Tilshead Lodge (now demolished) was a large 18th-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 ...

, southwest of

Tilshead Tilshead () is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire in Southern England, about northwest of the town of Amesbury. It is close to the geographical centre of Salisbury Plain, on the A360 road approximately midway between the vil ...

in Wiltshire, England, and about northwest of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

History

Tilshead Lodge was built in the early 18th century, probably as a sporting lodge. By 1760 there were formal gardens to the south of the house, which was rebuilt around 1800. For most of its life the estate was a training establishment which, until the 19th century, was known as Tilshead Buildings. It is said by local tradition that Charles II stabled his horses there. The Andrews and Dury maps of Wiltshire in 1773 and 1810 show a racing circuit called "Tylshead Race" a mile south of the house, although this was probably built as a training circuit rather than for use in competitive races. The estate was bought by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in two lots, in 1911 and 1933, in order to extend the

Salisbury Plain Training Area Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...

. During

World War 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 opposin ...

the house and grounds were used as an army base. An

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

map published in 1958 shows the house and outbuildings, with extensive military buildings on the chalk downs immediately to its west. The house was demolished in the 1950s and the military buildings had gone by 1982. Several trees remain near the site of the house, including a cedar and an avenue of limes.

Owners and residents

William, Duke of Cumberland, who from the early 1750s till his death in 1765 took a major interest in horse-racing, is known to have resided there, and it is probable that two other members of the 18th-century racing elite, the 2nd Earl of Godolphin and the 2nd Earl of Portmore, both trained their horses at Tilshead Lodge.

Richard Colt Hoare Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (9 December 1758 – 19 May 1838) was an English antiquarian, archaeologist, artist, and traveller of the 18th and 19th centuries, the first major figure in the detailed study ...

is recorded as an owner, and he also mentions the Earl of Godolphin and the

Duke of Montrose Duke of Montrose (named for Montrose, Angus) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created anew in 1707, for James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, great-grandson of famed James Graham, 1st Marquess ...

as residing there. It was amongst the extensive estates owned by Walter Long in 1760. Other records indicate it was bought in 1802 and rebuilt in 1808 by Gorges Lowther. John Long of

Monkton Farleigh Monkton Farleigh is a village and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, on high ground northwest of Bradford-on-Avon, and a similar distance east of the city of Bath. The parish includes the hamlets of Farleigh Wick and Pinckney Green. In th ...

purchased it in 1819. At that time the estate consisted of "the Capital and elegant Mansion, lawns, plantations, farms and other appendages, and above of land".''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' 18 May 1819 John Long sold it in 1830 to George Watson of

Erlestoke Erlestoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain. The village lies about east of Westbury and the same distance southwest of Devizes. Erlestoke Prison, the only prison in Wiltshire, is wit ...

who died in 1841, and he passed it to his son Simon Watson who still owned it when he died in 1902. Among others recorded as living there are Robert Fettiplace, Montague Gore, John Parham, Robert Farquharson and Lady

Violet Bonham Carter Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury, (15 April 1887 – 19 February 1969), known until her marriage as Violet Asquith, was a British politician and diarist. She was the daughter of H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister from 1908 t ...

. Its use as racing stables continued into the 20th century, as it was a training establishment in 1907 when the Tilshead Lodge Estate was auctioned as part of the Erlestoke estate, and as late as 1937 it was being rented by the horse trainer Richmond Chartres Sturdy of Elston House.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tilshead Lodge image at Lost Heritage
18th-century establishments in England Country houses in Wiltshire Demolished buildings and structures in England Houses completed in the 18th century Charles II of England Prince William, Duke of Cumberland