Ashley Park
Ashley Park is a
The bulk of the estate was developed into
History
Former house and owners of the estate
The manor here was recorded in forms similar to and including Asshlees in 1433 in the hands of Joan widow of Robert Constable who held it of the Crown.
Lord Anglesey's widow, Elizabeth married in 1641 Hon. Benjamin Weston one of ten children of the financially astute Lord Treasurer to King James and King Charles, Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland; they continued to live there until she died in 1662.[5] Multiple owners or tenants of short duration followed before it was bought by Field Marshal Viscount Shannon in 1718, who purchased from the estate of Sir Richard Pyne, retired Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (1695-1709); he bought the manorial rights which were until then held separately,[3] and he died at the house, 20 December 1740. Lord Anglesey and Lord Shannon are buried and memorialised in the parish church of Walton-on-Thames.[3] Lord Shannon's heir and only child Grace became by marriage The Countess of Middlesex (d.1763). By her Will and by virtue of her husband dying like her childless in 1769, the estate passed to her cousin Colonel John Stephenson and thereafter his sisters.[3]
The house was inherited by a cousin of these sisters:
As to the final form of the house it is recorded the second Fletcher heir, among the title back-named since the 4th generation Aubrey-Fletcher baronets, "pulled down a great deal of the house at Ashley Park".[7]
Other uses
Former Golf Club
Ashley Park Golf Club appeared in the 1890s but ceased to exist prior to the First World War.[8] The house itself remained in the Sassoon family until it was demolished in 1920.[9]
Subdivision into individual plots
Redevelopment occurred in three phases:
- Early construction of Walton-on-Thames stationin railway history – May 1838 – caused the owners to sell minor land for building for cottages nearest to the railway and along public roads.
- An advent in commuting to the City of London led to clusters of planned houses at the north end of Ashley Road and at the Halfway by 1874 and a major reduction in eastern parkland.[10]
- Executors of the S. Joseph Sassoon estate in the 1920s needed to pay the Crown the newly increased form of detached houses.
Roads in the final phase of sales were not offered to the local authority, limiting pavements. The scale of development has preserved many trees planted on parts which were once variously its golf course, owner's private parkland and scattered centuries-old, diverse woodland. The north-west extreme of the park became the tree-lined public green space which shares its name and in the late 20th century developed a home maintenance superstore and surface car parks. The architecture of houses is mainly inter-war
References
- ^ "Chancery Inquisition post mortem 13 (year of) Henry VI, no. 7". National Archives. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ "Vol XXIX. Surrey Record Society Volumes: Ashley House (Walton-on-Thames) Building Accounts 1602-7 edited by M.E. Blackman, 1977". Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Parishes: Walton on Thames, A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3". 1911. pp. 467–475. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- ^ Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume I, page 132.
- ^ Nichols, p. 192
- ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. Burke's Irish Family Records, Burkes Peerage, page 691 (London)
- ^ George Edward Cokayne, editor, The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes (no date (c. 1900); reprint, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), volume V, page 219. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Baronetage.
- ^ "Ashley Park Golf Club". Golf’s Missing Links. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- ^ "Ashley Park". Matthew Beckett. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- ^ Trigonometrical Survey with the roads, parks and railways, (map) Jason Wyld, 1874. Also republished elsewhere e.g. http://mapco.net/surrey1874/surrey15.htm
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1030138)". National Heritage List for England.
Sources
- Nichols, John (1866). The Herald and genealogist, vol. 3. Ulan Press.