Brantridge Park, Balcombe,

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

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 b ...

is a 19th-century country house, formerly one of the lesser royal residences. It is a Grade II listed building.

History

The house and grounds replaced Brantridge farmhouse and farm. Sir Robert Loder acquired the estate in 1849, and by 1874, Brantridge Park mansion had been built. Standing in Brantridge Forest, it was the seat of Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (and brother of Queen Mary), and his wife, Princess Alice of Albany, the last surviving grandchild of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. They leased the house from Lord Cowdray from 1922 onwards. The Princess Beatrice, youngest and last surviving child of Queen Victoria, also lived in Brantridge Park with her niece, Princess Alice, until her death in her sleep here on 26 October 1944, aged 87. Sir Denys Lowson, at one time Lord Mayor of London, lived there for some years after the Athlones. The house was then used as a home for disabled children.

21st century

More recently the house was divided into apartments, and operated as a time-share resort until January 2008. In December 2016, Brantridge Park was bought by the architect

Anders Dahl Anders (or Andreas) Dahl (17 March 1751 in Varnhem, Västergötland – 25 May 1789) was a Swedish botanist and student of Carl Linnaeus. The dahlia flower is named after him. Early life and education Andreas (Anders) Dahl was the son of Chri ...

and his wife, Fiona Bigwood. As of January 2022, Brantridge Park is a hotel.

References

Country houses in West Sussex Royal residences in the United Kingdom Mid Sussex District {{WestSussex-struct-stub