Rothamsted Manor is a former manor and current

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 ...

, situated in

Harpenden Rural Harpenden Rural is a civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England, to the west of Harpenden parish. The local council is Harpenden Rural Parish Council. It was created on 15 April 1898 when the former Harpenden ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. A Grade I listed building, dating in part from the 17th century, it is now an events venue, while the surrounding estate is home to the Rothamsted Research Centre. 20050828-007-rothamsted

History

The first recorded mention of Rothamsted is in 1212, when Richard de Merston owned lands there. In 1221, a house with a chapel and garden are referred to in a land grant. By 1292 Rothamsted had passed to the Nowell family, passing to the Cresseys by 1355, and to the Bardolphs by 1525. By this time there was a substantial manor house, with at least 16 rooms. In 1623 Edmund Bardolph sold Rothamsted to Anne Wittewronge. The Wittewronges were

calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

s who had fled religious persecution in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

in 1564, and had founded a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

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 ...

. In the 17th century, Sir John Wittewronge, Anne's son, gave the house its Dutch style. The manor remained with the Wittewronge family until 1763, when Thomas Wittewronge died and the manor passed to his cousin John Bennet. He in turn left the manor to John Bennet Lawes, the son of his sister. In 1843,

Sir John Bennet Lawes ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

, the son of the earlier John Bennet Lawes, founded the

Rothamsted Experimental Station Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

, an

agricultural research station An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with f ...

, on the grounds of the manor. In 1931, his descendants decided to sell the estate, and after a successful public appeal, the Experimental Station was able to finance the purchase of the estate in 1934. In 1938 the Harpenden Urban District Council purchased the portion of the estate now known as

Rothamsted Park Rothamsted Park is a public park in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. History The park was formerly part of the Manor of Rothamsted, later Rothamsted estate, owned by Sir John Lawes. He initiated agricultural experiments in 1843, which led to the f ...

from the Experimental Station, in order to provide playing fields and to preserve an important open space. The remainder of the estate is still used by Rothamsted Research, as the Rothamsted Experimental Station is now known. The manor house used to serve as accommodation for staff, but now functions predominantly as a function venue. The New Zealand architect

Frederick Strouts Frederick Strouts (1834 – 18 December 1919) was a notable New Zealand architect. He was born in Hothfield, Kent, England in 1834. He arrived in Lyttelton in 1859 and lived in Christchurch. Notable buildings include Ivey Hall Ivey Hall ...

used Rothamsted Manor as his inspiration for the design of

Ivey Hall Ivey Hall is a historic building on the campus of Lincoln University in New Zealand. It is registered as a Category I structure by Heritage New Zealand. The building was designed by Frederick Strouts and built between 1878 and 1880. Strouts ...

, which was built between 1878 and 1880 and is now the main building of Lincoln University.

References

External links

Web site of Rothamsted Enterprises
{{coord, 51.8059, -0.3693, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Hertfordshire Geography of Hertfordshire Grade I listed buildings in Hertfordshire Grade I listed houses Harpenden Military history of Hertfordshire Y service