The Mansion House, Old Warden Park is a 19th-century

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

in Bedfordshire, England, designed by

Henry Clutton Henry Clutton (19 March 1819 – 27 June 1893)Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Photograph , http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pis&GScid=1366392&GRid=12186732&PIgrid=12186732&PIcrid=1366392&PIpi=3000944& was an English arc ...

for Joseph Shuttleworth. The house is managed by The Shuttleworth Trust, established in 1944 by Dorothy Clotilda Shuttleworth in memory of her son

Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth (16 July 1909 – 2 August 1940) was a racing motorist, aviator and prolific collector of veteran cars and aircraft. His collection forms the nucleus of the Shuttleworth Collection. He was killed in an air crash ...

(1909–1940).

History

The Old Warden estate was bought in the late 17th century by London merchant Sir Samuel Ongley. It passed down in the Ongley family until 1872, when the 3rd Baron Ongley, in financial difficulties, sold it to Joseph Shuttleworth of the Lincoln engineering firm of

Clayton & Shuttleworth Clayton & Shuttleworth was an engineering company located at Stamp End Works, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The company was established in 1842 when Nathaniel Clayton (1811–1890) formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Joseph Shuttlewo ...

. It thereafter became better known as the Shuttleworth estate. The house which stands today was built in 1875–6 for Joseph Shuttleworth by

, the prominent Victorian architect, to rival the 17th-century Shuttleworth mansion at

Gawthorpe Hall Gawthorpe Hall is an Elizabethan country house on the banks of the River Calder, in Ightenhill, a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley, Lancashire, England. Its estate extends into Padiham, with the Stockbridge Drive entrance situated ther ...

in Lancashire. Faced with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

in the Jacobean style, it is a three-storey rectangular block which replaced an existing house and is a Grade II* listed building. The house has high chimneys and a 100 ft clock tower. Clutton designed many of the interior features such as the carved doors, balustrades, and chimneypieces. Gillows of Lancaster made many of the interior furnishings and there are several examples of 19th-century paintings by prominent artists such as Sir

Frank Dicksee Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee (27 November 1853 – 17 October 1928) was an English Victorian painter and illustrator, best known for his pictures of dramatic literary, historical, and legendary scenes. He also was a noted painter of portr ...

, William Leader,

George Vicat Cole George Vicat Cole (17 April 18336 April 1893) was an English painter. Life Cole was born at Portsmouth, the son of the landscape painter, George Cole (1810–1883), and in his practice followed his father's lead with marked success. He ex ...

and

Frank Holl Francis Montague Holl (London 4 July 1845 – 31 July 1888 London) was an English painter, specializing in somewhat sentimental paintings with a moment from a narrative situation, often drawing on the trends of social realism and the prob ...

. During the Second World War, the house was a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

convalescent home and auxiliary hospital for airmen. It then opened as an agricultural college in 1946. In an adjacent part of the estate, the Swiss Garden is home to 17 listed structures including bridges, the Indian kiosk, and a grotto.

Today

The house is a venue for weddings, corporate events, product launches, conferences, afternoon tea, and as a filming location for period dramas. It is open to the public on selected event dates, including six Sunday airshows and Flying Proms.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansion House Old Warden Park Country houses in Bedfordshire Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Bedfordshire Henry Clutton buildings