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70-540: Fawley Court is a country house , with large mixed-use grounds standing on the west bank of the River Thames at Fawley in the English county of Buckinghamshire . Its former estate once encompassed both adjacent Phyllis Court as well as Henley Park which served as the dower house. It had a very extensive estate including a derr park and a considerable number of other buildings and farms. Following World War II , it

140-455: A château or a Schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, a country house, similar to an Ansitz , is usually unfortified. If fortified, it is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name "castle" are fortified (for example Highclere Castle in Hampshire ). The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians and other academics. As a description of

210-700: A country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans , "The Homes of England", originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1827. In the 20th century, the term was later popularised in a song by Noël Coward , and in modern usage it often implies a country house that is open to visitors at least some of the time. In England, the terms "country house" and "stately home" are sometimes used vaguely and interchangeably; however, many country houses such as Ascott in Buckinghamshire were deliberately designed not to be stately, and to harmonise with

280-428: A fortunate few; it was the centre of its own world, providing employment to hundreds of people in the vicinity of its estate . In previous eras, when state benefits were unheard of, those working on an estate were among the most fortunate, receiving secured employment and rent-free accommodation. At the summit of this category of people was the indoor staff of the country house. Unlike many of their contemporaries prior to

350-572: A meadow, orchard, ornamental trees, formal sunken garden, flowerbeds, walled garden and a lake; Capability Brown created the layout. Notable residents included members of the Bonaparte family , the American banker J. P. Morgan , the politician and movie financier Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart and the producer Harry Saltzman . Saltzman co-produced the first nine James Bond films at nearby Pinewood Studios , and later owners claimed

420-529: A mixture of high architecture , often as interpreted by a local architect or surveyor, and determined by practicality as much as by the whims of architectural taste. An example of this is Brympton d'Evercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone . The fashionable William Kent redesigned Rousham House only to have it quickly and drastically altered to provide space for

490-414: A notable philatelic collection. The book collection consisted of around 15,000 volumes from the 19th and 20th centuries, relating to history, theology and travel. In addition there were 450 prints of the 16th–18th centuries of Western European and Polish origin. There were also seven Incunables pressed in the 15th century. Among the first editions were early piano compositions by Maria Szymanowska . Among

560-475: A number of sculptures, most notably an Antonine period marble bust said to be of the juvenile Commodus , that Fr. Jarzębowski had brought back from Mexico in 1944. It had been on loan to the Ashmolean Museum (1973-1985) but after a failed attempt to sell it in 1985, it was finally sold at a Christie's auction in 2005. Also sold in 1985 was an earlier acquisition, by John Freeman, of a fragment from

630-678: A private promenade covering approximately half of the course, Under Edward the Confessor in 1065 the Domesday Book notes Earl Tosti held this land as the manor of Fawley , connected with the village itself which sits atop the hill behind. After the Conquest, Fawley Manor was given by William I to his kinsman Walter Giffard , who was one of the leading compilers of the Domesday Book. His steward Herbrand de Sackville

700-525: A relatively short time frame were indeed meritorious and make fascinating reading The estate passed to William Peere Williams , a distant relative. He again respected William Freeman's will to be able entitled inherit and changed his name to William Peere Williams-Freeman. After extensive and lengthy litigation his heirs eventually put the estate up for auction. Fawley Court was sold to the railway contractor Edward Mackenzie in 1853. He retired to Fawley following many successful ventures developing major stages of

770-520: Is for the Drawing Room ceiling, as executed. Drawings by James Wyatt's brother Samuel suggested to Eileen Harris that he was responsible for the barn with an apsidal end, which survives (with some nineteenth-century changes) at Fawley. The recent improvements at Fawley were praised by Mrs Lybbe Powys in 1771. The brick facades were stuccoed about 1800, and were restored with new brick in the nineteenth century. Both George III and George IV visited

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840-473: Is politics; they talk politics; and they make politics, quite spontaneously. There are no written terms for distinguishing between vast country palaces and comparatively small country houses; the descriptive terms, which can include castle , manor and court , provide no firm clue and are often only used because of a historical connection with the site of such a building. Therefore, for ease or explanation, Britain's country houses can be categorised according to

910-493: Is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II listed building . Country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house . This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However,

980-469: Is the ITV series Downton Abbey . Denham Place The house was constructed in 1688–1701 for Sir Roger Hill , and the architect was probably William Stanton . The house was surrounded on three sides by elaborate formal gardens inspired by Versailles containing a canal and sculptures. In 1773, most of the gardens were removed and replaced by a landscape park enclosed by a 10ft wall and encompassing

1050-758: The Civil War , Fawley was the scene of fighting between the Roundheads and Royalist troops commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine . Since Bulstrode Whitelocke was a Parliament supporter, Royalist soldiers were quartered in the house under Sir John Byron having ransacked it in 1642. After the Restoration of the Monarchy Bulstrode gave the damaged house to his son James Whitelocke , who, having failed to repair it, mortgaged it to William Freeman. When

1120-599: The Pergamon Altar that Freeman had placed over the entrance to the Gothic folly in the grounds. The Jarzębowski collection also contained: an armoury of the 16th–19th centuries of European, Asian and Far Eastern provenance, other militaria ranging from the last Polish uprising to World War II, French, Portuguese and Polish tapestries of the 16th-18th centuries, Italian Baroque paintings, drawings, including by Annibale Carracci , sacred art including icons, coins, medals and

1190-724: The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London and several museums in Poland, with the majority of the exhibits transferred to the newly opened a Museum in Licheń Stary . Following the sale and renovation, the estate has become a country club . Fawley Court is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building . St Anne's Church, in the grounds of Fawley Court

1260-399: The agricultural depressions of the 1870s , the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle. Increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses ; those that remained had to adapt to survive. While

1330-512: The 1850s, with the English economy booming, new mansions were built in one of the many revivalist architectural styles popular throughout the 19th century. The builders of these new houses were able to take advantage of the political unrest in Europe that gave rise to a large trade in architectural salvage. This new wave of country house building is exemplified by the Rothschild properties in

1400-419: The 18th century with houses such as Castle Howard , Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall . Such building reached its zenith from the late 17th century until the mid-18th century; these houses were often completely built or rebuilt in their entirety by one eminent architect in the most fashionable architectural style of the day and often have a suite of Baroque state apartments, typically in enfilade , reserved for

1470-474: The 20th century, they slept in proper beds, wore well-made adequate clothes and received three proper meals a day, plus a small wage. In an era when many still died from malnutrition or lack of medicine, the long working hours were a small price to pay. As a result of the aristocratic habit of only marrying within the aristocracy, and whenever possible to a sole heiress, many owners of country houses owned several country mansions, and would visit each according to

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1540-672: The 250 or so manuscripts, were the autographs of poets and writers from 1815 to 1983, documents issued by Polish kings (up to the XVIIIc.) and Papal bulls and letters by national heroes. There was also a significant cartographic collection. The Museum and Library became a member institution of the Standing Conference of Museums, Archives and Libraries in the West. In September 2002 the Fawley Court Museum played host to

1610-540: The British province of the Polish Congregation of Marian Fathers , in answer to the demand from the post World War II newly settled Polish community, for use as an independent educational establishment known as, Divine Mercy College and as a religious house. The enterprise was in straitened financial circumstances from the start and, as a charitable institution, relied heavily on public support to build

1680-672: The Polish commitment to this jewel of the English countryside. In 2008 the Polish Province of the Marian Fathers put the estate up for sale due to financial difficulties. It was purchased in 2009 by a property investor for £13m. The sale has generated a controversy within the Polish community in the UK and in the Polish media. A number of court cases have arisen from the sale. The museum and library collection have been divided between

1750-425: The Standing Conference scholars' annual meeting. The school and the museum also served for over half a century as a popular meeting place on feast days for the wider Polish community. Indeed, it became a destination for the Polish diaspora in that it led Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł (husband of Lee Bouvier -Radziwill, younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis ) to fund the erection of St. Anne's church in

1820-621: The addition of a wing, containing a study, a billiard room, smoking rooms, and bedrooms, together with terraces around the house. It is reputed to have been Kenneth Grahame 's inspiration for Toad Hall in his book The Wind in the Willows , written in 1908. Fawley Court was requisitioned by the British Army and used in the World War II by special forces for training. Maurice Roe (b. 4 June 1917 - d.6/5/2014 - military medal 1945)

1890-467: The best-known examples of the showy prodigy house , often built with the intention of attracting the monarch to visit. By the reign of Charles I , Inigo Jones and his form of Palladianism had changed the face of English domestic architecture completely, with the use of turrets and towers as an architectural reference to the earlier castles and fortified houses completely disappearing. The Palladian style, in various forms, interrupted briefly by baroque ,

1960-524: The circumstances of their creation. The great houses are the largest of the country houses; in truth palaces, built by the country's most powerful – these were designed to display their owners' power or ambitions to power. Really large unfortified or barely fortified houses began to take over from the traditional castles of the crown and magnates during the Tudor period, with vast houses such as Hampton Court Palace and Burghley House , and continued until

2030-523: The country saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIII 's Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the King's favourites, who then converted them into private country houses. Woburn Abbey , Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in

2100-652: The decoration of the Library reflect his presence. Fawley may have been Wyatt's first country house commission. He also designed "the temple", a folly and fishing lodge, on Temple Island . One of two drawings securely attributed to Wyatt that appeared at a Christie's auction, 30 November 1983, is for the interior of the island temple, which was the earliest essay in England of an "Etruscan" style, its pale green walls painted as if hung with "antique" black and terracotta figured tablets and medallions. The drawing that accompanied it

2170-428: The design of the wing around the next corner. These varying "improvements", often criticised at the time, today are the qualities that make English country houses unique. Wealthy and influential people, often bored with their formal duties, go to the country in order to get out of London, the ugliest and most uncomfortable city in the world; they invented the long week-end to stay away as long as possible. Their métier

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2240-566: The early 18th century are in the River and Rowing Museum in Henley. Between 1764 and 1766 the grounds were dramatically landscaped for Sambrooke Freeman by Capability Brown . Shortly thereafter the architect James Wyatt , not yet made famous by his Pantheon, London , worked on decorations in new rooms in the house (1770–71), where doorcases and chimneypieces in Wyatt's early neoclassical style and

2310-427: The early 1970s, hundreds of country houses were demolished . Houses that survived destruction are now mostly Grade I or II listed as buildings of historic interest with restrictions on restoration and re-creation work. However such work is usually very expensive. Several houses have been restored, some over many years. For example at Copped Hall where the restoration started in 1995 continues to this day. Although

2380-513: The filmmakers used the house's library as M 's office in the films Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun . Notable visitors of the estate included producer Albert Broccoli , Sean Connery , Roger Moore , Michael Caine , Rudolf Nureyev and Gregory Peck . The property is owned by Monaco -based cosmetics businessman Mike Jatania, who acquired the house from the cigarette manufacturer Rothmans International . In 2023, it

2450-428: The grounds and a burial place for his mother and other family members. The church in striking modernist style, reminiscent of Zakopane Style architecture , was commissioned from Polish architect, Władysław Jarosz, from the architectural practice, Crabtree and Jarosz and completed in 1971. It is Grade II listed by English Heritage . He died in 1976 and was himself interred in the church's crypt, so confident had he been of

2520-479: The home counties and Bletchley Park (rebuilt in several styles, and famous for its code-breaking role in World War II). The slow decline of the English country house coincided with the rise not just of taxation, but also of modern industry, along with the agricultural depression of the 1870s. By 1880, this had led some owners into financial shortfalls as they tried to balance maintenance of their estates with

2590-478: The house. Strickland Freeman, the nephew of Sambrooke Freeman , wrote works on equitation and veterinary aspects of horsemanship and botany. A very progressive landlord to his agricultural tenants he participated in advancing farming techniques and practices deemed by some revolutionary. Strickland Freeman died without a son and heir. This was basically the end of the Freeman line whose history and achievements in

2660-435: The household. These houses were always an alternative residence to a London house. During the 18th and 19th centuries, for the highest echelons of English society, the country house served as a place for relaxing, hunting and running the country with one's equals at the end of the week, with some houses having their own theatre where performances were staged. The country house, however, was not just an oasis of pleasure for

2730-556: The immediately preceding war then in World War I, were now paying far higher rates of tax, and agricultural incomes had dropped. Thus, the solution for many was to hold contents auctions and then demolish the house and sell its stone, fireplaces , and panelling . This is what happened to many of Britain's finest houses. Despite this slow decline, so necessary was the country house for entertaining and prestige that in 1917 Viscount Lee of Fareham donated his country house Chequers to

2800-438: The income they provided. Some relied on funds from secondary sources such as banking and trade while others, like the severely impoverished Duke of Marlborough , sought to marry American heiresses to save their country houses and lifestyles. The ultimate demise began immediately following World War I . The members of the huge staff required to maintain large houses had either left to fight and never returned, departed to work in

2870-491: The landscape, while some of the great houses such as Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall were built as "power houses" to dominate the landscape, and were most certainly intended to be "stately" and impressive. In his book Historic Houses: Conversations in Stately Homes , the author and journalist Robert Harling documents nineteen "stately homes"; these range in size from the vast Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard to

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2940-569: The late seventeenth century. The centres of the north and south fronts are slightly broken forward and capped with pediments. The Ionic entrance portico on the west front was a much later addition. During the Glorious Revolution of 1688, William III of Orange stayed in the house during his march from Torbay to London, and received a loyal declaration from peers and an address from the Corporation of London. Interior finishing

3010-544: The latter two are ducal palaces, Montacute, although built by a Master of the Rolls to Queen Elizabeth I, was occupied for the next 400 years by his descendants, who were gentry without a London townhouse , rather than aristocracy. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century. However, the vast majority of English country houses, often owned at different times by gentlemen and peers , are an evolution of one or more styles with facades and wings in different styles in

3080-413: The loan was not repaid William Freeman bought out the remainder. In 1684 the house was completely rebuilt for Freeman, a plantation and slave owner and merchant. The resulting main house is a large square brick and stone house with two tall storeys, plus basement and attic. The symmetrical plan is ranged either side of an entrance hall entered from the west, with the identically proportioned saloon beyond;

3150-655: The minuscule Ebberston Hall , and in architecture from the Jacobean Renaissance of Hatfield House to the eccentricities of Sezincote . The book's collection of stately homes also includes George IV's Brighton town palace, the Royal Pavilion . The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years. Before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords , de facto overlords of their manors . The Tudor period of stability in

3220-416: The most eminent guests, the entertainment of whom was of paramount importance in establishing and maintaining the power of the owner. The common denominator of this category of English country houses is that they were designed to be lived in with a certain degree of ceremony and pomp. It was not unusual for the family to have a small suite of rooms for withdrawing in privacy away from the multitude that lived in

3290-399: The munitions factories, or filled the void left by the fighting men in other workplaces. Of those who returned after the war, many left the countryside for better-paid jobs in towns. The final blow for many country houses came following World War II ; having been requisitioned during the war, they were returned to the owners in poor repair. Many estate owners, having lost their heirs, if not in

3360-468: The names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace , castle , court , hall , mansion , park , house , manor , and place . It was during the second half of the reign of Elizabeth I , and under her successor, James I , that the first architect-designed mansions, thought of today as epitomising the English country house, began to make their appearance. Burghley House , Longleat House , and Hatfield House are among

3430-454: The nation for the use of a prime minister who might not possess one of his or her own. Chequers still fulfills that need today as do both Chevening House and Dorneywood , donated for sole use of high-ranking ministers of the Crown. Today, many country houses have become hotels, schools, hospitals and museums, while others have survived as conserved ruins, but from the early 20th century until

3500-468: The owner of a "power house" or a small manor, the inhabitants of the English country house have become collectively referred to as the ruling class, because this is exactly what they did in varying degrees, whether by having high political influence and power in national government, or in the day-to-day running of their own localities or "county" in such offices as lord/deputy lieutenant , magistrates , or occasionally even clergy. The Country house mystery

3570-529: The owner's twelve children. Canons Ashby , home to poet John Dryden 's family, is another example of architectural evolution: a medieval farmhouse enlarged in the Tudor era around a courtyard, given grandiose plaster ceilings in the Stuart period , and then having Georgian façades added in the 18th century. The whole is a glorious mismatch of styles and fashions that seamlessly blend together. These could be called

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3640-512: The ownership or management of some houses has been transferred to a private trust , most notably at Chatsworth , other houses have transferred art works and furnishings under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme to ownership by various national or local museums, but retained for display in the building. This enables the former owners to offset tax, the payment of which would otherwise have necessitated

3710-403: The principal apartments and staircases are placed in equal-sized blocks on either side, projecting slightly on the west and east fronts. The stair hall in the southwest block was originally open to the entrnce hall. Now accessed from the entrance hall since about +-1771 the wooden staircase is not the originl but a ninethhenth century replacement neven though it has twist-turned balusters typical of

3780-462: The private sale of the art works. For example, tapestries and furniture at Houghton Hall are now owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum . In addition, increasing numbers of country houses hold licences for weddings and civil ceremonies . Another source of income is to use the house as a venue for parties, a film location or a corporate entertainment venue. While many country houses are open to

3850-476: The prominent British art critic (born 1954). The house was severely damaged by fire in 1973, but was rebuilt with the help of donations from the Polish community in Britain and abroad. The school finally closed in 1986 due to falling rolls of students of Polish origin, and the Marian Fathers converted Fawley Court into a 'Retreat and Conference Centre'. The energetic founder and headmaster, Fr. Józef Jarzębowski ,

3920-472: The public and derive income through that means, they remain homes, in some cases inhabited by the descendants of their original owners. The lifestyles of those living and working in a country house in the early 20th century were recreated in a BBC television programme, The Edwardian Country House , filmed at Manderston House in Scotland. Another television programme which features life in country houses

3990-517: The railway network in France, following the decline due to ill health and death of his partner and brother, the famous civil engineer and railway builder, William Mackenzie . Edward Mackenzie himself died in 1880, and the house was inherited by his son, William Dalziel Mackenzie, who commissioned the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin to extend the house. This took place in 1883, and consisted of

4060-407: The residential accommodation for the pupils and to keep it running. It was intended for boys of Polish descent but accepted local children as well as those from overseas, e.g. from Ghana , Mauritius and Hong Kong . At its peak the school catered for 150 boys of 9 to 19 years of age and offered a rounded education including university entrance exams. An alumnus of the time is Waldemar Januszczak ,

4130-464: The season: Grouse shooting in Scotland , pheasant shooting and fox hunting in England. The Earl of Rosebery , for instance, had Dalmeny House in Scotland, Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, and another house near Epsom just for the racing season. For many, this way of life, which began a steady decline in 1914, continued well into the 20th century, and for a few continues to this day. In

4200-444: The second category of Britain's country houses are those that belonged to the squirearchy or landed gentry . These tend either to have evolved from medieval hall houses, with rooms added as required, or were purpose-built by relatively unknown local architects. Smaller, and far greater in number than the "power houses", these were still the epicentre of their own estate, but were often the only residence of their owner. However, whether

4270-514: The term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who dominated rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832 . Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses . With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until

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4340-493: The true English country house. Wilton House , one of England's grandest houses, is in a remarkably similar vein; although, while the Drydens, mere squires, at Canons Ashby employed a local architect, at Wilton the mighty Earls of Pembroke employed the finest architects of the day: first Holbein , 150 years later Inigo Jones, and then Wyatt followed by Chambers. Each employed a different style of architecture, seemingly unaware of

4410-520: Was a popular genre of English detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s; set in the residence of the gentry and often involving a murder in a country house temporarily isolated by a snowstorm or similar with the suspects all at a weekend house party. Following the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, a third category of country houses was built as newly rich industrialists and bankers were eager to display their wealth and taste. By

4480-554: Was an early member of the Society of Antiquaries, built the Gothic folly in the grounds and the Freeman family mausoleum in the village based on the design of the tomb of Caecilla Metella in Rome. He buried a time capsule of contemporary artefacts in a mound resembling a round barrow on the estate. These were rediscovered in the early 20th century when the site was excavated by archaeologists. Examples of its many day to day household items of

4550-513: Was captivated by history, especially events around the 1863 January Uprising . He was also a keen collector, since before the war, of Polish Militaria and historical materials. Fortuitously, they found a suitable setting in the august Wyatt interiors of the main house. In time, Fawley Court housed a Museum of national significance and is the subject of a detailed study published by the National Library of Poland . The collection comprised

4620-643: Was holding it when the book was compiled in 1086, and the Sackvilles held it until it passed through the marriage of the Sackville heiress Margery, to Thomas Rokes, in 1477. In 1616, Fawley was sold to Sir James Whitelocke , a judge who also bought adjoining smaller Phyllis Court and larger Henley Park . On his death in 1632 Fawley passed to his son, Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke , who was a parliamentarian and judge who also owned much land in Remenham . During

4690-471: Was ongoing however as the plasterwork of the saloon ceiling bears the date 1690; bearing the arms of Freeman and of Baxter, William's spouse. Its confident bold relief tempted Geoffrey Beard to ascribe it to London plasterer William Parker, whose comparable work at Denham Place is documented. Following Freeman's death the estate passed to John Cooke his nephew, a merchant, dilettante and amateur architect, who under William's will changed his name to Freeman. He

4760-532: Was run as Divine Mercy College by the Polish Congregation of Marian Fathers , with its associated library, museum and was one of the cultural centres for the Polish communinty in the United Kingdom until its closure and sale in 2009. It is listed at Grade I for its architecture. The main building sits five times its length away from the river , 600m along the 2112m Henley Royal Regatta course and has

4830-422: Was to predominate until the second half of the 18th century when, influenced by ancient Greek styles, it gradually evolved into the neoclassicism championed by such architects as Robert Adam . Some of the best known of England's country houses were the work of only one architect/designer, built in a relatively short, particular time: Montacute House , Chatsworth House , and Blenheim Palace are examples. While

4900-557: Was trained there as a radio operator prior to his insertion into France as described by the obituary on the Telegraph 26 June 2014. He served both as a commando and as a member of the SOE (special operations executive) and as a Jedburgh. It was left it in a poor state after the war. In 1953 the house and surrounding grounds with an exceptional river frontage on the Thames were purchased by

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