Great Fosters

Last updated

Great Fosters
Great Fosters - geograph.org.uk - 143091.jpg
Great Fosters
Location Egham, Surrey
Coordinates 51°25′01″N0°32′41″W / 51.417057°N 0.544646°W / 51.417057; -0.544646
OS grid reference TQ0131369697
Area7 ha (17 acres)
Builtc. 1550
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameGreat Fosters
Designated11 July 1951
Reference no. 1294166
Official nameGreat Fosters
Designated1 July 1988
Reference no. 1000303
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameGreat Fosters Residential Block
Designated17 Nov 1986
Reference no. 1189680
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameGreat Fosters Barn
Designated11 July 1951
Reference no. 1028959
Surrey UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Great Fosters in Surrey

Great Fosters is a 16th-century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park and is still adjacent to the town of Egham, Surrey, England. It is a Grade I listed building, close to Heathrow and the M25 London orbital motorway.

Contents

It has been listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England since July 1951, and its gardens and parkland have been Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens since July 1988. [1] [2] The grounds are also home to a 17th-century Grade II listed barn which was reconstructed on the site from its original home in a field in Malden, Surrey. [3] The Grade II listed former stables date from the 16th century and are now used as a conference centre. [4]

The formal gardens of Great Fosters were laid out in 1918 by W. H. Romaine-Walker in partnership with G. H. Jenkins, the pair also extended the house.

History

Great Fosters was the London seat of Sir John Dodderidge (1555–1628), a judge of the King's Bench and formerly Solicitor General to King James I. He had been brought up in Barnstaple, in North Devon, and purchased the estate of Bremridge near South Molton, Devon, as his country estate. His epitaph on his monument in Exeter Cathedral states "He departed this lyfe at Forsters nere Egha(m) in Surrey". Sir Robert Foster owned the house in 1639. When he died in 1663 he left the house to his son, Sir Thomas Foster. Great Fosters remained in the family following his death in 1685 when it passed to his daughters. In 1715, Sir Charles Orbey resided here, and it was not until 1787 that one of Sir Thomas’ great grandsons sold the property to a Mr Wyatt for £700.

In 1818 Great Fosters was sold [5] to Dr George Frederick Furnivall [6] (father of Frederick Furnivall), Sir John Chapman (one of the 300 founder members of the Royal College of Surgeons) and another partner, who operated it as a lunatic asylum. Chapman was one of the "modern thinkers" who believed mental illness was not solely related to physical illness, and Furnivall was described in local documentation as "Doctor to the Poor" in Windsor. [5]

Although not confirmed by Windsor Castle records, it is said that King George III was treated at Great Fosters towards the end of his life. [5]

Early in the 20th century, Great Fosters was owned by Baroness Halkett, Queen Alexandra's lady in waiting. Later it passed to the Earl of Dudley and then to the Hon. Gerald Montague. The estate was purchased by Harold Sutcliffe in 1931 and owned by the Sutcliffe family until late 2018 when it was purchased by the current owners, Alexander Hotels. The building is now a 4-star hotel. [7]

The house

Gardens at Great Fosters The gardens at Great Fosters, Egham (1497512710).jpg
Gardens at Great Fosters

In about 1550, the original house was built as a symmetrical U-shaped Elizabethan homestead. It is probable that it was extended in the early 17th century because there is slightly larger brickwork in the porch. It was at this time the initial tall chimneys were built. However, these were removed during World War II after a bomb blast. They have been replaced by replicas.

A dominant feature of the house is the windows, all of which have stone mullions and transoms with leaded lights.

The "Italian Suite" The Italian Suite - Great Fosters (6042025493).jpg
The "Italian Suite"

The front of the house was used in the opening title sequence of the 1950s TV comedy series Whack-O! set at a minor public school. It was also used in the 1958 Rank Organisation film about the Titanic , A Night to Remember . [8]

Visit of Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I’s 1598 crest adorns the entryway of Great Fosters and likely marks the year when the queen visited. In the summer, she and her court toured the English countryside for months at a time in journeys called "progresses". The court left London to escape the disease and heat that settled over the city in the summer. But Elizabeth I also reinforced her power. Her showy retinue and public fêtes made her reign personal even for peasants who lived far from London. As she visited favored members of the nobility, she strengthened alliances and built bonds of mutual indebtedness.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Water</span> Human settlement in England

Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its name is shared with the lake on its western boundary within Windsor Great Park. Virginia Water has excellent transport links with London–Trumps Green and Thorpe Green touch the M3, Thorpe touches the M25, and Heathrow Airport is 7 miles (11 km) northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenway Estate</span> In Devon, former house of Agatha Christie

Greenway, also known as Greenway House, is an estate on the River Dart near Galmpton in Devon, England. Once the home of the author Agatha Christie, it is now owned by the National Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claremont (country house)</span> Country House in Elmbridge, Surrey

Claremont, also known historically as 'Clermont', is an 18th-century Palladian mansion less than a mile south of the centre of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust. Claremont House is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hewell Grange</span> Grade I listed house in Worcestershire, United Kingdom

Hewell Grange is a former country house in Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England. "One of the most important late 19th century country houses in England", the mansion was built between 1884 and 1891 by George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner for Robert Windsor-Clive, later first Earl of Plymouth. Constructed in the Jacobethan style, it was "perhaps the last Victorian prodigy house". After the Second World War, the third earl sold the Hewell estate to the Crown and it was redeveloped as a prison. The mansion was used to house young offenders, and later low-risk prisoners, while adult prisons were built in the grounds. The site was subsequently consolidated as HM Prison Hewell. In 2019, the Ministry of Justice announced the closure of the Category D open prison housed in Hewell Grange, after a highly critical report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Belvedere, Surrey</span> Grade II* listed country house in Surrey, England

Fort Belvedere is a Grade II* listed country house on Shrubs Hill in Windsor Great Park, in Surrey, England. The fort was predominantly constructed by Jeffry Wyatville in a Gothic Revival style in the 1820s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albury, Surrey</span> Village and civil parish in England

Albury is a village and civil parish in central Surrey, England, around 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Guildford. It is in the Surrey Hills National Landscape and the Borough of Guildford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawthorpe Hall</span> Grade I listed Elizabethan country house

Gawthorpe Hall is an Elizabethan country house on the banks of the River Calder, in Ightenhill, a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley, Lancashire, England. Its estate extends into Padiham, with the Stockbridge Drive entrance situated there. The house is traditionally attributed to Robert Smythson. In the mid-19th century, the hall was rebuilt by Charles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament. Since 1953 it has been designated a Grade I listed building. In 1970 the 4th Lord Shuttleworth gave the hall to the National Trust, with a 99-year lease to Lancashire County Council. Both bodies jointly administer the hall and in 2015 the council provided £500,000 funding for restoration work on the south and west sides of the house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoghton Tower</span> Grade I listed historic house museum in Lancashire, England

Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor house two-thirds of a mile (1 km) east of the village of Hoghton, Lancashire, England, and stands on a hilltop site on the highest point in the area. It takes its name from the de Hoghton family, its historical owners since at least the 12th century. The present house dates from about 1560–65.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killerton</span> House in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England

Killerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public. The National Trust displays the house as a comfortable home. On display in the house is a collection of 18th- to 20th-century costumes, originally known as the Paulise de Bush collection, shown in period rooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hestercombe House</span> Grade II listed building in Somerset, UK

Hestercombe House is a historic country house in the parish of West Monkton in the Quantock Hills, near Taunton in Somerset, England. The house is a Grade II* listed building and the estate is Grade I listed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arley Hall</span> Country house in Cheshire, England

Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Lymm and 5 miles (8 km) north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook, and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall are also listed as Grade II* on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In the grounds are more listed buildings, a cruck barn being listed as Grade I, and the other buildings as Grade II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warnham</span> Human settlement in England

Warnham is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The village is centred 2 miles (3.2 km) north-northwest of Horsham, 31 miles (50 km) from London, to the west of the A24 road. The parish is in the north-west of the Weald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witley Park</span> Estate and former mansion in Surrey, England

Witley Park, formerly known as Lea Park, is an estate dating from the late 19th century between Godalming and Haslemere in Surrey, England. Its landscaped grounds include three artificial lakes, one of which conceals an underwater conservatory and smoking room. The mansion house, rebuilt for the swindler Whitaker Wright, was gutted by fire in October 1952 and the ruins were demolished in January 1954. In the early 21st century, a new house was built on the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatton Park</span> Country estate in Surrey, England

Gatton Park is a country estate set in parkland landscaped by Capability Brown and gardens by Henry Ernest Milner and Edward White at Gatton, near Reigate in Surrey, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langdon Court, Devon</span> Manor house in Devon, England

Langdon Court is a former manor house, in Wembury, South Devon, England. It consists of a single courtyard mansion from 1693 and a walled formal garden. The house is a Grade II* listed building, and the garden is Grade II listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In 1960 it was bought and converted into the Langdon Court Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forde Abbey</span> Building in Somerset, England

Forde Abbey is a privately owned former Cistercian monastery in Dorset, England, with a postal address in Chard, Somerset. The house and gardens are run as a tourist attraction while the 1,600-acre (650 ha) estate is farmed to provide additional revenue. Forde Abbey is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fowelscombe</span> Historic manor in Devon, England

Fowelscombe is a historic manor in the parish of Ugborough in Devon, England. The large ancient manor house known as Fowelscombe House survives only as an ivy-covered "romantic ruin" overgrown by trees and nettles, situated 1 mile south-east of the village of Ugborough. The ruins are a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamhead House</span> House in Mamhead, Devon

Mamhead House, Mamhead, Devon, is a country house dating from 1827. Its origins are older but the present building was constructed for Robert William Newman, an Exeter merchant, in 1827–1833 by Anthony Salvin. The house is Grade I listed as Dawlish College, its function at the time of listing. The parkland is listed at Grade II*.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crowhurst Place</span> House in Crowhurst, Surrey

Crowhurst Place, Crowhurst, Surrey, England is a medieval hall house dating from the early 15th century. In the 20th century, the house was reconstructed and enlarged by George A. Crawley, firstly for himself and subsequently for Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough. It is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courteenhall House</span> Grade II* listed house in South Northamptonshire, United Kingdom

Courteenhall House, Courteenhall, Northamptonshire, England is an 18th-century country house built for Sir William Wake, 9th Baronet. Wake's architect was Samuel Saxon. The architectural style of the house is Neoclassical, and it is described by Pevsner as having been built with "great restraint but great sensitivity". Construction took place between 1791 and 1793. The grounds were laid out by Humphry Repton. The house remains the private home of the Wake family. Courteenhall House is a Grade II* listed building. The surrounding gardens and parkland are listed Grade II.

References

  1. Historic England, "Great Fosters (1294166)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 12 February 2018
  2. Historic England, "Great Fosters (1000303)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 12 February 2018
  3. Historic England, "Great Fosters Barn (1028959)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 12 February 2018
  4. Historic England, "Great Fosters Residential Block (1189680)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 12 February 2018
  5. 1 2 3 "History of the Hotel" (PDF). 5 September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  6. Havercan, Peter (30 March 2010). "The Furnivalls of Sandbach". roots.havercan.net. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  7. "Great Fosters luxury country house hotel in Surrey". www.greatfosters.co.uk.
  8. "A Night To Remember (1958) filming location – Sir Richard's house". www.british-film-locations.com.