Walden House

Last updated

Walden House
Walden House (geograph 5010153).jpg
Walden House
LocationMarket Hill, Huntingdon
Coordinates 52°19′49″N0°11′02″W / 52.3303°N 0.1838°W / 52.3303; -0.1838 Coordinates: 52°19′49″N0°11′02″W / 52.3303°N 0.1838°W / 52.3303; -0.1838
Built1674
Architectural style(s) Jacobean style
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameWalden House, Market Hill
Designated10 January 1951
Reference no.1128590
Cambridgeshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Cambridgeshire

Walden House is a former municipal structure in Market Hill, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England. The structure, which has formerly the headquarters of Huntingdonshire County Council and has since been converted into private apartments, is a Grade II* listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The building was commissioned by the local member of parliament, Lionel Walden I, in the 1660s. [2] It was designed in the Jacobean style, built in red brick with stone dressings and was completed in 1674. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing the High Street. The central bay contained a doorway with a rectangular fanlight flanked by Doric order pilasters supporting an entablature. The other bays on the ground floor and all the bays on the first floor were fenestrated by sash windows with architraves; below the windows on the first floor there were stone panels carved with swags. There were full height Ionic order pilasters at either end and, at roof level, there was a modillioned cornice and three dormer windows. [1]

Walden hosted a visit by the Duke of York, and was one of his strongest supporters after the duke became King James II in 1685. [3] The house passed to his son, Lionel Walden II, [4] and then to his grandson, Lionel Walden III; the grandson was a supporter of James Francis Edward Stuart and, after the Jacobite rising of 1715, the grandson fled to France where he died. [2] In the late 19th century, the building was acquired by a banker, Henry Charles Geldart. [5]

After Geldart's death in 1912, the house was vacant for two years. In July 1914, at the start of the First World War, it was requisitioned by the War Office for use an officers' mess for the 1st Highland Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery, who were billeted locally. In December 1914, it was re-assigned as a military hospital managed by a Voluntary Aid Detachment. [6] [7] After the war it was decommissioned and became the main offices of Huntingdonshire County Council, with all the key officers including the county surveyor, county accountant and county medical officer all based there. [8] It also served as the main offices of Huntingdon and Peterborough County Council from April 1965 [9] until that county was absorbed by Cambridgeshire County Council in 1974. [10]

The building continued to occupied by staff from Cambridgeshire County Council until 2004, when it was acquired by a developer. It was then refurbished to a design by Haymills Conservation and converted into six private apartments with the first flat being ready for occupation in November 2008. [7] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdonshire</span> Historic county and region of Cambridgeshire, England

Huntingdonshire is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The population was 180,800 at the 2021 Census.

St Ives, Cambridgeshire Human settlement in England

St Ives is a market town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England, 5 miles (8 km) east of Huntingdon and 12 miles (19 km) north-west of Cambridge. St Ives is historically in the historic county in Huntingdonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdon</span> Former county town of Huntingdonshire

Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there in 1599 and became its Member of Parliament (MP) in the 17th century. The former Conservative Prime Minister (1990–1997) John Major served as its MP from 1979 until his retirement in 2001.

Sawtry is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Sawtry lies approximately 8 miles (13 km) north of Huntingdon. Sawtry is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. The village is home to over 6,000 people.

Abbotsley Human settlement in England

Abbotsley is a village and civil parish within the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is three miles from St Neots and 14 miles from the county town of Cambridge. At the time of the 2001 census, the resident population was 425 people living in 164 households. increasing to a population of 446 at the 2011 Census.

Hilton, Cambridgeshire Human settlement in England

Hilton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Hilton lies approximately 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Cambridge. Hilton is situated within Huntingdonshire, which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. The parish adjoins those of Elsworth, Fenstanton, Hemingford Abbots, Hemingford Grey, Papworth Everard and Papworth St Agnes. The Church of England parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene and is a Grade I listed building; it has a peal of six bells. Historically, the village was in Huntingdonshire for over 1,000 years until 1974.

Yelling, Cambridgeshire Human settlement in England

Yelling is a linear village and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire administrative district of Cambridgeshire, England. The village is about 5 miles (8 km) east of St Neots and 6 miles (10 km) south of Huntingdon.

Pidley Human settlement in England

Pidley is a small village in Cambridgeshire, England. Pidley lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Huntingdon. Together with the neighbouring village of Fenton, Pidley forms the civil parish of Pidley cum Fenton. Pidley is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.

Needingworth is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Needingworth lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of Huntingdon and just west of the Prime Meridian. Needingworth is in the civil parish of Holywell-cum-Needingworth. Needingworth is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.The village is attached to Holywell by a single road, connecting the two villages.

Upwood Human settlement in England

Upwood is a village in the non-metropolitan district and historic county of Huntingdonshire, England, although in the administrative county of Cambridgeshire. Upwood lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of Huntingdon, near Bury. Upwood is in the civil parish of Upwood and The Raveleys.

Diddington Human settlement in England

Diddington is a small village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Diddington lies approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Huntingdon, near to Buckden. Diddington is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. Its population at the time of the 2011 census was 139.

Great Gransden Village in Huntingdonshire, England

Great Gransden is a civil parish and village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. In 2001, the parish population was 969, which rose to 1,023 at the 2011 Census. It lies 16 miles (25 km) west of Cambridge and 13 miles (21 km) south of Huntingdon. It contains the oldest post mill in England.

Holywell is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, approximately 6 miles (10 km) east of Huntingdon, in the civil parish of Holywell-cum-Needingworth. It is situated within Huntingdonshire, a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire, and is a historic county of England.

Southoe and Midloe Civil parish in Huntingdonshire District Council, England

Southoe and Midloe is a small civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. The parish lies approximately 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Huntingdon. The parish comprises the small village of Southoe and the even smaller settlement of Midloe. The two settlements are situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.

The historic county of Cambridgeshire, located in the modern-day East of England region, has been represented in Parliament since the 13th century. This article provides the list of constituencies which have formed the parliamentary representation from Cambridgeshire.

The historic county of Huntingdonshire, located in the modern-day East of England region, has been represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the 13th century. This article provides the list of constituencies which have formed the parliamentary representation from Huntingdonshire.

Cromwell Museum Museum in Huntingdon, England

The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, England, is a museum containing collections exploring the life of Oliver Cromwell and to a lesser extent his son Richard Cromwell. Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon in 1599 and lived there for more than half his life. The museum is located in the former grammar school building in which Cromwell received his early education. Founded in 1962, the museum contains significant artefacts, paintings and printed material relating to The Protectorate. The museum is currently run as part of a trust dedicated to Oliver Cromwell's legacy and previously by the Cambridgeshire Libraries, Archives and Information Service, part of Cambridgeshire County Council.

Sir Lionel Walden of Huntingdon was an English Member of Parliament in 1661-1679 and 1685-1687 and Mayor of Huntingdon for 1686–87.

Lionel Walden, of Huntingdon, was an English soldier and Member of Parliament.

Huntingdon Town Hall Municipal building in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England

Huntingdon Town Hall is a municipal structure on Market Hill in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Huntingdon Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Walden House, Market Hill (1128590)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 Meredith, Richard. "The Waldens of Walden House Huntingdon". Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Ferris, John. P. (1983). "Walden, Lionel I (1620-98)". In Henning, B. D. (ed.). The House of Commons 1660-1690. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. ↑ Ferris, John. P. (1983). "Walden, Lionel II (c.1653-1701)". In Henning, B. D. (ed.). The House of Commons 1660-1690. The History of Parliament Trust.
  5. ↑ "Mr Geldart's House, Hemingford". Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  6. ↑ "Huntingdon's Great War History Trail" (PDF). Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Walden House in Huntingdon an attractive prospect full of history". Cambridge Independent. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "Kelly's Directory of Huntingdonshire". 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "No. 45565". The London Gazette . 4 January 1972. p. 105.
  10. ↑ "Cambridgeshire County Council". Recruiter Directory. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  11. ↑ "The History House". The Hunts Post. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.