Baylis House is a Grade I listed building currently operating as a hotel and business centre in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

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. It is representative of the plain Dutch style that was popular in England after post-Civil war

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of the English monarchy in 1660. Baylis House 003

Little is known of the original building that stood on the site of the current house. In the 16th century it was recorded as the 'manor of Bailis'. It formed part of the estate of Abraham Sybells at his death in 1501. The house, which was also known as "Whitmarsh" was excepted from a 1689 settlement between Dr. Sancroft,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, and Sir Robert Gayer and sold to Dr. Gregory Hascard, who had become

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in 1684. Hascard rebuilt the house at the end of the 17th century. The designer is uncertain, but is likely to have been John James of Greenwich,

Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

or Hascard himself. The doctor owned Baylis House from the date of its completion in 1696 to his death in 1708 when Dr Henry Godolphin took ownership. John James added a third storey in 1726 for Thomas Rowland, the Clerk of works to

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. James continued extension and alteration work throughout the following decade, especially from 1733 to 1735 when Dr. Henry Godolphin, brother of

Sidney Godolphin Sidney Godolphin is the name of: * Sidney Godolphin (colonel) (1652–1732), Member of Parliament for fifty years * Sidney Godolphin (poet) (1610–1643), English poet * Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (c. 1640–1712), leading British poli ...

(Queen Anne's Lord High Treasurer) took ownership. He is credited with building the east wing stable block. The latter is now Godolphin Court, which has also been designated a Grade I listed building. The Osborne family acquired the house in 1733, and tenants from this time included the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, and Alexander Wedderburn, Baron Loughborough. The

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died in the house in 1805. From 1830 to 1907, Baylis House became the Saint James Roman Catholic School under William and James Butt. The school had previously operated from Richmond but moved due to size restrictions. The school farmed about and ran its own dairy, bakery and brewery. Even though these served most of the school's needs, it went bankrupt in 1907. George Godolphin Osborne, the tenth Duke of Leeds, sold it to a Mr Woods, who turned it into the Food Reform Establishment. The house began to decline, and this did not change when it was operated as a hotel between 1924 and 1936, even though a swimming pool was added. Mr J B Whaley was the tenant at this time. To prevent further deterioration, the house was bought by

Slough Borough Council Slough Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Slough, in Berkshire, England. Slough is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonial county, with no administ ...

in 1939. Planned improvements were postponed with the onset of war in 1939. It became the headquarters of

Air Raid Precautions Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s an ...

. Post war changes included development of the grounds as a sports and recreation centre. Urwick Orr and Partners (now the Urwick Group) leased Baylis House from 1958. It became a centre for management training, and was an incubator for the first wave of experts involved in the introduction and development of computers into the business world. A fire in 1954 forced the removal of the 1726 third storey.

References

{{coord , 51.5184, -0.6041, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed buildings in Berkshire Buildings and structures in Slough