Botleys Mansion is a
Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
mansion house in the south of
Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, just south of
St Peter's Hospital. The house was built in the 1760s by builders funded by
Joseph Mawbey and to designs by
Kenton Couse
Kenton Couse (1 March 1721 – 10 October 1790) was an English architect. He was apprenticed to Henry Flitcroft whose patronage obtained him posts in the Office of Works. Couse subsequently became Secretary to the Board of Works from 1775 to 1782 ...
. The elevated site once bore a 14th-century
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
seized along with all the other manors of Chertsey from
Chertsey Abbey
Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.
It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same time ...
, a very rich abbey, under
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's
Dissolution of the Monasteries and today much of its land is owned by two hospitals, one public, one private and the local council authority. The remaining mansion and the near park surrounding were used for some decades as a colony hospital and as a private care home. The building is owned and used by a wedding venues company.
It is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The building standing today was built c.1765
as a replacement of an old
manor.
The mansion's ownership was transferred often throughout its history.
The site was purchased by
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
in 1929 and Botley's Colony was established during the 1930s. The plan for the new layout of the new buildings was by the architects J.M. Sheppard & co circa 1935.
The
Metropolitan Asylums Board
The Metropolitan Asylums Board (MAB) was established under Poor Law legislation to deal with London's sick and poor. It was established by the Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 and dissolved in 1930, when its functions were transferred to the London Count ...
was dissolved in 1930 and responsibility of caring for the mentally deficient was passed to the (local government) Councils.
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
decided set up new buildings to house patients while the mansion housed the hospital staff becoming designated from 1932 Botley's Park hospital, which specialised in patients with psychiatric disorders.
The first section of the new hospital was opened on 24 June 1939 by Lady Henriques, wife of then chairman of the Council Sir Philip Henriques.
In September of the same year, many of the hospital's patients were moved to Murray House in nearby
Ottershaw
Ottershaw is a village in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The village developed in the mid-19th century from a number of separate hamlets and became a parish in its own right in 1871.
The ...
so that Botleys could receive wounded soldiers from the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. During this time, the mansion was adapted into a nurses' home.
The mansion was damaged by fire in 1994 and within two years, most of the nurses' home closed down.
It was restored by P&O Developments between 1996 and 1997.
Architecture
In architecture it is
Grade II*
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed, the middle category of listing, which as with the top category (Grade I) applies to less than one third of listed buildings.
It is a
Couse stone-built house in simple
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
without wings, with walls clad in stone
and surrounded by park land and iron gates.
The stone came from
quarries
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...
at
Headington
Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston to the north-west, Cowley to the south, and Barton and Risinghurst to the east. Th ...
, Oxfordshire and
Barrington, Cambridgeshire.
The house is almost cubic in form, and the estate was about two miles in circumference, today about a mile; and approximately square, thus . A double flight of steps leads to the marble-paved entrance hall of the house. The entrance hall ceiling is supported by
Scagliola
Scagliola (from the Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inla ...
columns and
Ionic pilasters
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...
.
[
]
Ownership
In 1319, the original Botleys Mansion was either owned by John de Butteley or John Manory of Chertsey. In 1505, de Butteley's son Thomas gave the mansion to Richard Merland, Thomas Pervoche, and Henry Wykes; soon after though, Wykes became the sole owner of the mansion, then called Botlese Mansion. Ownership of the mansion changed hands several times and was owned by King Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...
in 1541, after he purchased it from Sir Roger Cholmeley
Sir Roger Cholmeley (c. 1485 – 21 June 1565) was Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench from 1552 to 1553. From 1535 to 1545 he was Recorder of London and served in the House of Commons. He is possibly best remembered for his endow ...
. In 1763, the mansion was transferred to Joseph Mawbey, the man responsible for the house's reconstruction. The mansion was passed around after Mawbey's death until it was purchased by Robert Gosling
Robert Cunliffe Gosling DL (15 June 1868 – 8 April 1922), was a Victorian-era footballer who played as a speedy inside forward for the renowned amateur clubs Old Etonians and the Corinthians. He captained the England team on one, possibly tw ...
in 1822. The Gosling family lived in the mansion until 1931, when the Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
purchased the building for £30,000.
The mansion was bought and restored by a company, Bijou Wedding Venues, in 2010 and is used to host weddings and events.
References
;Footnotes
;Bibliography
*
{{Authority control
Country houses in Surrey
Palladian architecture
Grade II* listed buildings in Surrey
Lakes of Surrey