Tedworth House | |
---|---|
Location | Tidworth, Wiltshire, England |
Coordinates | 51°13′36″N1°40′05″W / 51.2267°N 1.6681°W |
Built | 1830 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Designated | 24 October 1984 |
Reference no. | 1339397 |
Tedworth House, also known as South Tidworth House, [1] is a 19th-century country house in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. [1]
The house and its grounds were in Hampshire until 1991, when the county boundary was redrawn. [2]
The first house on the site, on the southwest outskirts of South Tidworth, was well established when it was purchased by Thomas Smith in 1650. [3] The estate passed to his grandson, John Smith (1656–1723), who became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and then to his son Thomas who died unmarried soon after in 1728. [4] It was inherited (together with the Vaynol Park estate in Wales) by Thomas Assheton (d.1774) of Ashley Hall, Cheshire, nephew of Captain William Smith, another of John Smith's sons. [5]
Assheton added Smith to his name, and his son Thomas Assheton Smith (1752–1828) was MP for Caernarvonshire and later for Andover. [6] After his death his son, also Thomas (1776–1858), a keen foxhunter who at one time kept 200 hounds, moved here with his horses and hounds. [7] He had the house rebuilt in ornate classical style in 1828–1830. [8] [3] [lower-alpha 1] The new two-storey house, faced in ashlar, has an imposing south front where the three-bay centre has a pediment above four Ionic columns. [1]
It passed to Francis Sloane Stanley, nephew of his widow, who leased it first to Lord Broughton, a cabinet minister, and then from 1871 to Edward Studd, a wealthy indigo planter and racehorse owner, who was the father of the notable cricketer brothers. [9] [3] Studd created a cricket ground and racecourse, then from 1874 until his death in 1876 made the house an evangelical centre. [9] [10]
The estate was acquired in 1877 by Sir John Kelk, 1st Baronet, a civil engineering contractor, who carried out extensive restructuring in 1878–80. [9] It was inherited by Sir John William Kelk, 2nd Baronet in 1886. [3]
The War Office bought the estate in 1897, and in 1905 the house became the official residence of the General in Command of the Salisbury Plain Military District. [11] [12] In 1911 the house stood in 500 acres (200 ha) of grounds, described as a "well wooded park". [12] In the First World War it became the Garrison Officers' Mess for Tidworth Camp, [3] which had been built in the north of the estate, and then accommodation for nurses. [11]
An annual Tidworth Tattoo was held on the polo ground in front of the house from the 1920s until 1972. [3]
During the Second World War the house served as a club for American soldiers, before reverting to its role as nurses' accommodation, then from 1977 was again the Officers' Mess. [11]
In 2011, [3] the house become a recovery centre for service personnel operated by the Help for Heroes charity, [13] which was officially opened in May 2013 by Prince Harry and Prince William. [14] Alterations had included the building of a three-storey accommodation block. [15] In 2021, the recovery centre was said to be run by the Ministry of Defence. [16]
The two-storey stable block west of the house was built in the mid-19th century and forms three sides of a square, with an entrance archway in the east side. It is in red brick and has a 20th-century clock tower. [17]
A single-storey lodge, plain in style but with verandahs, was built at the north entrance to the estate in the early 19th century. [18]
Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Andover, 12 miles (19 km) south of Marlborough, and 13 miles (21 km) north by north-east of Salisbury. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was approximately 10,600.
Ludgershall is a town and civil parish 16 miles (26 km) north east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is on the A342 road between Devizes and Andover. The parish includes Faberstown which is contiguous with Ludgershall, and the hamlet of Biddesden which lies 2 miles (3.2 km) to the east, on the border with Hampshire.
The Studd brothers, Sir John Edward Kynaston, George (GB) and Charles (CT), were Victorian gentleman cricketers, educated at Eton and Cambridge. These three brothers represented Eton in the Eton v Harrow annual needle match and represented Cambridge at cricket and dominated the Cambridge cricket scene in the early 1880s.
Sir John Edward Kynaston Studd, 1st Baronet, known as "JEK", was a British cricketer, businessman and Lord Mayor of London.
Vaynol or Y Faenol is a country estate dating from the Tudor period near Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, North Wales. It has 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of park, farmland, and gardens, with more than thirty listed buildings, surrounded by a wall which is 7 miles (11 km) long. "Y Faenol" means "the manor" and is a mutated form of the Welsh word maenol.
John Smith (1656–1723) of Tedworth House, Hampshire, was an English politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1678 and 1723. He served as Speaker and twice as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Thomas Assheton Smith (the elder) (1752 – 12 May 1828) was an English landowner and all-round sportsman who played a major part in the development of the Welsh slate industry.
Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot, 2nd Baronet was a politician and judge in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for South Warwickshire from 1874 to 1885.
Thomas Assheton Smith (the younger) (2 August 1776 – 9 September 1858) was an English landowner and all-round sportsman who was notable for being one of the outstanding amateur cricketers of the early 19th century. He was a Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1821 to 1837. He was also known for his pioneering work on the design of steam yachts in conjunction with the Scottish marine engineer Robert Napier.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1825 to Wales and its people.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1827 to Wales and its people.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1828 to Wales and its people.
West Dean is a village and civil parish in southeast Wiltshire, England; the Wiltshire/Hampshire border runs through the eastern part of the village. The village is on the River Dun, about 7 miles (11 km) east of Salisbury and the same distance northwest of Romsey.
Brigadier General Herbert William Studd was an English first-class cricketer and soldier.
St Mary's Church in South Tidworth, Wiltshire, England, was built in 1878. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
Tidworth Camp is a military installation at Tidworth in Wiltshire, England. It forms part of the Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford (TidNBul) Garrison.
Robert Scott (c1746-1808) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1780.
John Johnson was an English architect who specialised in religious buildings and churches in the Gothic style. He was regularly employed by the civil engineer Sir John Kelk to design the homes and public buildings Kelk funded. Johnson is best known for his collaboration with Alfred Meeson on designs for Alexandra Palace in north London; his designs for the Church of St Edward the Confessor in Romford, Essex; and for the Grade I listed St Mary's Church in Tidworth, Wiltshire, which was completed the year he died.
Sir John Kelk, 1st Baronet was a British Conservative Party politician, builder and public works contractor.
Thomas Smith, of South Tidworth, Hampshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1709 and 1728.