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| The house, which has more than one hundred rooms, stands in ] and belongs to the Trustees of Savernake Estate. Most of the present building, built |
The house, which has more than one hundred rooms, stands in ] and belongs to the Trustees of Savernake Estate. Most of the present building, built by ], dates from the 1820s, but it also incorporates parts of earlier houses on the site, built by the Seymour family formerly of nearby ]. It was probably ] (1539-1621) who built the first mansion. He was the son and heir of ] (executed 1522), brother of Queen ]. The Seymours were hereditary Keepers of Savernake Forest, which office had been inherited by marriage to the heiress of the Esturmy family of Wulfhall. His descendant ] (1629-1675) was childless, and faced with the Dukedom passing by law to his cousin and ] the 5th Duke, who was seated at ] in Wiltshire, he bequeathed the ] Seymour estates to his niece Elizabeth Seymour, the wife of ] (1656-1741), and thus the Seymour estates passed to the Bruce family. | ||
| A new house to supplant the earlier one was designed by ] for his brother-in-law ] in 1721; ] was the executant architect.<ref>Rudolf Wittkower, in ''Architectural Journal'' '''102''' 1945, noted in Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington".</ref> Wings were added to Burlington's block in the 1730s. Burlington's Banqueting House in the park was built in 1743 and demolished in 1824.<ref>Colvin, "Boyle".</ref> The house was enlarged and remodelled in 1823-26 by ], who had previously (1818) designed stables there for the Marquess of Ailesbury.<ref>Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Cundy, Thomas", "Wyatville, Sir Jeffry".</ref> | A new house to supplant the earlier one was designed by ] for his brother-in-law ] in 1721; ] was the executant architect.<ref>Rudolf Wittkower, in ''Architectural Journal'' '''102''' 1945, noted in Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington".</ref> Wings were added to Burlington's block in the 1730s. Burlington's Banqueting House in the park was built in 1743 and demolished in 1824.<ref>Colvin, "Boyle".</ref> The house was enlarged and remodelled in 1823-26 by ], who had previously (1818) designed stables there for the Marquess of Ailesbury.<ref>Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Cundy, Thomas", "Wyatville, Sir Jeffry".</ref> | ||
| ==Modern use== | ==Modern use== | ||
Revision as of 14:37, 23 November 2015
51°22′26″N 1°38′35″W / 51.374°N 1.643°W / 51.374; -1.643 Tottenham House is a large Grade I listed country house near Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England.
History
The house, which has more than one hundred rooms, stands in Savernake Forest and belongs to the Trustees of Savernake Estate. Most of the present building, built by Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, dates from the 1820s, but it also incorporates parts of earlier houses on the site, built by the Seymour family formerly of nearby Wulfhall. It was probably Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (1539-1621) who built the first mansion. He was the son and heir of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (executed 1522), brother of Queen Jane Seymour. The Seymours were hereditary Keepers of Savernake Forest, which office had been inherited by marriage to the heiress of the Esturmy family of Wulfhall. His descendant John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset (1629-1675) was childless, and faced with the Dukedom passing by law to his cousin and heir male the 5th Duke, who was seated at Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire, he bequeathed the unentailed Seymour estates to his niece Elizabeth Seymour, the wife of Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (1656-1741), and thus the Seymour estates passed to the Bruce family.
A new house to supplant the earlier one was designed by Richard Boyle, Lord Burlington for his brother-in-law Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury in 1721; Henry Flitcroft was the executant architect. Wings were added to Burlington's block in the 1730s. Burlington's Banqueting House in the park was built in 1743 and demolished in 1824. The house was enlarged and remodelled in 1823-26 by Thomas Cundy, who had previously (1818) designed stables there for the Marquess of Ailesbury.
Modern use
The Ailesbury family lived there - sharing it in the Second World War with the US Army - until moving out in 1946. Thereafter it was used by Hawtreys Preparatory School until 1994 when Hawtreys merged with Cheam School, Newbury. It was then leased for ten years to a charity called the Amber Foundation which helps unemployed troubled young people to rebuild their lives, but its work there ended due to cuts in government support.
David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan (born 1952) owns 49% and his son Thomas James Brudenell-Bruce, Viscount Savernake (born 1982), owns 51%. In recent years, the impoverished Earl of Cardigan has been involved in a bitter battle with the trustees.
In 2006 the house, with its 50-horse stable block, outbuildings and some farmland, was leased for 150 years to a consortium of Golf Club Investment Holdings, Conduit Investments, and (as Operator) the Buena Vista Hospitality Group of Orlando, Florida, with the intention of creating a luxury hotel, conference, spa, and golfing centre. Full Planning Permission was obtained, with the co-operation of the local Planning Authority and English Heritage, and an investment in the project of £50 million was announced. However 18 months later, before starting any building work, the consortium failed during the recession, and the lease ended.
In 2014 the trustees sold the house for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer after overcoming a legal challenge from the Earl of Cardigan.
In popular culture
The house featured as the boys' school in the 1995 film A Feast at Midnight, starring Christopher Lee. In 2013, the house and Savernake estate were used as the location for a short film commissioned by British electronica pioneers Goldfrapp to promote the song 'Drew' from their album Tales of Us. Shot in black and white by film editor Lisa Gunning, the internal and external aspects of the house and surrounding forest feature extensively in the five-minute film.
References
- Rudolf Wittkower, in Architectural Journal 102 1945, noted in Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington".
- Colvin, "Boyle".
- Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "Cundy, Thomas", "Wyatville, Sir Jeffry".
- ^ Natalie Clarke, I'm so broke I'm trying to get a job as a lorry driver: Earl of Cardigan on moving out his stately pile and why he's living on benefits, The Daily Mail, February 01, 2013
- Simon de Bruxelles, 'Penniless earl claims jobseeker's allowance after ex-wife's entire £1.5m estate goes to the children', The Times, March 07, 2013, No. 70826, p. 3
- "Earl of Cardigan loses appeal over sale of Tottenham House". BBC. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- A Feast at Midnight at IMDb
External links
- Historic England. "Tottenham House - Grade I (1183809)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- Historic England. "Stable block to Tottenham House - Grade II* (1365488)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- Historic England. "Tottenham House and Savernake Forest - Grade II*, Register of Historic Parks and Gardens (1000472)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- Weaver, Matt (9 March 2005). "On the pile - the Amber charity at Tottenham House". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- Henry VIII Houses at the Culpepper Family History Site.