Berkhamsted Place
Encyclopedia
Berkhamsted Place was an English country house
which was erected sometime around 1580 in Berkhamsted
, Hertfordshire
, England
. It was built by Sir Edward Carey, the keeper of the Jewels to Queen Elizabeth I
from stones removed from Berkhamsted Castle
. Several notable residents of Berkhamsted lived in the house and over the years its owners welcomed guests such as King Charles I
and William Gladstone.
The house was one of two Elizabethan mansions in the town, the other being Egerton House
on the High Street which was demolished in 1937. Berkhamsted Place survived fire and renovation for over 380 years before it became derelict and was demolished in 1967.
of Berkhamsted, along with the lease of Berkhamsted Castle, to her Keeper of the Jewels
, Sir Edward Carey (or Cary), in 1580. Carey was descended from the Carys of Cockington
, an ancient Devon
family whose linage went back to Adam de Karry, the first Lord of Castle Karry
in Somerset
, in the 13th Century.
Berkhamsted Castle had, by this stage, fallen into disrepair and the lease of a ruined castle was possibly intended as some sort of royal joke; Carey owed a nominal annual rent of one red rose, payable yearly on St John the Baptist's Day
(24 June). Rather than live in the castle grounds, Sir Edward built for himself a mansion house on top of the hill overlooking the castle, and purloined stonework from the castle ruins to build his house.
and Totternhoe stone
with brick additions and a tiled roof. An avenue
of lime trees led up the hill to the house.
A survey of the house in 1650 by parliamentary commissioners, later held by the office of the Duchy of Cornwall
, described the house thus:
According to a survey by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments
in 1910, the house was said to be in "fairly good" condition, although it noted some decay around the stonework of the original windows. The house retained part of the original courtyard house built by Sir Edward Carey, c. 1580, and hall on the south-eastern side, built after the 1662 fire, occupied part of the old courtyard between the wings. The front of the house was brick with an embattled
parapet
and a porch
with a Tudor-style four-centred arched doorway.
The survey noted that a commemorative stone could be seen below the drawing-room windows on, also facing south-east, bearing the inscription "1611", possibly marking the alterations made for Prince Henry when he purchased the house. The rest of the south-eastern side was covered in cement, and had several small projections and gable
s.
Much of the original decorative stonework was lost after the 1662 fire but that which was preserved could be seen on the north-western side of the house. Here, there were also two brick buttress
es and two projecting octagonal brick chimney
s which had been added to the building in the 17th Century. At each end of the north side was a plain gable
which had a three-light window, stone mullions and a transom
, topped with a small stone pediment
. The other windows were modern sash windows
At the north-eastern end of the house was a stone oriel window
; by 1910 this was partially blocked and cut away to accommodate a newer brick chimney.
The interior of the house had been considerably altered, but a number of 17th-Century features had been retained, including a decoratively carved oak fireplace
, another fireplace with plaster decoration, a panelled ceiling, and a decorated plaster ceiling with moulded ribs, vine ornaments, heads, etc. The there was also an ornate 17th-Century wooden staircase with square newel
s, turned baluster
s and moulded handrail.
and went to live in the town, leasing Berkhamsted Place to his brother, Sir Adolphus Carey. He was the first of many tenants of Berkhamsted Place, passing the tenancy on to his son, Sir Henry Carey
, who was later to become Lord Falkland
and Lord Deputy of Ireland
. Various members of the Carey family used the house until 1612, when it was bought by Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
for the sum of £4000. Henry, who died later that year, passed the house to his brother, Charles, who was later crowned King Charles I
.
Prince Charles leased the property to his tutor Thomas Murray, and Mary Murray, who had been his nurse and had been Lady of the Privy Chamber
to the prince's mother, Anne of Denmark
. It is known that the young Prince Charles, then aged sixteen, paid a visit to the Murrays on 14 August 1616, when they spent an afternoon hunting in the estate, Berkhamsted Park.
During the reign of Charles I, it is known that some alterations were made to the house, supervised by David Cunningham, 1st Baronet of Auchinhervie. One of Cunningham's letters to his cousin describes a royal command for him to supervise building work at Berkhamsted Place in 1629 and his account for this survives counter-signed by Thomas Trevor
, surveyor of works at Windsor Castle
.
The turbulent events of the English Civil War
came to Berkhamsted Place in the 1640s when the Murrays' daughter, Ann Murray, became in a Royalist plot to protect the life of the King's second surviving son, the young Duke of York (who was later to become King James II of England
, from the Parliamentarian forces. King Charles was executed in 1648, and Ann, fearing for her life as a Royalist, fled from Berkhamsted Place. Possession of the house was taken by a Berkhamsted-born soldier in Cromwell's Army
, Lieutenant Colonell Daniel Axtell
. Aged only 26, Axtell was known for his ruthlessness and had risen in the ranks, having served as Captain of the Parliamentary Guard at the execution of King Charles.
Axtell's political fortunes reversed following the Restoration of the English monarchy; in 1660 he was hanged, drawn and quartered
at Tyburn
for the crime of regicide
. Ann Murray was later honoured for her loyalty to the crown when King James II granted her a royal pension. In St Peter's Church, Berkhamsted
, a memorial on the north wall of the old chancel commemorates James and John Murray, inscribed "youths of the most winning disposition who lived and died at Berkhamsted Place".
In 1660 the lease of Berkhamsted was taken on by the Lord Treasurer, Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland
; it was during his residency that a large fire broke out, destroying two-thirds of Berkhamsted Place. Reconstruction was hastily commenced, probably financed by John Sayer, a wealthy local man who was Chief Cook to King Charles II. The central part of the house was rebuilt but the two wings which formed the side of the courtyard were never restored. Some of the original Elizabethan decorative stonework was retained on the north wall and can be seen in later photographs of the property. Sayer took ownership of the house shortly after it was rebuilt, and he lived there with his family until his death in 1662. Sayer became well known as a benefactor to the town of Berkhamsted, and his legacy enabled a row of almshouse
s to be built for the poor widows of the town; these houses still stand today on the High Street and bear a stone inscription "The gifte of John Sayer, 1664". Around 1690, the Dutch artist Jan Wyck
painted A huntsman with a hare and hounds above Berkhamsted, which shows the church, castle, and Berkhamsted Place in the background.
The Sayer family remained in residence at Berkhamsted Place until 1716, when they sold the lease to William Atwell; he in turn sold it to John Roper in 1718, whose family stayed in the house for nearly a century. In 1807 the lease was re-assigned to John Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater
. The house was eventually bought outright from the estate of the Prince of Wales by Earl Brownlow.
Ownership of the property was then passed to General John Finch and his wife, notable benefactors of the town who were responsible for rebuilding the Thomas Bourne School and supporting the town hall fund.
After General Finch, the house was occupied by Lady Sarah Spencer and Gertrude, Countess of Pembroke
. The two ladies entertained many notable establishedment figures in their fashionable country residence, including the Duke of York (who was later crowned King George V
) and the Prime Minister William Gladstone
.
The house was subsequently purchased by the Ram family, first occupied by a Mr S.J Ram KC
and later in 1937 by his son, Sir Granville Ram who was First Parliamentary Counsel
to the Treasury.
; at the time of the Second World War
the house had nine bedrooms, three bathrooms and five upstairs staff bedrooms. By the 1950s, the cost of running and maintaining a fully staffed great house
became prohibitive, and like many other staffed residences, the property was sold off to be converted into flats in the 1950s. The surviving 17th-Century wing of the house became the studio of the renowned sculptor Reg Butler
, whose 1953 work Unknown Political Prisoner won the Grand Prize in a competition held by the London Institute of Contemporary Arts
.
By 1963 the house had become unoccupied and fell into dereliction and was finally demolished in 1967. Today, the site is occupied by a number of private cottages and a farm.
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
which was erected sometime around 1580 in Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
. It was built by Sir Edward Carey, the keeper of the Jewels to Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
from stones removed from Berkhamsted Castle
Berkhamsted Castle
Berkhamsted Castle is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey castle at Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England.The original fortification dates from Saxon times. Work on the Norman structure was started in 1066 by William the Conqueror who later passed the castle to his half-brother, Robert, Count of...
. Several notable residents of Berkhamsted lived in the house and over the years its owners welcomed guests such as King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and William Gladstone.
The house was one of two Elizabethan mansions in the town, the other being Egerton House
Egerton House, Berkhamsted
Egerton House was a small Elizabethan mansion which stood on the High Street in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire in England. Built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it was demolished in 1937 and the site is now occupied by the Art Deco Rex Cinema. As well as its architectural merit,...
on the High Street which was demolished in 1937. Berkhamsted Place survived fire and renovation for over 380 years before it became derelict and was demolished in 1967.
Construction
Queen Elizabeth I granted the manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Berkhamsted, along with the lease of Berkhamsted Castle, to her Keeper of the Jewels
Master of the Jewel Office
The Master of the Jewel Office is a position in the British Royal Household. The holders are responsible for running the Jewel Office, which holds the Sovereign's jewellry.-Masters of the Jewel Office:*1445–1448: John Merston*1465–1483: Thomas Vaughan...
, Sir Edward Carey (or Cary), in 1580. Carey was descended from the Carys of Cockington
Cockington
Cockington is a village in Torquay in the English county of Devon. It is a picturesque village, with old cottages within its boundaries. It is about a half a mile away from Torquay.- History :...
, an ancient Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
family whose linage went back to Adam de Karry, the first Lord of Castle Karry
Cary Castle
Cary Castle stood on Lodge Hill overlooking the town of Castle Cary, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.-Details:The motte and bailey castle was built either by Walter of Douai or by his son Robert who also built Bampton Castle in Devon...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, in the 13th Century.
Berkhamsted Castle had, by this stage, fallen into disrepair and the lease of a ruined castle was possibly intended as some sort of royal joke; Carey owed a nominal annual rent of one red rose, payable yearly on St John the Baptist's Day
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
(24 June). Rather than live in the castle grounds, Sir Edward built for himself a mansion house on top of the hill overlooking the castle, and purloined stonework from the castle ruins to build his house.
Architecture
Berkhamsted Place was a two-storey building with attics above. The plan of the house was in the shape of a letter E, with wings to the north and south-east. The walls were originally faced with 7-inch square stone chequers of flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and Totternhoe stone
Totternhoe Stone
thumb|250 px|right|The characteristic checkerboard design of many Bedfordshire churches built with alternating chalk and flint blocks: [[St Mary's ]]....
with brick additions and a tiled roof. An avenue
Avenue (landscape)
__notoc__In landscaping, an avenue or allée is traditionally a straight route with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each, which is used, as its French source venir indicates, to emphasize the "coming to," or arrival at a landscape or architectural feature...
of lime trees led up the hill to the house.
A survey of the house in 1650 by parliamentary commissioners, later held by the office of the Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
, described the house thus:
According to a survey by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England was the body formerly responsible for documenting the records of English historical monuments. It was merged with English Heritage on 1 April 1999....
in 1910, the house was said to be in "fairly good" condition, although it noted some decay around the stonework of the original windows. The house retained part of the original courtyard house built by Sir Edward Carey, c. 1580, and hall on the south-eastern side, built after the 1662 fire, occupied part of the old courtyard between the wings. The front of the house was brick with an embattled
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
and a porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
with a Tudor-style four-centred arched doorway.
The survey noted that a commemorative stone could be seen below the drawing-room windows on, also facing south-east, bearing the inscription "1611", possibly marking the alterations made for Prince Henry when he purchased the house. The rest of the south-eastern side was covered in cement, and had several small projections and gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s.
Much of the original decorative stonework was lost after the 1662 fire but that which was preserved could be seen on the north-western side of the house. Here, there were also two brick buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es and two projecting octagonal brick chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s which had been added to the building in the 17th Century. At each end of the north side was a plain gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
which had a three-light window, stone mullions and a transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
, topped with a small stone pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. The other windows were modern sash windows
At the north-eastern end of the house was a stone oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
; by 1910 this was partially blocked and cut away to accommodate a newer brick chimney.
The interior of the house had been considerably altered, but a number of 17th-Century features had been retained, including a decoratively carved oak fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
, another fireplace with plaster decoration, a panelled ceiling, and a decorated plaster ceiling with moulded ribs, vine ornaments, heads, etc. The there was also an ornate 17th-Century wooden staircase with square newel
Newel
A newel, also called a central pole, is an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but it can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase...
s, turned baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s and moulded handrail.
History
Sir Edward Carey's occupation of Berkhamsted Place was brief; in 1588 he took possession of the Manor of AldenhamAldenham
This article is about the village in Hertfordshire. For the London Transport Bus Overhaul Works, see Aldenham Works.Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, approx. three miles north-east of Watford and two miles from Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of...
and went to live in the town, leasing Berkhamsted Place to his brother, Sir Adolphus Carey. He was the first of many tenants of Berkhamsted Place, passing the tenancy on to his son, Sir Henry Carey
Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland ; son of a Hertfordshire knight; said to have studied at Oxford; served abroad; gentleman of the bedchamber to King James I; K.B., 1608; controller of the household, 1617-21; created Viscount Falkland in the Scottish peerage, 1620; lord-deputy of Ireland, 1622;...
, who was later to become Lord Falkland
Viscount Falkland
Viscount of Falkland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Henry Cary, although he was actually English and had no connection to Scotland. He was made Lord Cary at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His son, the second Viscount, was a prominent statesman...
and Lord Deputy of Ireland
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
. Various members of the Carey family used the house until 1612, when it was bought by Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
for the sum of £4000. Henry, who died later that year, passed the house to his brother, Charles, who was later crowned King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
.
Prince Charles leased the property to his tutor Thomas Murray, and Mary Murray, who had been his nurse and had been Lady of the Privy Chamber
Privy chamber
A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....
to the prince's mother, Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
. It is known that the young Prince Charles, then aged sixteen, paid a visit to the Murrays on 14 August 1616, when they spent an afternoon hunting in the estate, Berkhamsted Park.
During the reign of Charles I, it is known that some alterations were made to the house, supervised by David Cunningham, 1st Baronet of Auchinhervie. One of Cunningham's letters to his cousin describes a royal command for him to supervise building work at Berkhamsted Place in 1629 and his account for this survives counter-signed by Thomas Trevor
Thomas Trevor
Thomas Trevor may refer to:* Sir Thomas Trevor , English judge who delivered the judgment against John Hampden in the Ship Money case* Sir Thomas Trevor, 1st Baronet Thomas Trevor may refer to:* Sir Thomas Trevor (1586-1656), English judge who delivered the judgment against John Hampden in the Ship...
, surveyor of works at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
.
The turbulent events of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
came to Berkhamsted Place in the 1640s when the Murrays' daughter, Ann Murray, became in a Royalist plot to protect the life of the King's second surviving son, the young Duke of York (who was later to become King James II of England
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, from the Parliamentarian forces. King Charles was executed in 1648, and Ann, fearing for her life as a Royalist, fled from Berkhamsted Place. Possession of the house was taken by a Berkhamsted-born soldier in Cromwell's Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
, Lieutenant Colonell Daniel Axtell
Daniel Axtell
Colonel Daniel Axtell was Captain of the Parliamentary Guard at the trial of King Charles I at Westminster Hall in 1649. Shortly after the Restoration he was hanged, drawn and quartered as a regicide....
. Aged only 26, Axtell was known for his ruthlessness and had risen in the ranks, having served as Captain of the Parliamentary Guard at the execution of King Charles.
Axtell's political fortunes reversed following the Restoration of the English monarchy; in 1660 he was hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
for the crime of regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
. Ann Murray was later honoured for her loyalty to the crown when King James II granted her a royal pension. In St Peter's Church, Berkhamsted
Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted
The Parish Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted is a Church of England, Grade II* listed church in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom...
, a memorial on the north wall of the old chancel commemorates James and John Murray, inscribed "youths of the most winning disposition who lived and died at Berkhamsted Place".
In 1660 the lease of Berkhamsted was taken on by the Lord Treasurer, Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland
Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland
Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland was an English diplomat.-Life:He was the second but eldest surviving son of the 1st Earl of Portland, by his second wife Frances Walgrave. He was born at Neyland, Essex....
; it was during his residency that a large fire broke out, destroying two-thirds of Berkhamsted Place. Reconstruction was hastily commenced, probably financed by John Sayer, a wealthy local man who was Chief Cook to King Charles II. The central part of the house was rebuilt but the two wings which formed the side of the courtyard were never restored. Some of the original Elizabethan decorative stonework was retained on the north wall and can be seen in later photographs of the property. Sayer took ownership of the house shortly after it was rebuilt, and he lived there with his family until his death in 1662. Sayer became well known as a benefactor to the town of Berkhamsted, and his legacy enabled a row of almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
s to be built for the poor widows of the town; these houses still stand today on the High Street and bear a stone inscription "The gifte of John Sayer, 1664". Around 1690, the Dutch artist Jan Wyck
Jan Wyck
Jan Wyck was a Dutch baroque painter, best known for his works on military subjects...
painted A huntsman with a hare and hounds above Berkhamsted, which shows the church, castle, and Berkhamsted Place in the background.
The Sayer family remained in residence at Berkhamsted Place until 1716, when they sold the lease to William Atwell; he in turn sold it to John Roper in 1718, whose family stayed in the house for nearly a century. In 1807 the lease was re-assigned to John Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater
John Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater
John William Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater FRS , known as John Egerton until 1803, was a British soldier and Tory politician....
. The house was eventually bought outright from the estate of the Prince of Wales by Earl Brownlow.
Ownership of the property was then passed to General John Finch and his wife, notable benefactors of the town who were responsible for rebuilding the Thomas Bourne School and supporting the town hall fund.
After General Finch, the house was occupied by Lady Sarah Spencer and Gertrude, Countess of Pembroke
George Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke
George Robert Charles Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke, 10th Earl of Montgomery , known as The Lord Herbert of Lea from 1861 to 1862, was a British Conservative politician...
. The two ladies entertained many notable establishedment figures in their fashionable country residence, including the Duke of York (who was later crowned King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
) and the Prime Minister William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
.
The house was subsequently purchased by the Ram family, first occupied by a Mr S.J Ram KC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
and later in 1937 by his son, Sir Granville Ram who was First Parliamentary Counsel
Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (United Kingdom)
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is responsible for drafting all government Bills that are introduced to Parliament. Established in 1869, the OPC has been part of various departments and is currently part of the Cabinet Office...
to the Treasury.
Decline
Berkhamsted Place served well over the centuries as an English country houseEnglish country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
; at the time of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the house had nine bedrooms, three bathrooms and five upstairs staff bedrooms. By the 1950s, the cost of running and maintaining a fully staffed great house
Great house
A great house is a large and stately residence; the term encompasses different styles of dwelling in different countries. The name refers to the makeup of the household rather than to any particular architectural style...
became prohibitive, and like many other staffed residences, the property was sold off to be converted into flats in the 1950s. The surviving 17th-Century wing of the house became the studio of the renowned sculptor Reg Butler
Reg Butler
Reginald Cotterell Butler was an English sculptor. He studied and lectured at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London from 1937 to 1939. He was a conscientious objector during the Second World War, being exempted from military service conditional upon setting up a small...
, whose 1953 work Unknown Political Prisoner won the Grand Prize in a competition held by the London Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
.
By 1963 the house had become unoccupied and fell into dereliction and was finally demolished in 1967. Today, the site is occupied by a number of private cottages and a farm.