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Park Place, Berkshire,England
Park Place is a historic Grade II Listed country house and gardens in the civil parish of Remenham in Berkshire, England, set in large grounds above the River Thames near Henley, Oxfordshire.
History
Lord Archibald Hamilton bought the estate in 1719 from Mrs Elizabeth Baker and built a new villa on the site.Frederick, Prince of Wales (father of King George III) bought the house from Lord Archibald in 1738.
The estate was purchased by Henry Seymour Conway in 1752and he made extensive improvements.Humphrey Gainsborough, brother of the artist Thomas Gainsborough, designed Conway's Bridge, built in 1763 at Park Place. This is an interesting rustic arched stone structure close to the River Thames that still carries traffic on the road between Wargrave and Henley-on-Thames.
Henry Hawkins Tremayne visited Park Place in 1785 whilst touring various gardens in southern England. He enthused about the garden, being especially impressed by its subterranean passages, menagerie, temples and "Rustick" bridge. These provided inspiration for his own new garden, now better known as the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
In 1797, following the death of Conway, the estate was bought by James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury who auctioned the estate in 1816 with the main lot (mansion & park) being purchased by Henry Piper Sperling.In 1824 Henry Sperling exchanged the estate for Norbury Park, Surrey, with his cousin Ebenezer Fuller Maitland of Shinfield Park, Berkshire. He erected The Obelisk in memory of Queen Victoria's ascension, also known as the Victoria memorial – originally the late 17th century spire of St. Bride's, Fleet Street, designed by Christopher Wren.
Ebenezer Fuller Maitland died in 1858 at which point Queen Victoria visited with the intention of purchasing the estate for the Prince of Wales; Ebenezer's wife remained in the house until her death in 1865 when their son William Fuller Maitland took over ownership. An attempt to sell by auction was made in 1866, but the eventual sale took place in 1867.The estate was bought at that time by Charles Easton of Whiteknights, Reading – a speculator, purchased with the intention of dividing the then 800-acre estate.
In 1869 the estate was bought by John Noble (Noble's Paints & Varnishes). The Noble family owned the estate until 1947 when John Noble's son Wilson Noble auctioned the property and land off in a number of lots.The house was bought by the Middlesex County Council and in 1965 ownership was transferred to Hillingdon Council.The house was used as a boarding school for children 11 to 16 with health or emotional problems until 1988 when it was sold to private owners.
The house was purchased by a consortium which looked to develop it into a country club, but failed to gain planning permission from Wokingham Council. After use for outside scenes in the filming of the 2007 film St Trinian's, in June 2007 it was sold for to Mike Spink, a developer who specialises in upmarket properties, for £42 million, which made it the most expensive house sale in the United Kingdom outside London.
Spink spent over £100 million restoring the gardens and the main house. In 2011 he sold Park Place to Andrey Borodin for £140 million, making it the most expensive house sale in the United Kingdom The sale included: the main house; three substantial houses; ten tenanted cottages; another eight cottages in need of renovation; a gabled boathouse; a stable block; an agricultural yard; various dilapidated agricultural outbuildings; and two golf courses. Spink retained 300 acres (120 ha) for a development.
From Royal Berkshire History:
The Park Place estate at Remenham was originally a farm called Strouds. It was purchased by Lord Archibald Hamilton, son of the 3rd Duke of Hamilton, from Mrs. Elizabeth Baber in 1719. He had other estates, particularly in Scotland and Ireland, but Park Place became his chief seat in the South and he built a fine mansion on the site of the present house. Hamilton was a Naval officer and former Governor of Jamaica, and was often out of the country. So it is not surprising to find that his wife found herself a lover - in the person of his good friend, Frederick, the Prince of Wales. Around 1737, the Prince bought Park Place from Archibald, although the Hamiltons continued to live there for a few years. Elizabeth, one of the daughters of the house, married Lord Brooke (later Earl of Warwick) there in 1742. The house was the country estate of the Prince and Princess of Wales for another ten years, the period in which they barely spoke to the King and Queen. They raised their family of nine children there, including the future George III and his brother, the Duke of Gloucester. There are paintings of them playing in the park in the Royal Collection. The former planted a cedar tree on the lawn, which is apparently still there.
In 1752, Park Place was sold to Henry Seymour Conway, the brother of the Earl of Hertford. He was a politician and army officer who rose to the rank of field marshal. When not on campaign or in London, he lived in the house with his wife, the widowed Countess of Aylesbury, and their only daughter, the future sculptress, Anne Seymour Damer. The Countess also had an elder daughter who became the Duchess of Richmond. It was during their residence that the murderess, Mary Blandy, used to secretly meet with her lover in the park. Seymour Conway was the best of friends with the great intellect and patron of the arts, Horace Walpole, the Earl of Orford. He was frequently at Park Place, along with many other members of the literati: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (the philosopher), David Garrick (the actor), Elizabeth Farren (the actress and later the Countess of Derby), Kitty Clive (the actress), Elizabeth Montague (the blue stocking) and Lady Hamilton (Nelson's mistress) amongst others. They came, not only for the company, but to see the extraordinary improvements that Seymour Conway had made to the grounds. He created a 'Happy Valley' with lawns running down to the River Thames and a rustic bridge, made of stones from Reading Abbey, to carry the road to Henley over the top. Nearby was a 'Druids' Temple,' a prehistoric cromlech given to him by the people of Jersey where he had been Governor. He planted many unusual trees and shrubs, including the first Lombardy Poplar in Britain; and there was also a lavender farm and a menagerie, and the park was well stocked with deer. Seymour Conway also undertook major rebuilding and extension work at the house - which he considered excessively cold - in the style of Inigo Jones in 1787.
After Seymour Conway's death in 1795, the Park Place estate was purchased by James Harris, the Earl of Malmesbury. He employed Henry Holland to enlarge and remodel the house - including cladding some of it in white tiles - between 1796 and 1799. It was described in 1801 as "composed of brick encased in yellow stucco; and though not externally grand, is highly interesting from the taste and elegance exhibited in the interior". There was a fabulous library consisting largely of his father's collection of books; for the Earl was the son of James Harris the Elder, the author of 'Hermes' (A Philosophical Enquiry concerning Universal Grammar). Lady Malmesbury's bedroom had a very unusual and surprising japanned cabinet with no back that opened onto a a magnificent view across the River to Henley. Malmesbury was a distinguished British diplomat and George IV occasionally visited him at Park Place, as did the Prime Ministers, William Pitt the Younger and George Canning of Easthampstead Park. Canning suggested that King Louis XVIII of France drop in on the Earl in Remenham, but it is not known if he ever did.
The estate was somewhat reduced when the Earl sold it in 28 lots by public auction in 1815. The house and surrounding land was purchased by Henry Piper Spurling for £32,000 but, nine years later, he swapped it with his cousin, Ebenezer Fuller Maitland for Norbury Park in Surrey. Fuller Maitland's main estate was at Stansted Hall in Essex, but he also owned Shinfield Park.
Fuller Maitland's widow lived in the house from 1858; then Charles Easton from 1867; and John Noble, who rebuilt much of the building to what can be seen today, from 1869; and his widow after 1890.
Park Place is a private residence. It is hidden by trees deep within the estate.
Recent History
A new record for Britain’s most expensive home has been set after a Russian billionaire paid £140million for an 18th-century country house.
Park Place, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, was once home to George II’s eldest son, and has been given a makeover worth millions for its mystery new owner.
The mansion, which backs on to the Thames, has a helipad, spa complex, home cinema and high-tech security system.
The deal was sealed by an offshore company in an attempt to keep the buyer’s name a secret, but he is believed to be a Russian oligarch. Sources close to Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea football club, said he was not involved in the sale.
The new owner is understood to have bought UK properties in the past. The record purchase beats the sale of a penthouse at One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, for £136million earlier this year.
Park Place, where the 2007 remake of St Trinian’s was filmed, is set in 200 acres of parkland in the village of Remenham, Berkshire, close to the Oxfordshire border. Until 1998 it was used as a boarding school. The Grade II-listed house, built in the Renaissance style, has at least ten bedrooms complete with en suite bathrooms, and 30,000 sq ft of living space. Its outbuildings include a barrel-vaulted ‘Grecian grotto’ dating from the 18th century, stables and a boathouse. The property once belonged to Frederick, Prince of Wales. It still has its original stone fireplaces, while some windows still bear ornate stained glass. The grounds are said to be haunted by the ghost of Mary Blandy, who was accused of poisoning her father in 1752. Greek shipping magnate John Latsis is among the estate’s previous owners. In 2007 it was bought by a property developer, Mike Spink, for £42million. At the time, it was a record purchase price for a property outside London. Park Place was sold by Knight Frank and Savills. Staff at the estate agents are understood to have been so surprised by the enormous price that they rang up their country house branch to check the decimal point was in the right place.
Room to roam: The stunning home is set in 200 acres of parkland