Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a

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 peop ...

located within the civil parish of Wimpole,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, about southwest of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The estate is regularly open to the public and received over 335,000 visitors in 2019. Wimpole is the largest house in Cambridgeshire.

History

Sited close to the great

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earn ...

, Wimpole was listed 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. At that time there was a moated manor house set in a small deer-park. Situated to the north and south of this were three medieval villages: Bennall End, Thresham End and Green End. The estate was held by the Chicheley family for over 250 years, beginning in 1428 with Henry Chichele who was Archbishop of Canterbury. The last of this family to hold the house was the politician

Thomas Chicheley Sir Thomas Chicheley (25 March 1614 – 1 February 1699) of Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire was a politician in England in the seventeenth century who fell from favour in the reign of James II. His name is sometimes spelt as Chichele. Life He was ...

, who was responsible for the "new" house that was completed in 1650. Chicheley established the "formal gardens and architectural landscape". He enjoyed the house for 36 years until, weighed down by financial problems, he was forced to sell to Sir John Cutler.Souden, p. 8 In 1689, Sir John gave it as a marriage settlement to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Charles Robartes, 2nd Earl of Radnor. Lord Radnor extended the formal gardens and dug out fishponds. On the death of Elizabeth in 1697, without an heir, the estate passed to

Edmund Boulter Edmund Boulter (abt 1635 – 1709), was a London merchant and politician. He was the eldest son of John Boulter, a maltster, twice mayor of Abingdon and his wife born Susannah Cutler, sister of Sir John Cutler, 1st Baronet, later Edmund's business ...

, nephew of Sir John Cutler. In 1710 it was in the possession of John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who left it to his daughter Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles upon his death the following year. Upon Henrietta's marriage, in 1713, it became the possession of her husband

Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (2 June 1689 – 16 June 1741), styled Lord Harley between 1711 and 1724, was a British politician, bibliophile, collector and patron of the arts. Background Harley was the only son of Rober ...

. In 1740, Edward sold Wimpole to Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke, in order to pay off his debts. The Earls of Hardwicke held it until it passed into the hands of Thomas Agar-Robartes, 6th Viscount Clifden, and then his son,

Francis Agar-Robartes, 7th Viscount Clifden Francis Gerald Agar-Robartes, 7th Viscount Clifden (14 April 1883 – 15 July 1966), was a British Liberal politician. Clifden was the second but eldest surviving son (his elder brother Captain the Hon. Thomas Agar-Robartes having been killed i ...

Souden, p.40 who, in 1930, departed to Lanhydrock upon the death of his father. On 27 October 1843, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited the hall. They listened to speeches by local politicians including the Earl of Hardwicke, and dinner was served for 26 people. A ball was held in the evening. On 28 October 1843, Her Majesty visited the farm in the morning before departing for London. In 1938, Capt.

George Bambridge George Louis St Clair Bambridge (27 September 1892 – 16 December 1943) was a British diplomat. His wife, Elsie (née Kipling), was the daughter of the author Rudyard Kipling. Life Early life and education George Louis St Clair Bambridge ...

and his wife, Elsie, daughter of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)'' The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, purchased it after having been tenants since 1932.Clelland, Sarah (2017). ''National Trust Book of Scones: 50 Delicious Recipes and Some Curious Crumbs of History''. London: National Trust Books. p.20 They used the inheritance left to them by her father, and the royalties from his books, for the long-needed refurbishment of the house and grounds. During the War, for instance, the house had no running water nor electricity. During her time at Wimpole Hall, Elsie was known to become irritated by members of the public gathering too close to the house for picnics, so much so, she once returned to the offending couple's property and had her own picnic on their lawn. Over the centuries many notable architects have worked on it, including James Gibbs (between 1713 and 1730),

Henry Flitcroft Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a simple background: his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court and he began as a joiner by ...

(around 1749), John Soane (1790s), and H. E. Kendall (1840s). There are decorative schemes by the painter James Thornhill (1721). Carved marble busts of the Roman emperors

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

and Galba were returned to Wimpole in 2014 and placed on the original wooden plinths which had been carved for them by

Rattee and Kett Rattee and Kett was a building contractor based in Cambridge History The business was founded by James Rattee in 1843. After George Kett joined the business in 1848, the partners worked together on the wood carvings for the Palace of Westminster ...

in around 1860.

Interior gallery

File:Cmglee Wimpole Hall Yellow Drawing Room.jpg, The Yellow Drawing Room 1793 by Sir John Soane File:Cmglee Wimpole Hall chapel.jpg, The chapel by James Gibbs with murals by Sir James Thornhill completed 1724 File:Cmglee Wimpole Hall bath.jpg, The Plunge Bath c.1792 by Sir John Soane

The grounds

Wimpole Hall's grounds, enclosed in 1302, were laid out and modified by

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and ga ...

ers such as George London and Henry Wise (1693–1705), Charles Bridgeman (1720s),

Robert Greening The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1740s), "Capability" Brown (1767), and

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

(1801–1809). Bridgeman's formal grand avenue sweeps away from the south front of the house for two and a half miles, in contrast with the remainder of the park which was "naturalised" by Capability Brown. The North Park is particularly attractive with its belts of woodland, gentle rolling hills with individual trees and clumps of trees. The central feature of the North Park is the Gothic Tower and the restored lakes in the valley below. In the grounds are a chain of lakes (1695–1767), St Andrew's church (1749), Wimpole's Folly (the false Gothic Tower; 1768), a home farm (1792), a walled garden (18th century), and a stable block (1851). The " Dutch Garden" beneath the hall was established in 1980 with the rest of the garden completed based upon the mid-19th century

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

Listed buildings

The Wimpole Park Estate contains a number of listed buildings and structures. Wimpole Hall, a neo-classical building, is Grade I listed, and the estate itself is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The entrance gates and piers at the west entrance to the hall are listed Grade II, and the stable block is listed Grade II*. In the gardens, a group of five vases and a sculptural group of Samson and

Philistine The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek ( LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

are listed Grade II, as are the steps to the west of the hall and the wall and railings to the south. On the edge of the ornamental gardens the

Ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

to the north west and to the north are both listed Grade II. The Wimpole's Folly castle on the estate is listed Grade II*. The walled garden and the gardener's cottage on the north side of the walled garden are both listed Grade II, as is the

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

larder to the north east of the hall.

Community use

Like many other estates managed by the

, a range of organised events and less formal access arrangements now use Wimpole Park. In 2013, a national partnership between the Trust and parkrun led to the establishment of a free, weekly timed run around the park, with over 200 participants every Saturday morning. In December 2019, the National Trust farm hosted the trial of a robot, known as Tom, that maps weeds with absolute precision. After the trial, Wimpole Estate expressed their intention to use the battery-powered prototype during the growing season. In November 2020 there was a break-in at Wimpole Hall and twelve items, including vases and busts, were stolen.

Gallery

Image:Wimpole Hall Morris edited.jpg, Wimpole Hall in 1880 Image:Wimpole Hall - geograph.org.uk - 402693.jpg, parterre on the north front Image:Wimpole folly.JPG, Wimpole's Folly, designed in 1751 by Sanderson Miller, it evokes a medieval castle ruin Image:Wimpole hall grounds lake and folly.jpg, The lake and Gothic folly in the grounds of Wimpole Hall Image:Wimpole stables.jpg, Wimpole the stable block designed by

Henry Edward Kendall Henry Edward Kendall (23 March 1776 – 4 January1875) was an English architect. Kendall was a student of Thomas Leverton and possibly of John Nash. His wide-ranging styles included Greek, Italian and Tudor revival. His son, Henry Edward K ...

and erected in 1851 Image:Wimpole Hall glasshouse.jpg, Wimpole glasshouses in the kitchen garden Image:Wimpole Church - geograph.org.uk - 2929.jpg, St Andrew's Church Image:St Andrew's Church, Wimpole - geograph.org.uk - 1149816.jpg, Memorials and tombs in St Andrew's Church, Wimpole Image:St Andrew's Church, Wimpole - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 1149833.jpg, Chancel St Andrew's Church, Wimpole

References

Sources

External links