Bulstrode Park
Encyclopedia
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
town of Gerrard's Cross in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Home Counties
Home Counties
The home counties is a term which refers to the counties of South East England and the East of England which border London, but do not include the capital city itself...
. It dates back to before the Norman conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
.
First house
The previous house was built in 1686 for the infamous Judge JeffreysGeorge Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, PC , also known as "The Hanging Judge", was an English judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor .- Early years and education :Jeffreys was born at the family estate of Acton Hall, near Wrexham,...
. It was sold to Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland
William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland
Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, Baron Bentinck of Diepenheim and Schoonheten, KG, PC was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. He was steady, sensible, modest...
, who made it one of his principal residences and died there in 1709.
In the 1740s the architect and builder Stiff Leadbetter
Stiff Leadbetter
Stiff Leadbetter was a British architect and builder, one of the most successful architect–builders of the 1750s and 1760s, working for many leading aristocratic families.- Career :...
altered the house significantly for the 2nd Duke of Portland. In about 1806-09 there were further remodellings and additions, including the castellated West Wing, to the designs of James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
for the 3rd Duke.
Bulstrode was used by Margaret Bentinck
Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland
Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland , styled Lady Margaret Harley before 1734, Duchess of Portland from 1734 to her husband's death in 1761, and Dowager Duchess of Portland from 1761 until her own death in 1785...
, the wife of the 2nd Duke
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland KG , styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1715 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1715 to 1726, was a British peer....
to house her natural history and antiquities collection, with the south-west side of the park used for live specimens (called Menagerie Wood today). Their son, the 3rd Duke
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
was a collector of marble and glass, and was influential in loaning the Roman Portland Vase
Portland Vase
The Portland Vase is a Roman cameo glass vase, currently dated to between AD 5 and AD 25, which served as an inspiration to many glass and porcelain makers from about the beginning of the 18th century onwards. Since 1810 the vase has been kept almost continuously in the British Museum in London...
to Joshua Wedgwood.
When the 4th Duke of Portland
William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland PC, FRS, FSA , styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809, was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Lord Goderich.-Background and education:Portland was the eldest son of...
inherited the title in 1809 he disposed of Bulstrode. It then passed into the hands of the Dukes of Somerset
Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset is a title in the peerage of England that has been created several times. Derived from Somerset, it is particularly associated with two families; the Beauforts who held the title from the creation of 1448 and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547 and in whose name the title is...
, who descended from Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
the nephew of Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
.
Present house
The 12th Duke of Somerset, Edward Adolphus Seymour commissioned the present mansion, completed in 1865. After his death it passed to his daughter, Lady Helen Guendolen Ramsden and then to her son, Sir John Frecheville Ramsden, until he lost his fortune.In 1932 the estate was sold. Outlying buildings were sold, but the house was unoccupied until World War II, when it was used for training by the WAAF Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
.
After the War, Sir John used part of the property for chemical research into sisal by-products, but the property fell into disrepair. After his death in 1958, the park was sold to a farmer, and the mansion and woodland were bought by the Bruderhof society of brothers, who supported themselves with light industry.
In 1966 the community moved to the USA, and the property was bought by WEC International
WEC International
WEC International is a mission agency which focuses on church planting, and emphasises the importance of shared life in a local church as a vital expression of Christian life...
, a Christian evangelical missionary agency, who continue to seek to restore the property and its gardens to their former glory.
The history of the house and a guide to the gardens are available in a recent publication called 'Bulstrode Guide' available from the house. It is open to the public every Bank Holiday Monday in early May.
Bulstrode, Oxford Road, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL9 8SZ, England.