Wrotham Park
Wrotham Park | |
---|---|
Neo-Palladian | |
Location | Near Potters Bar, Hertfordshire |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°40′38″N 0°11′48″W / 51.67722°N 0.19667°W |
Completed | 1754 |
Destroyed | 1883 (fire), then rebuilt |
Client | Admiral John Byng |
Owner | Robert Byng |
Grounds | 2,500 acres |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Isaac Ware |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 18 bedrooms |
Website | |
wrothampark |
Wrotham Park (pronounced
The house is listed as a
History
Originally part of an estate known as Pinchbank (also Birchbank), first recorded in Middlesex in 1310 and owned in the 17th and early 18th centuries by the Howkins family, the property passed to Thomas Reynolds, a director of the South Sea Company, who renamed the estate Strangeways. His son, Francis, sold the property to Admiral John Byng who had the house rebuilt by Isaac Ware in 1754.[4]
Admiral John Byng changed the name of the house to Wrotham Park in honour of the original family home in Wrotham, Kent.[5] Byng never had an opportunity to live in retirement at Wrotham. Following his inadequately equipped expedition to relieve Menorca from the French during the Seven Years' War, he was court martialled and executed in 1757. This event was satirised by Voltaire in his novel Candide. In Portsmouth, Candide witnesses the execution of an officer by firing squad; and is told that "in this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others" (pour encourager les autres).[4]
The house was inherited by John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford in 1847 and passed to his son, George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, on the first earl's death in 1860.[4] A disastrous fire in 1883 burned slowly enough to permit retrieval of the contents of the house, but gutted it.[4] The house was rebuilt exactly as it was and still remains in the hands of the Byng family.[6]
Filming location
Wrotham Park has often been used as a filming location including: Hart to Hart;[
Social events
Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece and the former Marie-Chantal Miller had a pre-wedding reception attended by approximately 1,300 guests two days before their 1 July 1995 wedding.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Woods, Judith (25 January 2002). "Palladian marvel outshines a cast of stars". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England, "Wrotham Park and stable block (1174715)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 March 2018
- ^ Historic England, "Wrotham Park (1000254)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 March 2018
- ^ a b c d Wrotham Park, Barnet Hertfordshire Genealogy
- ^ 'South Mimms: Other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 285–290
- ^ History, Wrotham Park.
- ^ IMDB Ghost in the Machine https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0611641/locations
- ^ "Where was King Ralph filmed?". British Film Locations. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Jane Eyre". The Castles and Manor Houses of Cinema's Greatest Period Films. Architectural Digest. January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ Glancey, Jonathan (16 September 2011). "Constructive criticism: the week in architecture". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly Poirot, 27 May 2014
- ^ IT, SCEEN. "The Gentlemen at Wrotham Park - filming location". www.sceen-it.com. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ Fecou, Louie (21 April 2023). "Where was the Netflix series The Diplomat filmed?". Ready Steady Cut. Retrieved 22 April 2023.