Gennings Park (sometimes spelt Jennings, and referred to as Gennings House or Gennings Court), located on Lughorse Lane near

Hunton, Kent Hunton is a civil parish and village near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. Toponomy The village's first recorded name was ''Huntindone'' in the eleventh century. Its name comes from Old English ''hunta'' 'huntsman' and ''dun'' 'hill' - ' ...

, is a

Grade II listed 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 ...

house which was built between 1727 and 1745. The home was listed on 5 December 1984 (English Heritage Legacy ID: 432086). The document indicates that the house "possibly incorporating part of a late C16 or C17 house" was extensively modified in the subsequent years, and was "thought to be the setting for '

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'. (Mr. Mattingley, unpublished work on Gennings)". That assumption is not supported by other sources, however.

Occupants

In the mid to late 18th century, the house was purchased by Sir Walter Roberts, 6th Bt. His only child, Jane Roberts, inherited the house upon his death. Jane Roberts married

George Beauclerk, 3rd Duke of St Albans George Beauclerk, 3rd Duke of St Albans (25 June 1730 – 1 February 1786), styled Earl of Burford until 1751, was a British peer. Early life He was the son of Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans, and his wife, Lucy Werden. His paternal ...

(a great-grandson of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

). The 3rd Duke and Duchess of St Albans had no children, and the Duchess died in 1778. In 1871 the Liberal politician

Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 190 ...

inherited the estate from his uncle, Henry Bannerman, and the Campbell-Bannermans kept the house as their country residence until 1887. (In fact, Campbell-Bannerman inherited the entire estate of Hunton Court Lodge but did not occupy the mansion until the 1894 death of the aunt who was living there. He and his wife used Gennings Park during some of that time.) Upon his death, his nephew James Campbell-Bannerman inherited the estate in 1908. Following the Campbell-Bannermans' departure in 1887, the house was lived in by

John Bazley White John Bazley White (1848 – 9 February 1927) was an English cement manufacturer and Conservative Party politician. White was born at Balham, the son of John Bazley White and his wife Mary. His father was a cement maker, who had pioneered the use ...

, who lived in the house until at least 1893. In 1895 the occupants of the house were Conservative MP and distiller Sir

Frederick Seager Hunt Sir Frederick Seager Hunt, 1st Baronet (27 April 1838 – 21 January 1904) was a British Conservative Party politician, and a prominent distiller. Background and education Hunt was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, the second son of James Edward H ...

, 1st Bt and his wife. The house was purchased in 1909 by Ellen Stager, wife of Arthur Butler, 4th Marquess of Ormonde, who at the time were known as Lord and Lady Arthur Butler. Lord Arthur was the younger brother and heir to

James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde James Edward William Theobald Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde, (5 October 1844 – 26 October 1919), styled Earl of Ossory until 1854, was an Irish nobleman and member of the Butler dynasty. Family He was the son of John Butler, 2nd Marquess of ...

and Lady Arthur, daughter of General

Anson Stager Anson Stager (April 20, 1825 - March 26, 1885) was the co-founder of Western Union, the first president of Western Electric Manufacturing Company and a Union Army officer, where he was head of the Military Telegraph Department during the Ameri ...

, was an American heiress who had an inheritance of $1,000,000. They continued to live at Gennings after Lord Arthur inherited the title Marquess of Ormonde. Lord Ormonde died in 1943, and Lady Ormonde lived at Gennings with her son, Lord Arthur (who would later become

Arthur Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde James Arthur Norman Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde, CVO, MC (25 April 1893 – 1971) was a British peer. He was the son of James Arthur Wellington Foley Butler, 4th Marquess of Ormonde. Early life James Arthur Norman Butler was born on 25 Apri ...

in 1949), his wife Jesse and their daughter, Lady Martha, until her death in 1951. In 1955 their second son,

, sold Gennings and much of its contents. The house was reported as sold by ''Country Life'' on 28 April 1955, and described as 'a house with 20 bedrooms, a period farm-house and model farm, 16 cottages and 173 acres,'.

References

{{coord, 51.22676, 0.46931, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1745 establishments in England Houses completed in 1745 Grade II listed buildings in Kent Grade II listed houses Henry Campbell-Bannerman Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom