Stoke Park Pavilions
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Stoke Park Pavilions are all that remain of the stately house and grounds of Stoke Park near the village of
Stoke Bruerne Stoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 373. History Stoke Brue ...
, Northamptonshire, England, approximately south of Northampton and north of Milton Keynes.


Stoke Park

Stoke Park is
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
grade II in
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
's '' Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England'' and contains two listed buildings, the pavilions, of '' 'outstanding architectural or historic interest' ''. Surrounding farmland contains areas of late parliamentary
enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
,
ridge and furrow Ridge and furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open-field system. It is also known as rig (or rigg) and f ...
earthworks and four model farms built by the 4th
Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...
. The pavilions are the two wings of the former stately house, east and west. The house is long since gone but the pavilions remain as fine examples of the
Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
style. Although formerly a single landholding, the park has now been divided between several properties, which include a large area of farmland, as well as a number of private residences accommodated within several converted farm and estate buildings as well as the remaining pavilions of the great house of Stoke Park. Access to the park is restricted. One footpath, which runs from the village at the bottom of Bridge Road, crosses the farmland to the south west of the village, and runs through the park and then continues to Alderton to the south west. Stoke Park Lane runs southwards from
Shutlanger Shutlanger is a small village and civil parish in south Northamptonshire, England. The village is east of Towcester and south of Northampton. The village's name means 'Shuttle sloping-wood', maybe alluding to where transports, bolts or bars ...
Road, through the farmland to the park, passing through Stoke Park Woods and approaches the group of buildings surrounding the pavilions at the heart of the Park. Stoke Park preserves the remains of a formal designed landscape, built on a late medieval hunting park. Much of the character of the parkland has sadly been lost since the Second World War, largely as a result of changing agricultural use and felling of trees. An avenue of trees running along the drive (Stoke Park Lane) from Stoke Park Woods to the house is on the alignment of an avenue recorded on an early 18th-century map of the area. The construction of large, modern agricultural buildings in the parkland to the north east of the house represents an unfortunate intrusion to the historic character of the area, but may be regarded as a necessary development for its continuing agricultural use. There is currently some controversial use of part of Stoke Park Wood, just outside the area, for '
paintball Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy a ...
' and clay pigeon shooting games, with subsequent impact from increased traffic on Stoke Park Road and noise from participants. The area of Stoke Bruene and the grounds of the park became property of the Crown when the Longueville family were forced to surrender it to Henry VIII.


Stoke Park – the original house

Stoke park was the first English country house to display a Palladian plan: a central house with balancing pavilions linked by
colonnades In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curve ...
or screen walls. Palladio was the 16th-century Italian architect on whose work the design was based. The Palladian style became a standard type of country house construction in 18th century England under
Lord Burlington Earl of Burlington is a title that has been created twice, the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 and the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1831. Since 1858, Earl of Burlington has been a courtesy title used by the duk ...
. However, 80 years earlier Stoke Park in Northamptonshire was the first example, believed to have been constructed by Inigo Jones. The house '' ca.''1700 is pictured in Colen Campbell's (sic) ''
Vitruvius Britannicus Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectura ...
'' (meaning British Architect).
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
granted the park and
Manor House A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
to Sir Francis Crane, director and founder of the
Mortlake Tapestry Works The Mortlake Tapestry Works was established alongside the River Thames at Mortlake, then outside, but now on the edge of west London, in 1619 by Sir Francis Crane. It produced lighter, if vastly more expensive, decoration for rooms than the pre ...
established on the estate of John Dee, the mathematician, at Mortlake, in 1619, later the site of the Queen's Head pub. Crane was made Secretary to Charles I when he was
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
and was
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ed in 1617. With grants of land, money and high prices charged for tapestries, Crane became very wealthy. He was granted '' ca.''400 acres of Stoke Bruerne in 1629. Crane brought the design of the house from Italy and had assistance from Inigo Jones to build it.


The pavilions

The surviving portions of the house built by Robert Crane in the late 1620s, consist of two pavilions and remains of a curving
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
, form the centrepiece of the park, with an attractive terraced 17th-century garden with views across the parkland to the south. The pavilions represent some of the earliest Palladian structures built in England and, despite some remodelling in the 18th century and modern conversion for residential use of the eastern pavilion, they are of great historic and architectural significance. The associated house was destroyed by fire in the late 19th century, although details of its design have survived in drawings from the 18th century. It was almost immediately replaced with a large
Neo-Jacobean The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...
building, which, in turn was largely demolished in the late 1940s following its use by the army during the Second World War. The standing
Neo-Jacobean The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...
building is the service wing of this house, now forming a discrete private dwelling. The structures of a home farm form a group of interesting historic buildings surrounding the pavilions, but are largely screened from it by mature trees, garden hedges and the bulk of the service wing of the late 19th-century house. They include a stableblock, a 17th-century dovecot, barns, farmhouse and several former tied cottages (ie owned by the farm for use by farmworkers). All are now used for residential purposes, which has involved some loss of historic character from the agricultural structures. As a group of buildings, they have a particularly interesting mixture of historic architectural detailing in their construction from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The west pavilion contained the library, the east the chapel. The gardens have a statue of Sir George Cooke of
Harefield Harefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, northwest of Charing Cross near Greater London's boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north. The population at the 2011 Census was 7,399. Haref ...
, d.1740, probably by
Henry Cheere Sir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet (1703 – 15 January 1781) was a renowned English sculptor and monumental mason.George Edward Cokayne, ed., ''The Complete Baronetage'', 5 volumes (no date, c.1900); reprint, (Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), ...
, with a pose derived from James Cragg by Guelfi at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
.


Public access

The pavilions and park are currently private property and only occasionally accessible to the public from the narrow road between the villages of
Stoke Bruerne Stoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 373. History Stoke Brue ...
and Shutlanger opposite the turn north to
Blisworth Blisworth is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire, England. The West Coast Main Line, from London Euston to Manchester and Scotland, runs alongside the village partly hidden and partly on an embankment. The Grand Union Canal ...
. There is some limited permitted public access to the buildings during afternoons in August for a small fee. There are usually signs indicating this at the entrance along Shutlanger Road around this time. Access to the public is required as a condition of funding by English Heritage to continue preservation activity. The buildings can also be seen from the A508 Northampton to Milton Keynes road about two miles south of the village of
Roade Roade is a village in Northamptonshire, England. Currently in West Northamptonshire, before local government changes in 2021 it was represented by South Northamptonshire District Council, falling within the two-member Blisworth and Roade ward. ...
and one mile before the hills at
Grafton Regis Grafton Regis is a village and civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire. The population of the civil parish (including Alderton) at the 2001 census was 152. This increased to 253 at the 2011 census. The village is ea ...
. If you wish to stop at this spot, there is a
lay-by A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway serv ...
on the east side of the road accessible only from the southbound direction; if travelling north you can turn in the lay by on the right just past the canal bridge at the turn for Stoke Bruerne. Note: the lay-by is one-way only southbound but exit north or south is permitted. Take care crossing the road which is always busy with fast traffic. The pavilions are also visible from an elevated position on the ridge of the River Tove valley which is just south of the site. Take to right turn to the village of Alderton on the A508 just before Grafton Regis and just after the lay-by referred to above.


Conservation Area

The area of Stoke Bruerne village and surroundings, including Stoke Park, are the subject of an extensive Conservation exercise by South Northants Council where most of this text originates. Extensive additional documentation, including maps, pictures and historical documentation, is available on the South Northants Council's Planning website.


References

{{coord, 52.1321, -0.9191, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Northamptonshire Gardens in Northamptonshire Tourist attractions in Northamptonshire History of Northamptonshire Palladian architecture