (1965–2012)
Collier Macmillan Schools bought the north area of the park, including the manor house, in 1965.[6]) In 1967, the house and parkland became a Grade II* listed building and parkland.[27] Blue Circle Industries bought the estate in the 1980s. They restored the house, and converted its usage into a hotel and conference centre. They also built the offices in the park,[1][2] including Portland House, which won a Concrete Society award in 1986.[28]
The house and grounds were purchased by Holaw (420) Ltd. in 1997, who under its former name, Aldermaston Manor, converted it to a hotel and conference centre. They appointed the Compass Group to operate these uses.[2][29] The business was declared insolvent in 2012, and the house and office spaces were closed.[30]
1 2 Sally-Anne Martin, ed. (2005). Memories of Life in an English Country Village. The Book Project. ISBN978-0-9549636-0-6.
↑ 'Parishes: Aldermaston' in A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3, ed. P H Ditchfield and William Page (London, 1923), pp. 386-395. Accessed 10 December 2014
↑ The inscription on Manning's headstone reads "In memory of Mr JOHN MANNING. Butler at Aldermaston House. This stone is erected by WILLIAM CONGREVE Esq. in whose Family he lived for many years, most deservedly esteemed and died sincerely lamented on the 31st day of August 1811 in the 50th year of his age."
↑ Chick, D. R. (1960). "Plasma research at A.E.I. Research laboratory, Aldermaston Court". Ionization Phenomena in Gases. Vol.2. p.944. Bibcode:1960ipg2.conf..944C.
Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading, and extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south.
Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 census, the parish had a population of 1,015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately 8 miles (13 km) from Newbury, Basingstoke, and Reading and is 46 miles (74 km) from London.
Ufton Nervet is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England centred 6 miles (10 km) west southwest of the large town of Reading and 7 miles east of Thatcham. Ufton Nervet has an elected civil parish council.
Sulhamstead is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It occupies an approximate rectangle of land south of the (Old) Bath Road (A4) between Reading, its nearest town and Thatcham. It has several small clusters of homes and woodland covering about a fifth of the land, in the centre and north beside which is Thames Valley Police's main Training Centre at Sulhamstead House. Its main amenities are its Church of England parish church and a shop and visitor centre by the Kennet & Avon Canal.
Padworth is a dispersed settlement and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, with the nearest town being Tadley. Padworth is in the unitary authority of West Berkshire, and its main settlement is at Aldermaston Wharf or Lower Padworth, where there is Aldermaston railway station. It has its southern boundary with Mortimer West End, Hampshire. The south of the parish is wooded towards its edges and the north of the parish is agricultural with a hotel beside the Kennet and Avon Canal. In the centre of the parish is a school, Padworth College, which is Georgian and a later incarnation of its manor house.
Ufton Court is a manor house in the civil parish of Ufton Nervet, in the county of Berkshire, England.
The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'.
The Perkins family of Ufton Nervet in the English county of Berkshire were a prominent Roman Catholic family in Protestant England. From 1581 until 1769, a span covering seven generations of the Perkins family, they lived at Ufton Court in the parish.
William Forster was an English politician and sheriff of Berkshire.
Sir Humphrey Forster was an English politician and high sheriff.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Aldermaston, is the Church of England parish church of Aldermaston in Berkshire. The church, which is dedicated to St Mary, dates from the mid-12th century and has examples of Norman and Jacobean architecture. The building has had a number of extensions, particularly in the 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th centuries.
Charles Edward Keyser DL FSA was a British stockbroker and authority on English church architecture. In his later life, he became Lord of the Manor of Aldermaston in the English county of Berkshire.
Sparsholt is a village and civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Westcot about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) west of the village. Sparsholt was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire.
Daniel Higford Davall Burr JP DL was a British Member of Parliament and Justice of the Peace.
Anne-Margaretta Burr was an English watercolour painter.
Sir Edward Hungerford was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601.
Sir Humphrey Forster, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1677 and 1695.
William Perkins or Parkyns (c.1400-c.1449) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.
Hartsfield Manor is an early Victorian house of historical significance located in Betchworth, Surrey, England. It was built in the 1860s as a private residence and served this purpose for several notable people until World War II. After this it became a hotel and then a training centre. It is now a venue for special events such as conferences and weddings.
Sir Mark Steward (1524–1604), of Heckfield in Hampshire and of Stuntney in Cambridgeshire, served as a Member of Parliament for Stockbridge in Hampshire (1597) and for St Ives in Cornwall (1588–9). He was knighted in 1603.
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