Sanderstead Court was a
country house in
Sanderstead
Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and S ...
, Surrey, England, dating from at least the 17th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1944, and its ruins are
Grade II listed.
History
The building is located next to the
All Saints' Parish Church (c. 1230) in
Sanderstead
Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and S ...
. Sanderstead Court did not appear on the
Tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...
map of 1844.
In 1675, the house was a three-story, red brick mansion comprising a central core with two large wings at either end which were adorned with decorated chimneys. The central portion of the house had a great room, two stories in height, supported by fluted columns with Corinthian capitals; this great room was probably originally constructed by an earlier Atwood in the 16th century. Many of the rooms in Sanderstead Court were panelled with wood. The Atwood shield with a lion rampant between three acorns, the initials “H.A.” (Harman Atwood) and the date “1675” were once were carved in stone over the main entry to Sanderstead Court.
John Preston Neale described the Sanderstead Court's grounds in 1818 by saying, "The site of the Court House is on an eminence, having in front a spacious lawn, skirted by a shrubbery of rich and varied foliage, separated from the adjoining pleasure grounds by a light range of iron palisades. The Park was enlarged by the addition of an Estate, called Place House; and the whole now forms quite a sequestered residence; the grounds, which are extensive, admit the most beautiful prospects: on one side are seen the counties of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire; and on the other, a fine open country for many miles, over all Bansted Downs" .
During World War II, it was used by the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
. Sanderstead Court burned, leaving only the outside walls in 1944. As of 1947, the mansion was still standing but reduced to ruins. Part of it still remains as a
Grade II listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
building.
The grounds around the house have now been built on. These include Cedar Court (three blocks of apartments) and a new Sanderstead Court (also three blocks of apartments).
Behind the house, was a stable building, this was used by Selsdon Park Golf Club as a clubhouse.
But the club later moved to
Selsdon Park Hotel
Selsdon Park Hotel is a luxury hotel located in Selsdon, London, England. It is housed in a country house.
History
Selsdon Park passed through several private owners until 1924 when Allan Doble Sanderson bought the house and the accompanying ...
. The stables then formed part of the New Sanderstead Court apartments.
Owners
In 1346 Justice
Peter Atte Wood (Atte Wode) and his wife Laurencia purchased land there . Some time in the 15th century they moved to Sanderstead and began improving the property. .
The Atwood family were benefactors to the Sanderstead Parish Church which was adjacent to their home, and John Atwood (Atwodde) and his wife, Denys, have a brass plaque in the church dated 1525. John’s grand son,
Nicholas Wood-Atwood, who died in 1586, is identified as “''of Sandersted Corte who served quene Elizabeth sens the second yearr of her rayne''” on his brass in the church . Several secondary sources cite the story that Queen Elizabeth I spent the night at Sanderstead Court while Nicholas Wood was the owner.
Nicholas Wood lost a portion of Sanderstead Court to Sir
John Gresham
Sir John Gresham (1495 – 23 October 1556) was an English merchant, courtier and financier who worked for King Henry VIII of England, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. He was Lord Mayor of London and founded Gresham's School. He was the brot ...
,
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
. The Atwoods regained control of Sanderstead Court, and Nicholas Wood's son, Harman Atwood, Jr., transformed Sanderstead into a more significant country house when he made renovations in 1675. Harman Atwood left Sanderstead Court to his sister Dame Olivia Atwood. Olivia also died and the house passed through a succession of distant Atwood relations until it passed out of the family line entirely in 1759. Later owners included members of the Wigsell family. Edward Morton of C&E Morton (Isle of Dogs - canned food & preserves company) owner (unsure of timeline)
References
Further reading
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*
*''History of All Saint’s Parish Church'', (view online at: https://web.archive.org/web/20060720114938/http://www.sanderstead-parish.org.uk/html/all_saints_history.html)
*
*
*”Parishes: Sanderstead', ''A History of the County of Surrey'': Volume 4 (1912), pp. 237–43. (view online at: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43057).
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{{Tandridge
History of Surrey
Country houses in Surrey
History of the London Borough of Croydon