Highfield House, also known as Highfield Park, is an early 17th-century Queen Anne style country house in
Heckfield
Heckfield is a village in Hampshire, England. It lies between Reading and Hook.
It is the location of Highfield House, where Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who ...
, Hampshire, England. A
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, it is now a hotel and venue centre.
It is built in brick with Bath stone dressings with a hipped tile roof and three facades. The north front is in three storeys, the remainder in two. There is a large 19th-century porch with Doric columns.
In 1757 the house, then known as Heckfield House, and its surrounding estate was incorporated into the neighbouring estate of
Stratfield Saye
Stratfield Saye is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane and the English county of Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of West End Green, Fair Oak Green and Fair Cross. In 2021 the parish had a popula ...
, then owned by the Pitt family. Highfield (or Heckfield) House was occupied around that time by General Sir
William Augustus Pitt
General Sir William Augustus Pitt KB, PC ( 1728 – 29 December 1809) was a long-serving if undistinguished senior officer of the British Army whose sixty years of service covered several major wars and numerous postings as garrison or reg ...
, who improved the building and its associated parkland. Ten years after his death in 1809 the house was renamed Highfield to avoid confusion with another Heckfield House nearby.
For some years the house was residence of the Hon. General Sir
Galbraith Lowry Cole
General Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole (1 May 1772 – 4 October 1842) was a British Army officer and politician.
Early life
Cole was the second son of an Irish peer, William Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736 – 22 May 1803), and ...
, an army officer during the Peninsular war, and a personal friend of the Duke of Wellington.
War Cabinet member and former Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...
died of cancer in November 1940 whilst living in the house.
In the 1980s Highfield Park (as it was then called) was an Educational Services Center for the
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...
, combining IT training with the country house experience.
The building is now an hotel, known as Highfield Park.
References
{{reflist
External links
Hotel website
Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire
Country houses in Hampshire