Stansted Park
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Stansted Park (including Stansted House) is an
Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
country house in the parish of Stoughton,
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
, England. It is near the city of
Chichester Chichester () is a 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. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
, and also the
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
of
Rowlands Castle Rowland's Castle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Havant, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border. The focal point of the village is the village green which i ...
to the west over the border in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. The house is set in the park, with woodland and open land grazed by deer. Stansted House has Carolean revival decor and is listed Grade II*. The surrounding area, Stansted Park, is also listed Grade II*.


History

The area that is now the Park is mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, as being included in the Hundred of Bourne. Some sources suggest that at some time before 1094, a hunting lodge was built for Roger de Montgomery, first Earl of Arundel. The historic listing summary adds that "Stansted probably originated as a park within the Royal Forest of Bere Porchester, whose over-lords were the earls of Arundel. It was recorded as in use for hunting and for timber production in the medieval period, while a survey of buildings of the Manor of Stansted in 1327 included a hall and a chapel". In 1177, Henry II visited Stansted. Two other monarchs visited in the next hundred years,
Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
hunted boar here in 1194 and
John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
visited in both 1214 and 1215. The next monarch to arrive here was
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
, in 1552. John, Lord Lumley built a house on the site which was visited by Queen Elizabeth on 23 August 1591. Robert Cecil described this house as "fayre, well builte without and not meanly furnished within, but want of water is a greate inconvenience." A new house was built on the present site, starting in 1686, for Richard Lumley, probably to a design by William Talman. The historic listing states that Richard laid out "formal gardens, radiating avenues and parkland on its east side. He probably also cut the central avenue through Stansted Forest to the west". The property was inherited in 1776 by 2nd Earl of Halifax 1766; he also built the nearby folly tower, now known as
Racton Monument Racton Monument (known locally as Racton Ruin) is a folly on a hill in Racton, West Sussex, England with views over Chichester Harbour and to the Isle of Wight. It was commissioned by the 2nd Earl of Halifax, either as a summerhouse for the near ...
. After his death in 1771, the estate was inherited by his daughter Anna Donaldson. Seven years later,
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
and Queen Charlotte (
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
) visited; the property was later sold. Subsequent owners made modifications to the building and the grounds, most significantly in 1782. The main block was destroyed by fire in 1900 but the stables and the service wing were not affected; the block was rebuilt "in the style of Wren", on the exact footprint of the previous building, in 1903. The architect was
Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...
. It was purchased by
Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough, (27 October 1880 – 10 March 1956), was an Anglo-Irish businessman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the fourteenth since Canadian Confederation. Born and educated in E ...
, in 1924. During
WW II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the house sheltered orphans from Southsea. In 1939,
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
, then the consort of
George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
, spent one night here and in 1962,
Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...
visited Stansted House and went for a swim. Since 1983 the House and Estate have been owned by Stansted Park Foundation, a charitable trust charged with the preservation of the estate for the benefit of the nation. The trust was set up by
Frederick Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough Frederick Edward Neuflize "Eric" Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough DL (29 March 1913 – 5 December 1993), styled Viscount Duncannon from 1920 to 1956, was a British diplomat, businessman, playwright, Conservative politician, and peer. Early l ...
, who died without a male heir in 1993. An illustrated history of Stansted Park from the 12th century is included in Lord Bessborough's book ''The Enchanted Forest''. The park is crossed from west to east by the
Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Sus ...
long-distance footpath. In early January 2021, the Foundation issued this statement: "Due to funding and staffing issues Stansted Park House, the Arboretum and surrounding Grounds, including the walled garden and maze will now remain shut to the public until Easter 2021. The walled garden playground has now been removed as the structure fell into disrepair and was deemed unsafe. There are currently no plans to reinstall new apparatus..." The Foundation's Web site was listing some planned events, starting in May 2021.


Chapel of St Paul

The chapel was built by
Lewis Way Lewis Way (1772–1840) was an English barrister and churchman, noted for his Christian outreach to the Jewish people. He is not to be confused with his grandfather, also called Lewis Way, a director of the South Sea Company. Life Lewis Way was b ...
in 1812–16, as part of his mission to convert the Jews. It is Grade I listed.Church of St Paul, Stoughton
British Listed Buildings
It was an inspiration to the poet
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...
when he was writing
The Eve of St. Agnes ''The Eve of St. Agnes'' is a Romantic narrative poem of 42 Spenserian stanzas set in the Middle Ages. It was written by John Keats in 1819 and published in 1820. The poem was considered by many of Keats's contemporaries and the succeeding ...
. The church was restored by
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (1887 in Cambridge – 21 June 1959 in Westminster, London) was a British architect, writer and musician. Life Harry Stuart Goodhart was born on 29 May 1887 in Cambridge, England. He added the additional name Rende ...
in 1926. The Park's Web site adds some specifics: "It was consecrated on 25th January 1819 ndcontains a unique East window with Christian/Jewish iconography and Hebrew Tablets of the Ten commandments." During the 1926 restoration, the sanctuary was re-decorated, with inspiration from
Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Co ...
, in Paris. During
WW II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the chapel was damaged but it was restored in 1947. For some months in 2020, the chapel was open for "a short service of Prayer", once a month; as of mid January 2021, this service was not being offered. The Park's Web site stated that restoration of the chapel had recently been completed, "supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund", but does not specify the date.


Light Railway

The Stansted Park Light Railway () is a gauge miniature railway on the grounds of Stansted House. The railway opened on Easter 2005, and is designed to attract more visitors to the House, which is located in a forest near
Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...
. The railway uses
locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the u ...
and
carriages A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
designed and built by
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
volunteers. The railway is rapidly expanding. The new extension is now complete, and incorporates a 12-foot span
girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...
. A new locomotive shed is also nearly finished.


Early cricket

In June 1741 a
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
between
Slindon Cricket Club Slindon Cricket Club was famous in the middle part of the 18th century when it claimed to have the best team in England. It was located at Slindon, a village in the Arun district of Sussex. Cricket in the 18th century was funded by gambling i ...
and Portsmouth Cricket Club was played in the park.McCann, p. 18. It is the earliest report of a match involving the Slindon team. The team's patron
Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmo ...
, wrote in a letter to his friend
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extende ...
, that "above 5,000 people" were present.Maun, p. 104. This is the only time that Stansted Park is mentioned in surviving cricket records. The cricket club still plays fixtures during the summer months.


References


Bibliography

* * * * Lewis Way - A Biography by Geoffrey Henderson, 2015


External links

*
Stansted Park Light Railway
{{Authority control Cricket in Sussex English cricket venues in the 18th century Country houses in West Sussex Gardens in West Sussex Chichester Historic house museums in West Sussex Historic house museums in Hampshire East Hampshire District