Stansted Park (including Stansted House) is an Edwardian country house in the parish of Stoughton, West Sussex, England. It is near the city of Chichester, and also the village of Rowlands Castle to the west over the border in Hampshire.
The house is set in the 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) park, with woodland and open land grazed by deer. Stansted House has Carolean revival decor and is listed Grade II*. [1] The surrounding area, Stansted Park, is also listed Grade II*. [1]
The area that is now the Park is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, as being included in the Hundred of Bourne. Some sources suggest that at some time before 1094, a hunting lodge was built for Roger de Montgomery, first Earl of Arundel. The historic listing summary adds that "Stansted probably originated as a park within the Royal Forest of Bere Porchester, whose over-lords were the earls of Arundel. It was recorded as in use for hunting and for timber production in the medieval period, while a survey of buildings of the Manor of Stansted in 1327 included a hall and a chapel". [1]
In 1177, Henry II visited Stansted. Two other monarchs visited in the next hundred years, Richard I of England hunted boar here in 1194 and John, King of England visited in both 1214 and 1215. The next monarch to arrive here was Edward VI, in 1552. [2]
John, Lord Lumley built a house on the site which was visited by Queen Elizabeth on 23 August 1591. Robert Cecil described this house as "fayre, well builte without and not meanly furnished within, but want of water is a greate inconvenience." [3]
A new house was built on the present site, starting in 1686, for Richard Lumley, probably to a design by William Talman. The historic listing states that Richard laid out "formal gardens, radiating avenues and parkland on its east side. He probably also cut the central avenue through Stansted Forest to the west". [1]
The property was inherited in 1776 by 2nd Earl of Halifax 1766; he also built the nearby folly tower, now known as Racton Monument. After his death in 1771, the estate was inherited by his daughter Anna Donaldson. Seven years later, George III and Queen Charlotte visited; the property was later sold. Subsequent owners made modifications to the building and the grounds, most significantly in 1782.
While under the ownership of George Wilder, the main block was destroyed by fire in 1900 but the stables and the service wing were not affected; the block was rebuilt "in the style of Wren", [1] on the exact footprint of the previous building, in 1903. The architect was Arthur Blomfield. It was purchased by Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough, in 1924. During WW II, the house sheltered orphans from Southsea. [4] In 1939, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, then the consort of George VI, spent one night here and in 1962, Anne, Princess Royal visited Stansted House and went for a swim. [2] [ dead link ]
Since 1983 the House and Estate have been owned by Stansted Park Foundation, a charitable trust charged with the preservation of the estate for the benefit of the nation. The trust was set up by Frederick Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough, who died without a male heir in 1993. An illustrated history of Stansted Park from the 12th century is included in Lord Bessborough's book The Enchanted Forest.
The park is crossed from west to east by the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath.
In early January 2021, the Foundation issued this statement: "Due to funding and staffing issues Stansted Park House, the Arboretum and surrounding Grounds, including the walled garden and maze will now remain shut to the public until Easter 2021. The walled garden playground has now been removed as the structure fell into disrepair and was deemed unsafe. There are currently no plans to reinstall new apparatus..." The Foundation's Web site was listing some planned events, starting in May 2021. [5] [6]
The chapel was built by Lewis Way in 1812–16, as part of his mission to convert the Jews. [7] It is Grade I listed. [8] It was an inspiration to the poet John Keats when he was writing The Eve of St. Agnes . [9] The church was restored by Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel in 1926.
The Park's web site adds some specifics: "It was consecrated on 25th January 1819 [and] contains a unique East window with Christian/Jewish iconography and Hebrew tablets of the Ten Commandments." [10]
During the 1926 restoration, the sanctuary was re-decorated, with inspiration from Sainte-Chapelle, in Paris. During WW II, the chapel was damaged but it was restored in 1947. [11]
For some months in 2020, the chapel was open for "a short service of Prayer", once a month; as of mid January 2021, this service was not being offered. The Park's Web site stated that restoration of the chapel had recently been completed, "supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund", but does not specify the date. [12]
The Stansted Park Light Railway ( 50°53′04″N0°55′21″W / 50.88442°N 0.92255°W ) is a 7+1⁄4 in (184 mm) gauge miniature railway on the grounds of Stansted House. The railway opened on Easter 2005, and is designed to attract more visitors to the House, which is located in a forest near Havant.
The railway uses locomotives and carriages designed and built by railway volunteers. The railway is rapidly expanding. The new extension is now complete, and incorporates a 12-foot span girder bridge. A new locomotive shed is also nearly finished.
In June 1741 a cricket between Slindon Cricket Club and Portsmouth Cricket Club was played in the park. [13] It is the earliest report of a match involving the Slindon team. The team's patron Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, wrote in a letter to his friend Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, that "above 5,000 people" were present. [13] [14] This is the only time that Stansted Park is mentioned in surviving cricket records. The cricket club still plays fixtures during the summer months.
Earl of Bessborough is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1739 for Brabazon Ponsonby, 2nd Viscount Duncannon, who had previously represented Newtownards and County Kildare in the Irish House of Commons. In 1749, he was given the additional title of Baron Ponsonby of Sysonby, in the County of Leicester, in the Peerage of Great Britain, which entitled him to a seat in the British House of Lords. The titles Viscount Duncannon, of the fort of Duncannon in the County of Wexford, and Baron Bessborough, of Bessborough, Piltown, in the County of Kilkenny, had been created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1723 and 1721 respectively for Lord Bessborough's father William Ponsonby, who had earlier represented County Kilkenny in the Irish House of Commons.
Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox,, of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was the youngest of the seven illegitimate sons of King Charles II, and was that king's only son by his French-born mistress Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. He was appointed Hereditary Constable of Inverness Castle.
Slindon is a mostly rural village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, containing a developed nucleus amid woodland. Much of Slindon's woodland belongs to the National Trust on the southern edge of the escarpment of the South Downs National Park. Slindon is centred 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east of Chichester.
Rowland's Castle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Havant, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border.
Ponsonby may refer to:
Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox, the youngest of the seven illegitimate sons of King Charles II. He was the most important of the early patrons of the game of cricket and did much to help its evolution from village cricket to first-class cricket.
In the years from 1726 to 1750, cricket became an established sport in London and the south-eastern counties of England. In 1726, it was already a thriving sport in the south east and, though limited by the constraints of travel at the time, it was slowly gaining adherents in other parts of England, its growth accelerating with references being found in many counties. Having been essentially a rural pastime for well over a century, cricket became a focus for wealthy patrons and gamblers whose interests funded its growth throughout the 18th century.
The 1744 cricket season in England is remembered for the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. This was drafted by members of several cricket clubs, though the code was not published until 1755. Much of its terminology such as no ball, over, toss, umpire and wicket remain in current use. The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards. The second of those matches, played on Monday, 18 June, was a celebrated event in which a Kent county team challenged an England team at the Artillery Ground, Kent winning by one wicket.
Richard Newland (1713–1778) was an English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period who played for Slindon and Sussex under the patronage of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. He also represented various England teams and, in some matches, led his own select team. The eldest of three cricketing brothers, he is generally recognised as one of cricket's greatest early players and has been called a pioneer of the sport.
The 1741 English cricket season was the 45th cricket season since the earliest recorded eleven-a-side match was played. Details have survived of nine significant matches, including the first known appearance of Slindon Cricket Club. The earliest known tie in an eleven-a-side match occurred.
Roberte Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough (1892–1979), was a French noblewoman who married into the English aristocracy and served as Viceregal Consort of Canada in the 1930s.
Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough,, was an Anglo-Irish businessman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the fourteenth since Canadian Confederation.
The 1743 English cricket season was the 47th cricket season since the earliest recorded eleven-a-side match was played. Details have survived of 18 eleven-a-side and three single wicket matches.
The 1746 English cricket season was the third season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket.
The 1747 English cricket season was the fourth season following the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket.
Edward Aburrow Sr, also known as Cuddy, was an English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period who played for Slindon and Sussex under the patronage of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. He also represented various England teams. A resident of Slindon, Sussex, he was a contemporary of the three Newland brothers – Richard, John and Adam – who were his colleagues in the Slindon team. Outside of cricket, Aburrow Sr was a tailor in Slindon but he became involved in smuggling. He was jailed in 1745, though he turned King's evidence to gain parole. He relocated to Hambledon, Hampshire and his son Edward Aburrow Jr, also known as "Curry", became a regular Hambledon player.
Slindon Cricket Club was famous in the middle part of the 18th century when it claimed to have the best team in England. It was located at Slindon, a village in the Arun district of Sussex.
Parkstead House, formerly known as Manresa House and Bessborough House, is a neo-classical Palladian villa in Roehampton, London, built in the 1760s. The house and remaining grounds are now Whitelands College, part of the University of Roehampton. It is situated on Holybourne Avenue, off Roehampton Lane, next to the Richmond Park Golf Course in the London Borough of Wandsworth. In 1955 it was designated Grade I on the National Heritage List for England.
Our Lady of Sorrows Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It was built from 1881 to 1882 and designed by Joseph Stanislaus Hansom. It is situated on the corner of the High Street and Clarence Road, backing on to Albert Road, in the centre of the town. It was founded by the Servite Order and is a Grade II listed building.
50°53′13″N0°55′02″W / 50.887058°N 0.917282°W
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