Pennyhill Park Hotel is a 19th-century country house hotel and spa in Bagshot, Surrey in the south east of England.

History

The first historical reference to Pennyhill Park's land relates to when the site was used as a warning beacon point in the national defence against the Spanish Armada in 1588. The construction of the country house itself was started in 1849 by James Hodges, an accomplished civil engineer who would later manage the construction of Montreal's Victoria Bridge, the longest bridge in the world at the time. The buildings were improved in the 1880s to add in an

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very lar ...

, and again in 1903 with Bath stonework. In 1935, then-owner Colin Goldsworthy Heywood developed the terracing of its formal gardens after being impressed by similar work at the

Château de Villandry The Château de Villandry is a grand country house located in Villandry, in the ''département'' of Indre-et-Loire, France. It is especially known for its beautiful gardens. History The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as ' ...

in France. The British government used Pennyhill Park's grounds and its accommodation buildings as lodging for military personnel in World War I (the land is five miles (8 km) from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst). This was mainly for commissioned officers. The country house opened its doors as a hotel in 1972.

The residents

James Hodges (1814-1879) was a civil engineer and built Pennyhill in about 1849. He was born in 1814 in

Queenborough Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England. Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where it joins the R ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. At an early age he became an apprentice in the building industry and soon turned to railway construction. He participated in ten important projects and became works manager of the South-Eastern Railway Company. After that, as Sir Samuel Morton Peto’s agent, he built suspension bridges at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, Needham, and

Somerleyton Somerleyton is a village and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of Lowestoft and south-west of Great Yarmouth in the East Suffolk district. The village is closely associated with Somerleyto ...

, accepted a post as engineer, and then undertook the construction of of track for the Great Northern Railway. In 1840 he married Louisa Humphrey (1814-1862) who was the daughter of Thomas Humphrey a coach builder from Ashford, Kent. The couple had no children. James’s brother John Oliver Hodges who was also a civil engineer married Louisa’s sister Harriet Humphrey in 1848 and it seems that these two families had a close association. In 1853 James and Louisa went to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and for the next seven years James directed the gigantic task of building a bridge (Victoria Bridge) over the St Lawrence near

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. He returned to England in 1860 but unfortunately Louisa died two years later in 1862. James went back to

for some time and during this time his brother John Oliver Hodges and his family lived at Pennyhill. James died in 1879 and the house was sold. It was bought by Louis Schott. Louis Schott (1836-1901) was born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He came from a family of merchants who specialised in English tulle and lace. He formed a partnership with Louis Floersheim and established a merchant company called Louis Floersheim and Co. They both came to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and in the 1860s and gained naturalisation. In 1868 they went into business with Julian Beer and formed a banking company called Beer and Co. Louis did not marry. He remained a bachelor all of his life. When he died in 1901 he appears to have left his property to Louis Floersheim. Julia Floersheim nee Baddeley

Advertisement for Thomas Goldsworthy and Sons 1920

Louis Floersheim (1834-1917) was born in

. After he came to England with his business partner Louis Schott he married in 1870 Julia Baddeley (1848-1931) daughter of Lieutenant Colonel John Fraser Baddeley. The couple lived in

for many years. When they lived at Pennyhill Park after 1901 they retained their

accommodation. He extended the house in 1903 in neo-Tudor style using Bath stone. Louis died in 1917 and Julia continued to live at the house until about 1922. From 1922 Sir Lindsley Byron Peters (1867-1939) resided at Pennyhill Park. He was born in 1867 in Kent. His father was Gordon Donaldson Peters who founded the firm G. D Peters which was an engineering firm. He was employed in the family company and eventually became a partner and director. He was also a manager of a company called Consolidated Brake and Engineering Co. In 1898 he married Jessie Emmeline Halsted (1871-1952) who was the daughter of Henry Halsted of

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

who owned an iron foundry. The couple had three children. Lord and Lady Peters lived at Pennyhill Park until about 1933. It was then sold and purchased by Colin Goldsworthy Heywood. Colin Goldsworthy Heywood (1888-1971) was born in 1888 in Sale Cheshire. He was the son of Frank Heywood who was a wealthy merchant in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Colin joined the firm of Thomas Goldsworthy and Sons which was an emery cloth and paper manufacturing company in his mother’s family. An advertisement for the company is shown. He became a Director and eventually the Chairman and amassed a large fortune. He did not marry and remained a bachelor all of his life. He lived for about forty years at Pennyhill Park and during that time terraced the formal gardens, the inspiration of which was derived from Chateau de Villandry in Tours.

Location

Pennyhill Park is located in Bagshot, Surrey in the south east of England.

References

External links

Pennyhill Park site
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