Howbery Park
Encyclopedia
Howbery Park is a 36-ha park located adjacent to the River Thames
in Crowmarsh Gifford
near Wallingford, UK. Its main feature is an English manor house built in about 1850 by English Member of Parliament (MP)
William Seymour Blackstone
. Blackstone fell into debt, largely because of the costs of building this new home, and spent time in the debtors prison at Oxford
. His debt problems also contributed to the end of his political career. He died in Brighton
, never having lived at Howbery Park.
Other owners of Howbery Park were Henry Bertie Williams-Wynn (who purchased the house in 1867), Harvey du Cros
(in 1902) and George Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham.
The estate passed into the ownership of the government in the 1930s and was used during the Second World War to house US and Canadian servicemen and then refugees from Central Europe. After the war it was selected as the location for the new Hydraulics Research Station
(HRS) established under the directorship of Sir Claude Inglis. HRS was privatised in 1982 from the Department of the Environment (DoE) and HR Wallingford Group was created. The new company was limited by guarantee, had no shareholders and was given the remit to invest in hydraulic research. The assets transferred with Howbery Park in 1982 included the grant-funded-state-of-the-art- Fountain Building, and a new mainframe computer.. The Manor House and Stable Block are Listed Buildings Grade II (1985).
In addition to HR Wallingford who occupy a new building, Kestrel House, several other organisations are now based in Howbery Park including the Environment Agency
.
There are several stories of strange occurrences concering Howbery Park. The most common one is the ghost of the Lady in Grey. Several drivers on Benson Lane, adjacent to Howbery Park, claim to have swerved to avoid a lady dressed in grey who was walking in the road. A lady in grey was seen to walk in the grounds of the French Gardens, now the site of the South Oxfordshire District Council. Local stories are that this is the ghost of Lady Wittenham, wife of George Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham.
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in Crowmarsh Gifford
Crowmarsh Gifford
Crowmarsh Gifford is a village in the civil parish of Crowmarsh in South Oxfordshire. It is beside the River Thames opposite the market town of Wallingford, the two being linked via Wallingford Bridge...
near Wallingford, UK. Its main feature is an English manor house built in about 1850 by English Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
William Seymour Blackstone
William Seymour Blackstone
William Seymour Blackstone was an English MP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.He was the son of James Blackstone, barrister-at-law of the Middle Temple, and grandson of the legal writer William Blackstone . Elected Conservative MP for Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England in 1832, he served...
. Blackstone fell into debt, largely because of the costs of building this new home, and spent time in the debtors prison at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. His debt problems also contributed to the end of his political career. He died in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, never having lived at Howbery Park.
Other owners of Howbery Park were Henry Bertie Williams-Wynn (who purchased the house in 1867), Harvey du Cros
Harvey du Cros
Harvey du Cros was a Conservative Party politician of England. He was the son of Edouard Pierre du Cros and Maria Molloy and was educated at The King's Hospital, Dublin....
(in 1902) and George Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham.
The estate passed into the ownership of the government in the 1930s and was used during the Second World War to house US and Canadian servicemen and then refugees from Central Europe. After the war it was selected as the location for the new Hydraulics Research Station
Hydraulics Research Station
The Hydraulics Research Station was created by the UK Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1947. The Research Station was based in Wallingford, near Oxford. It was established to deal with “looser boundary” problems such as coastal erosion, flood protection and the silting and...
(HRS) established under the directorship of Sir Claude Inglis. HRS was privatised in 1982 from the Department of the Environment (DoE) and HR Wallingford Group was created. The new company was limited by guarantee, had no shareholders and was given the remit to invest in hydraulic research. The assets transferred with Howbery Park in 1982 included the grant-funded-state-of-the-art- Fountain Building, and a new mainframe computer.. The Manor House and Stable Block are Listed Buildings Grade II (1985).
In addition to HR Wallingford who occupy a new building, Kestrel House, several other organisations are now based in Howbery Park including the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
.
There are several stories of strange occurrences concering Howbery Park. The most common one is the ghost of the Lady in Grey. Several drivers on Benson Lane, adjacent to Howbery Park, claim to have swerved to avoid a lady dressed in grey who was walking in the road. A lady in grey was seen to walk in the grounds of the French Gardens, now the site of the South Oxfordshire District Council. Local stories are that this is the ghost of Lady Wittenham, wife of George Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham.