Swallowfield Park is a Grade II*

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 ...

stately home and estate in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Berkshire. The house is near the village of Swallowfield, some 4 miles south of the town of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

The House

Swallowfield Park was the home of the Backhouse family from the late 16th century, who had lived in a now demolished Tudor mansion. The most famous member of this family was of William Backhouse, the

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...

philosopher. The present house at Swallowfield Park was erected in 1689 by

Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, PC (2 June 163831 October 1709) was an English aristocrat and politician. He held high office at the beginning of the reign of his brother-in-law, King James II. Early life He was the eldest son of Edward Hyd ...

, when he acquired the estate on his marriage to William Backhouse's daughter

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

. The architect was William Talman, "comptroller of the works" to William III.From: 'Parishes: Swallowfield', A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3 (1923), pp. 267-274. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43215. Date accessed: 10 October 2008. Talman built an H-shaped house with short projections to the front and more extended ones to the rear. The house was the childhood home of

Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (28 November 1661 – 31 March 1723), styled Viscount Cornbury between 1674 and 1709, was an English aristocrat and politician. Better known by his noble title Lord Cornbury, he was propelled into the forefr ...

. In 1717, Thomas 'Diamond' Pitt, the Governor of Fort St. George, bought Swallowfield Park from Edward Hyde, reputedly using part of the proceeds of his sale of the

Regent Diamond The Regent Diamond is a diamond owned by the French state and on display in the Louvre, worth £48,000,000. History Discovery According to legend, the diamond was discovered by an enslaved man in the Kollur Mine near the Krishna River a ...

Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as ''le Régent''. ...

. The Pitt family sold the property to John Dodd for £20,000, and it remained in that family till purchased in 1783 by Silvanus Bevan. The sale, at Christie's, lasted seven days and included a large number of magnificent pictures and objets d'art. After a quarrel with a neighbour about shooting rights Bevan sold the property in 1789. The Bevan crest, a griffin, still remains over the stone carved mantelpiece in the Hall. The house was bought in 1820 by Sir Henry Russell, Chief Justice of Bengal in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, who employed William Atkinson to undertake many adaptations and alterations to the house. Internally, little of Talman's house survives as a result of these changes. A new staircase was installed, which resulted in the removal of a carved cornice made for the Earl of Clarendon by

Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London churches, Petworth House and othe ...

. In 1852 the house was inherited by his grandson, Sir Charles Russell VC. In 1923 the house was recorded as containing many fine portraits, including George Romney's painting of Lady Russell and son (1786–87), of Michael Russell (1785) and of Henry Russell; portraits of the Shelley family, Captain the Hon. William Fitzwilliam, Mr. Benyon and Mrs. Beard by Hogarth; George Richmond's portraits of Sir Henry Russell, bart., and of Charles Russell, afterwards third baronet, and another portrait of the same by Sir John Millais. At this time, the library held a large collection of books and many treasures, including Dr. Dee's magic mirror. The house was purchased by the

Country Houses Association The Country Houses Association (CHA) was a British charity (a friendly society with charitable status) that converted country houses into retirement flats and maintained them from 1955 until its liquidation in 2004. History The Country Houses ...

about 1975 and refurbished to provide retirement flats with communal living areas. After the CHA went into liquidation in 2003{{cite news, url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3319953.stm , work=BBC News , title=Historic houses to close , date=15 December 2003 , accessdate=24 May 2010 the mansion was acquired by property developers, Sunley Heritage, and converted into self-contained apartments.

The Gardens

The gardens were visited and described by

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or ...

, who wrote much about 'the delicious and rarest fruits,' the 'innumerable timber trees in the ground about the seate,' the walks and groves of elms, limes, oaks and other trees, the quarters, walks and parterres, nurseries, kitchen garden, two very noble orangeries, and, 'above all, the canall and fishponds, the one fed with a white, the other with a black running water,' stocked with pike, carp, bream and tench.

References

*Gamble, Audrey Nona. A History of the Bevan Family, 1923. *'Parishes: Swallowfield', ''A History of the County of Berkshire'' Volume 3 (1923), pp. 267–274.

External links

Royal Berkshire History: Swallowfield ParkSunley Heritage - apartments marketingUniversity of Warwick Study of Swallowfield Park's East India Company Links

Country houses in Berkshire Grade II* listed buildings in Berkshire Grade II* listed houses Houses completed in 1689 William Talman buildings Swallowfield