| Henlow Grange | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Bedfordshire | |
| General information | |
| Location | Henlow, Bedfordshire |
| Coordinates | 52°1′55″N0°16′37″W / 52.03194°N 0.27694°W |
| Ordnance Survey | TL1838938381 |
| Year(s) built | 18th century |
Henlow Grange is an English country house in Henlow, Bedfordshire. It is now operated as a spa hotel.
The house chiefly dates from the early 18th century. For generations it was the family seat of the Edwards. [1] [2] By 1869 the manor was in the possession of Rev Henry Addington, who inherited it from his relative Major General Hanbury Raynsford [3] (died 1868). [4] Until the late 19th century, the house and estate passed down through inheritance or marriage between the Edwards, Raynsfords, and Addingtons.
In 1889 it was sold, and after a few owners, by 1908 it was the family home of George Gribble, [5] who later restored Kingston Russell, Dorset, with architect Philip Tilden. [6] George Gribble's wife Norah Royds was a Slade-trained artist, a cousin of Mabel Allington Royds, and her murals still decorate Henlow Grange, notably the Peacock Room. Some of the Gribble children who spent at least part of their childhood at the Grange include Phyllis, later Phyllis Fordham of Ashwell Bury; [7] Vivien Gribble, the engraver and illustrator; Lesley, who died as a young woman, [8] mother of Frederic Seebohm, Baron Seebohm; Major Philip Gribble, a writer and adventurer who married the daughter of Ronald McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun and financed Anna Wolkoff; [9] and Julian Royds Gribble, who won a VC at the end of World War I and died of influenza in a German prison of war camp. Phillip's autobiography describes Henlow Grange as having about 24 bedrooms once his parents had finished their renovations, with dozens of indoor and outdoor servants. [10]
Henlow Grange was the home of several High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire: [11] in 1804 George Edwards; [12] in 1827 George Nigel Raynsford (who changed his name to Edwards upon inheriting in 1809), also the deputy lieutenant; [13] in 1897 George James Gribble; [14] in 1916 Cyril Gurney; [15] and in 1932 Christopher William Gurney. [16]
In 1936 Alan Lennox-Boyd, who represented Mid-Bedfordshire in Parliament from the 1930s until the 1950s, moved his family into the house. [17] Later he became Colonial Secretary and finally Lord Boyd of Merton and was responsible for the granting of independence to most of the former British overseas colonies. In 1950 Lord Boyd of Merton and his family left Henlow Grange, and on their departure the Boyd Memorial field was left to the Parish. [17]
In 1960, Leida Costigan, an Estonian-born beauty specialist, and her husband purchased Henlow Grange for conversion into a health farm. Prior to purchase it had been unoccupied for seven years and had become almost uninhabitable. (Many country houses were demolished at this period.) A large elder tree blocked the main gates and over a thousand window panes were smashed. [18] Following extensive refurbishment, Henlow Grange became a health farm, with an average of six guests at a time. Costigan introduced the use of massage machines [19] to Henlow Grange in 1960. In 1975, Leida's daughter, Anne Kristina Costigan, trained as a therapist at Henlow Grange, providing services to celebrity clients such as Maureen Lipman. [20]
On 17 October 1963, one of Henlow Grange's customers, a 37-year-old man from Santa Barbara named Russell Winterbottom, went missing after leaving the Grange for a run. He had paid in advance for a year's tuition in order to train as a beauty therapist under Leida Costigan. [21] Less than seven weeks later on Monday 2 December, his burnt body was found less than a mile away by the health farm's gardener Arthur Dilley. [22]
A former chambermaid alleged that Jimmy Savile had molested her while she was working at Henlow Grange during 1977. She also reported witnessing her father Jeffrey Mantle, who was later convicted on child sex abuse charges, lead two girls, who he had claimed were Savile's nieces, into Savile's room at Henlow Grange. [23]
In August 1981 Henlow Grange was sold to Bob and Dorothy Purdew, in exchange for payment of Costigan's debts, and became the first acquisition by the Purdews in the chain of health farms which are now branded as Champneys. [24] They built a wing of bedrooms which was named after and opened by Jimmy Savile. [25] The resort suffered a major fire and was rebuilt.
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile was an English media personality and DJ. He hosted the BBC shows Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. During his lifetime, Savile was well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and charitable work. After his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse made against him were investigated, leading the police to conclude that he had been a predatory sex offender and possibly one of Britain's most prolific. There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers ignored or disbelieved. Savile took legal action against some accusers. As a result of the scandal, some of the honours that Savile was awarded during his career were posthumously revoked and episodes of Top of the Pops presented by Savile are no longer repeated. The scandal was also featured on the Netflix documentary series Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story (2022) and the BBC drama series The Reckoning (2023).
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Royal Air Force Henlow or more simply RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), elements of Defence Equipment and Support, and the Signals Museum. It formerly hosted light aircraft flying and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 September 2016 that the base is set to be closed following a consultation. Flying activity ceased in July 2020.
Captain Julian Royds Gribble VC was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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Henlow Stadium is a greyhound track located at Stondon, in the English county of Bedfordshire, slightly to the north of Hitchin. The stadium has a restaurant, a number of bars and a bistro.
Vivien Massie Gribble Doyle-Jones was an English wood engraver who was active at the beginning of the 20th century. She was a pupil of Noel Rooke at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and exhibited regularly with the Society of Wood Engravers.
It emerged in late 2012 that Jimmy Savile, an English media personality who had died the previous year, sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, most of them children but some as old as 75, and most of them female. He had been well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and was generally respected for his charitable work, which associated him with the British monarchy and other individuals of personal power.
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In 1985 Sir Jimmy Savile OBE opened the new Savile wing extension, which added an extra 20 bedrooms and additional treatment rooms ...