Stoke Place is a country house in

Stoke Poges Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common. Etymology In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (p ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Patrick Lamb

Patrick Lamb built Stoke Place in 1690. For about 50 years he was Master Cook to several monarchs, including King Charles II,

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, King William, Queen Mary and Queen Anne. He was born in 1650 in the parish of

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His father was Patrick Lamb (1613–1683), the sole merchant of wine, spirits and tobacco in the

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

area. His mother was Martha Russell. Lamb started his career at an early age as pastry assistant and rose rapidly in the kitchen hierarchy. He became very prosperous and wrote a well-known, still extant book, ''Royal Cookery'', whose front page is shown. In 1685 he prepared

's Coronation Feast, which was described in detail by Francis Sandiford in his book. The King was so pleased with his work that he gave him a large number of gold coins. After Patrick had built Stoke Place in 1690, he continued to work as Master Cook for Queen Anne. When he died in 1708, the property appears to have been inherited by his son, William Lamb. In 1764 Field Marshal Sir George Howard bought the estate, which became his family's home for 200 years.

The Howard family

Field Marshal Sir George Howard lived at Stoke Place from 1764 until 1796. He was born in 1718 into a military family. His father was Lieutenant General Thomas Howard. He had a very distinguished military career and in 1763 was appointed Colonel of the 7th (the Queens Own) Regiment of Dragoons. The following year he bought Stoke Place. Howard commissioned

Stiff Leadbetter Stiff Leadbetter (c.1705–18 August 1766) was a British architect and builder, one of the most successful architect–builders of the 1750s and 1760s, working for many leading aristocratic families. Career Leadbetter's career began when he was ...

to add two wings to the house over the next few years.

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

the famous landscape architect, recorded in his account book that from 1765 until 1767 he constructed a lake with islands for which he charged 800 pounds. In 1747 he married Lady Lucy Wentworth and had one daughter Ann Howard. Unfortunately his wife died in 1771 and he married Elizabeth Beckford. While he lived at Stoke Place the King and Queen made numerous visits to the house which were reported in the newspapers of that time. In 1780 his daughter Ann married General Richard Vyse and the couple had one daughter Georgiana and one son

Richard William Howard Vyse Major General Richard William Howard Howard Vyse (25 July 1784 – 8 June 1853) was a British soldier and Egyptologist. He was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Beverley (from 1807 to 1812) and Honiton (from 1812 to 1818). Family life Richard W ...

. Sadly Ann died while giving birth to this child in 1784. Subsequent generations adopted the surname Howard-Vyse. When Sir George Howard died in 1796 he left Stoke Place to this grandson.

(1784-1853) was only 12 when his grandfather died so his inheritance was placed in trust until he came of age. In 1812 he took the additional name of Howard so that his and his heirs from then on had the surname of Howard-Vyse. When he died in 1853 Richard Henry Howard-Vyse (1813-1872) inherited the property. After his death Howard Henry Howard-Vyse (1858-1927) his eldest son became the owner. Following Howard Henry Howard-Vyse's death in 1927, his eldest son

Richard Granville Hylton Howard-Vyse Major General Sir Richard Granville Hylton Howard-Vyse (27 June 1883 – 5 December 1962) was a cavalry officer in the British Army. Howard-Vyse served in the First World War commanding the 10th Cavalry Brigade, and in the Second World War a ...

inherited the house.

was born in 1883. He was educated at Eton and gained a post in the Royal Horse Guards in 1902. He was rapidly promoted and in the First World War he led several important battles. After the war he was awarded the D.S.O and the C.M.G. Richard and his wife lived at Stoke Place until his death in 1962. After this it was sold to South Bucks District Council. It operated as a hotel and conference centre, under lease from the Council and under the management of Novtej and Sarina Dhillon until January 2016 when it was acquired by Cairn Hotel Group.

Gallery

File:Sir George Howard 1770.jpg, Field Marshal Sir George Howard File:Lady Elizabeth Howard.jpg, left, Lady Elizabeth Howard née Beckford, wife of Sir George Howard File:Brigadier General Howard Vyse 1918.jpg, Brigadier General Richard Granville Hylton Howard Vyse

References

External links

Stoke Place Hotel website
{{coord, 51.53083, N, 0.58501, W, region:GB-BKM_type:landmark, display=title Country houses in Buckinghamshire Gardens by Capability Brown