Albury Park, Surrey, England

Albury Park is a country park and Grade II* listed historic country house (Albury Park Mansion) in Surrey, England. It covers over 150 acres (0.61 km2); within this area is the old village of Albury, which consists of three or four houses and a church. The River Tillingbourne runs through the grounds.

Pre-1890

The Saxon Old St Peter and St Paul's Church, within the grounds of Albury Park, predates 1066. Albury Park was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Over the centuries the estate has changed hands many times.

The grounds of Albury Park were laid out by John Evelyn, the 17th century diarist and landscape gardener between 1655 and 1677 He lived nearby at Wotton. At this time the park was owned by Henry Howard who later became the 6th Duke of Norfolk. John Evelyn's work included a yew walk, a vineyard, a terrace a quarter of a mile long, and a 160 yard tunnel, through the hill under Silver Wood. Beneath the terrace was a chamber built in imitation of a Roman bath, with niches for sculpture. He also designed a wide canal fed by the River Tillingbourne; it was drained in the early nineteenth century. Many of Evelyn's alterations to the mansion were destroyed in a fire in 1697. At that time the owner was Heneage Finch who later became the first Earl of Aylesford and Solicitor-General to Charles II. Finch rebuilt the mansion.

In 1761, Albury Park was the scene of the coronation banquet of George III.

The house was owned by the immediate Finch family until 1782 when the 4th Earl of Aylesford sold the estate to his brother Captain William Clement Finch, a naval captain who had acquired a fortune by capturing a Spanish ship. Captain Finch wanted to enclose the park so he obtained magistrates' orders in 1784/5 to close and re-route a number of roads through the park. He enclosed the village green, incorporated part of the churchyard into the park grounds and harassed the villagers causing some of them to move away to a nearby hamlet which is now the village of Albury.

In 1800, Captain Finch's widow sold the estate to Samuel Thornton, who made additions to the house, including the north front, to the designs of John Soane. Albury Park was purchased by Charles Wall in 1811, and then by Henry Drummond in 1819. Drummond added a battlemented stone Gothick tower at the north-west corner of the building, and 63 brick chimneys - each to a different design. His architect was Augustus Pugin.Drummond also planted many of the rare trees in the park.

Post-1890

The Duke of Northumberland obtained Albury Park in 1890 and still owns most of the land under the title Albury Estate. The mansion contains 64 different mantelpieces, which were in part the work of Robert Adam. The private areas of the park contain a Roman bath and a cave inspired by the Grotto of Posilippo in Naples.

Like nearby Wotton House, Albury Park was a rambling old manor house much altered over the years — once by Sir John Soane in 1800. Then in 1819, it was acquired by the wealthy banker, politician and religious enthusiast Henry Drummond. When Drummond decided to improve it, he chose the architect who had previously redecorated the transept of the nearby Saxon church of St Peter and St Paul. This was A. W. Pugin. Over several years, Pugin made "major alterations" to the mansion (Albury: A Short Guide 11). He added a Tudor façade, complete with battlements, gables and a grand total of 63 differently decorated chimneys, all copied from Tudor originals. The effect has been found "unconvincing"; indeed, the outside elevations have been criticised as "some of the worst things Pugin ever did" (Nairn and Pevsner 93). To some people, the mansion at Albury Park is "unconvincing" in another way, too. Could Pugin really have been responsible for this rather ordinary-looking building with its splashes of Gothic whimsy (those 63 chimneys, for instance)? Rosemary Hill gives him a loophole by suggesting that the work was mostly done "without Pugin's supervision" by his builder, George Myers (501), but in fact "Myers (1804-75) was the builder whom Pugin employed wherever possible" (Belcher 1: 109, n.9), and who, the architect felt, "perfectly understands my principles of work — & my drawings" (2: 4). Anyway, Albury Park is definitely appreciated by local people, and is now offers exclusive retirement apartments as well as facilities for conferences and other events.

Photo & some text by Jacqueline Bannerjeel

In 1969, the mansion together with 3 acres (12,000 m2) of land, mostly laid to grass, was sold. The building was converted into private flats that were owned by the Country Houses Association until it went into liquidation in 2003.[8] The house was then sold to private owners, who continued to let the flats, while living in the house themselves. The parkland and the John Evelyn gardens remain private.

There is a public footpath that cuts through the estate.

The storms of 1987 and 1990 caused serious damage to parts of the park.

Albury Park was featured in a Channel 4 television series, Country House Rescue in December 2008,[9] and November 2009.

Fly fishing is possible at Albury Park as part of the Albury Estate Fisheries fly fishing club. Park membership is based on a syndicate membership