Battlesden House was a large manor house situated in parkland, Battlesden Park, close to the hamlet of

Battlesden Battlesden is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is just north of the A5, between Dunstable and Milton Keynes. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 38. Because of its ...

in Bedfordshire, England. A manor house was constructed in the late 16th century and was associated with the family of

Lord Bathurst Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family m ...

before he sold the estate to Sir Gregory Page in 1724. The estate was later inherited by Page's great-nephew Sir

Gregory Page-Turner Sir Gregory Page-Turner, 3rd Baronet (16 February 1748 – 4 January 1805) was a wealthy landowner and politician in late 18th century England, serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Thirsk for 21 years. Gregory Turner ("Page" was added later ...

in 1775. The original house was demolished in 1860 and a new house was built in 1864. This had 40 rooms and a large ballroom and cost £70,000 to build, while the surrounding parkland and lake were created by Sir

Joseph Paxton Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

. However, the owner, Sir Edward Page-Turner did not like the house, preferring to let it to a wealthy tenant before selling the estate to Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford in 1885. The Duke, who already owned two country houses in the county, was interested in the land rather than the building, so he ordered the partial demolition of the house in 1886. Only the ground floor was retained, which was used as a nursing home during the First World War and a maternity home in the Second World War. This was demolished after the war leaving just the Garden House, which is today a private dwelling. Two identical lodges built in a style to match the house, one on the A5 Watling Street and the other on A4012 (now, in 2019, the B5704) near Milton Bryan provided access to the estate, and remain in existence although in private ownership. According to legend, the house was haunted by the ghost of a steward, who would recite the rhyme: :'Milk and water I sold ever, :Weight and measure I gave never :And I shan't rest, never, never.'

References

Country houses in Bedfordshire Gardens in Bedfordshire {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub