Loseley Park
Encyclopedia
Loseley Park is a historic manor house
situated outside Guildford
in Surrey
, England
near Compton. The estate was acquired by the direct ancestors of the current owners, the More-Molyneux, at the beginning of the 16th century.
Loseley Park is the residence of the More-Molyneux family, and is open to the public. In the neighbouring fields, a herd of Jersey cattle grazes. Their milk is used to make local products of yogurt and ice cream
. The 17th century tithe barn
is available for weddings.
Loseley appears in Domesday Book
of 1086 as Losele. It was held by Turald (Thorold) from Roger de Montgomery. Its domesday assets were: 2 hide
s. It had 4 plough
s, 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of meadow
. It rendered £3. The papers of Sir Thomas Cawarden
, Master of the Revels
were formerly preserved in the house.
The present house was built between 1562 and 1568 with stone brought from the ruins of Waverley Abbey
. The new house replaced a smaller one which Elizabeth I declared was not 'adequate' for her to visit and requested something larger be built. The great hall is the principal room containing panelling from Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace
, a minstrel's gallery, carvings by Grinling Gibbons
, panels from Henry VIII's banqueting tents and a collection of royal and family portraits.
The drawing room has a gilded ceiling decorated for James I
's visit and a chalk fireplace. The carvings above the library fireplace (dated 1570) commemorate one of Elizabeth I's visits. Sir More's room contain an 18th century Vauxhall mirror. Two bedrooms named the King's Room and the Queen's Room were used by James I and Elizabeth I respectively. The house contains one of the few paintings of Anne Boleyn
.
, contains a series of "rooms" with different themes running through them. The redevelopment of the garden commenced in 1993/4 with the Rose Garden and continued with the Herb Garden, Flower Garden, White Garden and, most recently, the organic Vegetable and Cut Flower Garden. The gardens are surrounded by an old wall of similar age to the house and contain a vine walk, a huge spread of wisteria
, the moat
and moat walk, and the old mulberry tree around which a family prophesy revolves.
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
situated outside Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
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...
near Compton. The estate was acquired by the direct ancestors of the current owners, the More-Molyneux, at the beginning of the 16th century.
Loseley Park is the residence of the More-Molyneux family, and is open to the public. In the neighbouring fields, a herd of Jersey cattle grazes. Their milk is used to make local products of yogurt and ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
. The 17th century tithe barn
Tithe barn
A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing the tithes - a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church....
is available for weddings.
Loseley appears in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Losele. It was held by Turald (Thorold) from Roger de Montgomery. Its domesday assets were: 2 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s. It had 4 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
. It rendered £3. The papers of Sir Thomas Cawarden
Thomas Cawarden
Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingley was Master of Revels to Henry VIII of England, Edward VI, and Mary.Thomas was the son of William Carden, a cloth-fuller and citizen of London...
, Master of the Revels
Master of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
were formerly preserved in the house.
The house
Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, Bishop of Winchester. It is situated about one mile south of Farnham, Surrey, in a bend of the River Wey.-History:...
. The new house replaced a smaller one which Elizabeth I declared was not 'adequate' for her to visit and requested something larger be built. The great hall is the principal room containing panelling from Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–3. Its ruins are in Nonsuch Park.- Background :Nonsuch Palace in Surrey was perhaps the grandest of Henry VIII's building projects...
, a minstrel's gallery, carvings by Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons was an English sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including St Paul's Cathedral, Blenheim Palace and Hampton Court Palace. He was born and educated in Holland where his father was a merchant...
, panels from Henry VIII's banqueting tents and a collection of royal and family portraits.
The drawing room has a gilded ceiling decorated for James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
's visit and a chalk fireplace. The carvings above the library fireplace (dated 1570) commemorate one of Elizabeth I's visits. Sir More's room contain an 18th century Vauxhall mirror. Two bedrooms named the King's Room and the Queen's Room were used by James I and Elizabeth I respectively. The house contains one of the few paintings of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
.
The garden
The walled garden, based on a design by Gertrude JekyllGertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
, contains a series of "rooms" with different themes running through them. The redevelopment of the garden commenced in 1993/4 with the Rose Garden and continued with the Herb Garden, Flower Garden, White Garden and, most recently, the organic Vegetable and Cut Flower Garden. The gardens are surrounded by an old wall of similar age to the house and contain a vine walk, a huge spread of wisteria
Wisteria
Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...
, the moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
and moat walk, and the old mulberry tree around which a family prophesy revolves.