Byrkley Lodge was a country house and later racing horse stud farm, located close to Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Demolished in 1953, its former grounds are today the site of the St George's Park National Football Centre.
Byrkley Lodge was a country house and later racing horse stud farm, located close to Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Demolished in 1953, its former grounds are today the site of the St George's Park National Football Centre.
The lands were originally part of Needwood Forest, owned by the Berkeley family of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. The forest was the home to extensive stocks of wolf, wild boar and fallow deer. [1]
In the 13th century Thomas de Berkeley was assigned to be the keeper of the Tutbury ward, and while resident at Tutbury Castle liked to hunt the forest, and had a hunting lodge built. In 1267, Thomas married the daughter of William de Ferrers, the Earl of Derby. [1]
During the rebellion of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester against King Henry III, the de Ferrers family allied themselves with the rebellion. After the rebellion was put down, the de Ferrers were forced to forfeit their estates to the crown. Henry III gave the forest to his son Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, in 1266. [2] Renamed Needwood Chase or royal forest, it was subsequently owned by the Duchy of Lancaster until it passed into the possession of Henry IV in 1399. [1]
By this time the lodge had become the residence of the local keeper (judge). The lodge was redeveloped by King Edward IV, and used extensively for hunting by both him and King James I. [1]
By the start of the 18th century, Needwood Forest had been harvested for its timber, and extensively redeveloped as pasture. In 1750 Field Marshal George Townshend, the first Marquess Townshend, had married Lady Charlotte Compton, who had inherited Tamworth Castle and therefore succeeded to the de Ferrers barony. As it had become fashionable to have a solitary retreat, in 1754 Lord Townshend subsequently acquired the leasehold of what was now known as Byrkley Lodge, which he rebuilt as a weekend hunting lodge. [1] By 1775, the only buildings on the former Needwood Forest plateau were Byrkley Lodge, Yoxall Lodge to the south, and Hanbury Park Farm 3 miles north. [3]
In 1786, Arthur Chichester, the 1st Marquess of Donegall bought the lodge from Lord Townshend, including his collection of water colour paintings. During his residence, the Marquis began introducing albino rabbits to the grounds, which by the time he died in 1799 had become naturally wild. By this time Richard Lovell Edgeworth had acquired Yoxall Lodge, and the second and third of his four wives were both sisters of Rear Admiral Edward Sneyd Clay. Through this association the lodge was eventually acquired by Sneyd, on whose death in 1846 it passed to his only daughter, Emma. [3]
Emma Sneyd had attended the wedding of her close friend, the son of Thomas Gisborne of Yoxall Lodge, who married Mary, the daughter of brewer Michael Thomas Bass, Sr. In 1850, Emma agreed to rent Byrkley Lodge to Mary's brother, Michael Thomas Bass, Jr. Sneyd placed extensive conditions within the lease for the upkeep of the grounds, to which the Bass family during its residence added that hunting or capture of the albino rabbits was strictly forbidden. [3]
On Bass's death, the estate passed to his son Hamar Alfred Bass, who after rebuilding the main house between 1887 and 1891, founded a racing horse stud within the extensive grounds. The Byrkley Stud produced and trained "Love Wisely" which won the Ascot Gold Cup in 1896. Bass was also for 12 years master of the Meynell Hunt. [4] [5]
On the death of Hamar in April 1898, the estate passed to his son, Sir William Bass, 2nd Baronet. Known as Billy Bass, he was most noted for his ownership of racehorses. He was a member and steward of the Jockey Club, on the National Hunt committee, and joint Master of the Royal Hunt. [6] His stable enjoyed his first success in the Cesarewitch Handicap in 1903 with Grey Tick, and he also owned the horses Rosedrop, Cyllene and Sceptre. He was a Steward of the Pony Turf Club and was involved in the foundation of Northolt Park Racecourse in 1929. [3]
Sir William married Lady (Wilmot Ida) Noreen Hastings (1880–1949), [7] second daughter of the 14th Earl of Huntingdon and a notable sportswoman, in 1903. Lady Noreen Bass was noted for snubbing Winston Churchill's mother Mrs George Cornwallis-West at Newmarket races in 1909. [8]
Billy Bass died in 1952, without having any children, leading to the extinction of the baronetcy. He left his fortune to his wife's nephew, the trainer Peter Hastings (d. 1964) who changed his name to Hastings-Bass. Peter's eldest son William Edward Robin Hood Hastings-Bass (b. 1948) is the present and 17th Earl of Huntingdon. [3]
The estate was sold off in 1952, shortly after which the main house was demolished. The Byrkley Stud survived for some time, but was also later demolished. [3]
The former 330-acre (130 ha) of the Byrkley Lodge estate were acquired by the Football Association in 2001. [9] After investing £105M, on 9 October 2012 the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opened the St George's Park National Football Centre. [10] The centre is the base for all coaching and development work undertaken by the FA, and the training and preparation ground for all of the England national football teams.
Thomas Gisborne was an English Anglican priest and poet. He was a member of the Clapham Sect, who fought for the abolition of the slave trade in England.
Tutbury is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Burton upon Trent and 20 miles (32 km) south of the Peak District. The village has a population of about 3,076 residents. It adjoins Hatton to the north on the Staffordshire–Derbyshire border.
Yoxall is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Swarbourn on the A515 road north of Lichfield and south west of Burton upon Trent. South of the village, Yoxall Bridge crosses the River Trent.
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. It adjoins Cheshire to the north west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south east, West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The historic county of Staffordshire includes Wolverhampton, Walsall, and West Bromwich, these three being removed for administrative purposes in 1974 to the new West Midlands authority. The resulting administrative area of Staffordshire has a narrow southwards protrusion that runs west of West Midlands to the border of Worcestershire. The city of Stoke-on-Trent was removed from the admin area in the 1990s to form a unitary authority, but is still part of Staffordshire for ceremonial and traditional purposes.
Burton and Uttoxeter is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Jacob Collier of the Labour Party.
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruined medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster and hence currently of King Charles III. It is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building. People who have stayed in the castle include Eleanor of Aquitaine and Mary, Queen of Scots, who was a prisoner there.
Duffield Frith was, in medieval times, an area of Derbyshire in England, part of that bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers by King William, controlled from his seat at Duffield Castle. From 1266 it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster and from 1285 it was a Royal Forest with its own Forest Courts.
Marchington is a small village in East Staffordshire, England. It lies between the towns of Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Marchington has a small community-run shop, a first school, two churches and two pubs. The population of the village was 1,127 at the 2001 census, increasing to 2,017 at the 2011 census.
William I de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby was a 12th-century English earl who resided in Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire and was head of a family which controlled a large part of Derbyshire known as Duffield Frith. He was also a Knight Templar.
Sir William Arthur Hamar Bass, 2nd Baronet was a British racehorse owner and a significant contributor to the racing industry. He also provided support for the British film industry in its early days.
Hamar Alfred Bass was a British brewer, race horse breeder and a Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1878 to 1898.
Hoar Cross Hall is a 19th-century country mansion near the villages of Hoar Cross and Hamstall Ridware, Staffordshire. England. The Grade II listed building is operated as a hotel and spa, and has facilities for conferences and weddings.
Dunstall Hall is a privately owned 18th century mansion house near Tatenhill, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Needwood Forest was a large area of ancient woodland in Staffordshire, England, which was largely lost at the end of the 18th century.
Rangemore is a village in the borough of East Staffordshire, situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of the town of Burton upon Trent, on a ridge of high ground about a mile due west of the village of Tatenhill where the population from the 2011 census can be found.
Hoar Cross is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of East Staffordshire, situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of Burton upon Trent.
The Bass Charity Vase is a friendly association football tournament founded in 1889 in Burton upon Trent to raise funds for medical and hospital charities. The trophy was donated by Lord Burton and Hamar Bass the great-grandsons of William Bass, the founder of the Bass Brewery. The trophy itself is made from gold and inscribed with the names of all previous winners. It is reputed to be one of the most valuable trophies in English football. The first final was played in 1890 and was won by Derby County, who remain as of 2020 the most successful club, with 20 titles.
The 1322 Battle of Burton Bridge was fought between Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and his cousin King Edward II of England during the Despenser War. Edward's army was proceeding northwards to engage Lancaster, having defeated his Marcher Lord allies in Wales. Lancaster fortified the bridge at Burton upon Trent, an important crossing of the River Trent, in an attempt to prevent the King from proceeding. Edward arrived at nearby Cauldwell on 7 March 1322 and intended to use the ford at Walton-on-Trent to cross the river and outflank Lancaster. Edward was delayed for three days by floodwaters, during which time some of his force was deployed opposite Lancaster's men at the bridge.