Boreham House is a

Grade I Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

set in of

Boreham Boreham is a village and civil parish, in Essex, England. The parish is in the City of Chelmsford and Chelmsford Parliament constituency. The village is approximately northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. History Boreham is listed ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, England. Boreham House was built from 1728 to 1733 for Benjamin Hoare and from 1931 to 1997 the House was owned by the Ford Company and used as a College.

Location

The south face of the building fronts the top of Danbury Hill and Little Baddow Common.

Origins

In 1713, the widow of Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, sold part of her estate to Benjamin Hoare, son of Richard Hoare, the wealthy Fleet Street banker. New Hall continued to be occupied by the widow until her death. So, Benjamin Hoare decided to build Boreham House as his new family home. The main building was begun about 1728 and finished in 1733.

Architects

The house was designed by the Scottish architect

James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transi ...

. He built the London churches St Mary-le-Strand and

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

. The physical builder of Boreham House was the architect

Edward Shepherd Edward Shepherd (died 1747) was a prominent London-based English architect and developer in the Georgian period. Architectural work Shepherd worked on the following projects, among others: * Cannons, a house for James Brydges, 1st Duke o ...

, who also built the

Shepherd Market Shepherd Market is a small business-lined precinct featuring two small squares, one with a northern recess in Mayfair, in the West End of London, built up between 1735 and 1746 by Edward Shepherd on the open ground then used for the annual fair ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

. In 1812, Thomas Hooper, a well-known architect in his time, added the grand carriage entrances to the left and right of the main building.

History

Boreham House stayed in the Hoare family until 1785, when William Walford bought it and rented it to Sir Elija Impey a British judge until 1792. Around 1792, Sir John Tyrell, 1st Baronet, bought the House. He was a local

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

. In 1832, his son

Sir John Tyrell, 2nd Baronet Sir John Tyssen Tyrell, 2nd Baronet (21 December 1795 – 19 September 1877), of Boreham House, near Chelmsford, Essex, was an English Conservative Party politician. Family Tyrell was the eldest son of Sir John Tyrell, 1st Baronet and Sarah T ...

inherited Boreham House. He sat in Parliament as Conservative member for Essex. He died in 1877 leaving Boreham House in tail to his grandson Lieutenant Colonel Tufnell Tyrell, sheriff of Essex. The House stayed in the Family until 1931, when

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

bought it. Ford saw Boreham House for the first time when he went to visit

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

in 1930 to see the Passion Play. He went into the English countryside and noticed the very bad conditions of farms and farm buildings which he passed. He bought Boreham House on 2 May 1931 to show that British agriculture could prosper and make people lives easier. Ford developed this new venture under a new company called Fordson Estate Limited. In 1937, the house, with a parcel of the land, was donated to trustees of the Henry Ford Institute of Agricultural Engineering. Boreham House started to be a college in 1952, when it became the main training centre for the Ford Tractor Operation in Europe. The house also served as the temporary home for the

National College of Agricultural Engineering The National College of Agricultural Engineering was opened in 1962. It was closed as a separate entity at the end of 2007 and the land sold for housing. Foundation In February 1959, the Minister of Education of the United Kingdom announced ...

in 1962. This moved to

Silsoe Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. The village used to be on the main A6 road but a bypass around the village was opened in 1981 at a cost of £1.6m. History Origin The village name is derived from the Danish wo ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

as Silsoe College, later joining with

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

. The Silsoe campus closed at the end of 2007. In 1997, the house reverted to single-family occupation. Since 2008 it has been used as a wedding venue and corporate centre.

References

*'Boreham House - Boreham a History by Peter Busher' {{Authority control Grade I listed buildings in Essex Grade I listed houses Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Essex James Gibbs buildings Houses completed in 1733 Boreham Buildings and structures in the City of Chelmsford