Hylands Park
Encyclopedia
Hylands House is a Grade II* neo-classical villa situated within Hylands Park a 232-hectare
(574 acre
) park south-west of Chelmsford
in Essex
in South East England
. It is owned and operated by Chelmsford Borough Council
.
to enjoy. Hylands Park was opened to the public only 10 days later. It was agreed by Chelmsford Borough Council that Hylands House should be restored to its former glory and having stood empty for 20 years, the first phase of restoration took place in 1986. The final stage was completed in 2005.
, and commissioned the construction of a new family home on the estate, suitable for a man of his standing. Completed in 1730, Hylands House was an elegant two-storey red brick building in Queen Anne style architecture
. The grounds were set out in the formal geometric style fashionable at the time, with a pleasure garden and small kitchen garden to the north of the house.
. In 1759, John Comyns commissioned a monument to the life of his beloved uncle, which can be seen at the family vault in Writtle Church. John in turn left Hylands to his son, John Richard Comyns in 1760.
, who set about redesigning the gardens. Kortright planned to add the east and west wings, a colonnaded portico and cover the whole house in white stucco. However, despite the grand plans Kortright did not see the House through to completion as his ever increasing family required them to relocate to a much larger residence, in nearby Fryerning
.
facade that can be seen today. Labouchere created the formal Pleasure Gardens and under the guidance of architect Williams Atkinson, the Georgian Stable Block and Coachman's Cottage. He also collected neo-classical
sculptures, including works by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen
, replicas of which are on display in the house today.
sold Hylands House and Estate to Mr John Attwood, former owner of an ironworks in Birmingham
. Attwood was an ambitious entrepreneur who wanted a property to befit his new status and promote his quest for a peerage. As MP for Harwich
, he decided that Hylands was insufficiently grand to reflect his position in society, and had the house considerably enlarged and fully redecorated. He purchased over 3500 acres (14.2 km²) of additional land surrounding Hylands and privatised the road from Writtle
to Margaretting
that ran through the estate.
, Hylands House was requisitioned for use as a military hospital, and over 1,500 patients were treated there. Sir Daniel was also a keen explorer and accompanied Sir Ernest Shackleton on the first leg of his bid to reach the South Pole
, but returned home early, suffering from severe frostbite.
, the estate was the site for a German Prisoner of War Camp, and the house was used by the SAS
as their headquarters.
Mrs Christine Hanbury died in 1962, aged 89, leaving the house and estate to her trustees, and for the final time in its history Hylands was again offered for sale. Chelmsford Borough Council purchased the house and estate at auction in 1966 and set about opening it to the public and eventually restoring both the House and the grounds.
gave their consent to the Council's proposal to reduce the house to its 19th-century appearance. Prior to work commencing Hylands House was re-graded to become a Grade II* listed building.
Phased restoration work began in 1986, and by 1996 the external work to the House had been completed and the Entrance Hall restored to its Georgian grandeur. The Blue Room and Boudoir were refurbished and once again the house was full of the sound of people.
The east wing was fully restored and opened to the general public at Easter 1999. The west wing and basement restoration quickly followed and their grand opening took place at Easter 2004. The restoration of the basement area has brought to life the original red brick Queen Anne house and a number of exciting discoveries were made. Interpretation boards throughout the house offer visitors an informative and photographic display of the restoration process.
The final phase of restoration in the House was completed in September 2005, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund
. Hylands House is now fully restored to its Victorian splendour, giving visitors the opportunity to glide up the Grand staircase and imagine what it must have been like to attend one of the spectacular balls or banquets held there.
, began in 2004 and was completed in 2007. The restoration of Hylands Park was financed by a Heritage Lottery Fund
grant of £3.4 million and by the Council.
Restoring Repton's parkland - the original 'Widford Approach' drive has been reinstated for pedestrians and cyclists, providing beautiful framed views of the estate, before finally revealing the house itself. Repton's spectacular views of the lake from the house can now also be enjoyed, especially from the Repton Room located with Hylands house.
Conversion of the stable block - the Georgian stables have been restored and converted into The Stables Visitor Centre which incorporates a new visitor centre, with craft studios. gift shop, cafe, interpretation rooms, education room and stabling for horses.
Home Farm - these farm buildings have been restored and adapted for storage and offices for the Grounds Maintenance team.
Flint Cottage - a former gamekeeper's cottage and now derelict, has been brought back to its original appearance and is now used as a store to support the Council's events in the park.
. In the 2004 film Chasing Liberty
, Hylands House doubled as the US White House
In 2005 Hylands Park was the venue for the European Scout Jamboree and in 2007 Hylands welcomed scouts from over 160 nations for the 21st World Scout Jamboree
, which celebrated 100 years of scouting. The One World Garden was created to commemorate this historic event, and now forms part of the estate.
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
(574 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
) park south-west of Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
in South East 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...
. It is owned and operated by Chelmsford Borough Council
Chelmsford (borough)
Chelmsford is a local government district and borough in Essex, England. It is named after its main settlement, Chelmsford, which is also the county town of Essex.-History:...
.
History
The last private owner lived in Hylands House until her death until 1962. It was in 1966, with the House in a desperate state of disrepair, that Chelmsford Borough Council purchased the Park for the people of ChelmsfordChelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
to enjoy. Hylands Park was opened to the public only 10 days later. It was agreed by Chelmsford Borough Council that Hylands House should be restored to its former glory and having stood empty for 20 years, the first phase of restoration took place in 1986. The final stage was completed in 2005.
Sir John Comyns 1730–1740
Around 1726, a local and well respected lawyer, Sir John Comyns, purchased the manor of Shaxstones in WrittleWrittle
The village of Writtle lies a mile west of Chelmsford, Essex, England, it has a traditional village green, complete with duck pond and a Norman church; and was once described as: 'one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing variety of ancient cottages'...
, and commissioned the construction of a new family home on the estate, suitable for a man of his standing. Completed in 1730, Hylands House was an elegant two-storey red brick building in Queen Anne style architecture
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
. The grounds were set out in the formal geometric style fashionable at the time, with a pleasure garden and small kitchen garden to the north of the house.
John Comyns 1740–1760 & John Richard Comyns 1760–1797
Sir John Comyns died in 1740, without surviving children, and left the estate to his nephew, John Comyns of RomfordRomford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
. In 1759, John Comyns commissioned a monument to the life of his beloved uncle, which can be seen at the family vault in Writtle Church. John in turn left Hylands to his son, John Richard Comyns in 1760.
Cornelius Kortright 1797–1815
In 1797 Cornelius Kortright purchased Hylands House and employed the well-known landscape architect Humphry ReptonHumphry Repton
Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...
, who set about redesigning the gardens. Kortright planned to add the east and west wings, a colonnaded portico and cover the whole house in white stucco. However, despite the grand plans Kortright did not see the House through to completion as his ever increasing family required them to relocate to a much larger residence, in nearby Fryerning
Fryerning
Fryerning is a village in south Essex. It is situated just 1.5 miles north of Ingatestone. The Parish Church is St. Mary the Virgin in Blackmore Road...
.
Pierre Cesar Labouchere 1816–1839
Pierre Cesar Labouchere, a Dutch born merchant banker, purchased the estate in 1814 and set about completing Repton's design for expansion and improvement of the house and parkland. This resulted in the symmetrical neo-classicNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
facade that can be seen today. Labouchere created the formal Pleasure Gardens and under the guidance of architect Williams Atkinson, the Georgian Stable Block and Coachman's Cottage. He also collected neo-classical
Neoclassical sculpture
Neoclassical sculpture was a sculptural style of the 18th and 19th centuries. The neoclassical period was one of the great ages of public sculpture, though its "classical" prototypes were more likely to be Roman copies of Hellenistic sculptures. The neoclassical sculptors paid homage to an idea of...
sculptures, including works by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...
, replicas of which are on display in the house today.
John Attwood 1839–1858
After Labouchère's death, his son Henry LabouchereHenry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton
Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton PC was a prominent British Whig and Liberal Party politician of the mid-19th century.-Background and education:...
sold Hylands House and Estate to Mr John Attwood, former owner of an ironworks in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. Attwood was an ambitious entrepreneur who wanted a property to befit his new status and promote his quest for a peerage. As MP for Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, he decided that Hylands was insufficiently grand to reflect his position in society, and had the house considerably enlarged and fully redecorated. He purchased over 3500 acres (14.2 km²) of additional land surrounding Hylands and privatised the road from Writtle
Writtle
The village of Writtle lies a mile west of Chelmsford, Essex, England, it has a traditional village green, complete with duck pond and a Norman church; and was once described as: 'one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing variety of ancient cottages'...
to Margaretting
Margaretting
Margaretting is a small village in the Chelmsford District, in the English county of Essex.- Location :The village is located on the B1002 road approximately four miles from Chelmsford and two miles from the small town of Ingatestone. It is near the River Wid...
that ran through the estate.
Arthur Pryor 1858–1904
Arthur Pryor was a partner in the Truman, Hanbury and Buxton Brewery and purchased a much reduced Hylands Estate in 1858. He did little to the house other than some redecoration, although some of the exuberant decoration in the Banqueting Room is credited to him.Sir Daniel Gooch 1904–1920
Having originally rented the House and land in 1904, Sir Daniel Gooch purchased Hylands in 1907, and modernised the House, with the installation of electricity and telephones. The Gooch family entertained regularly, with shooting parties and fetes, including a memorable celebration for the coronation of King George V. During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Hylands House was requisitioned for use as a military hospital, and over 1,500 patients were treated there. Sir Daniel was also a keen explorer and accompanied Sir Ernest Shackleton on the first leg of his bid to reach the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
, but returned home early, suffering from severe frostbite.
Mr John and Christine Hanbury 1922–1962
In 1920, Hylands was sold to a syndicate of local gentlemen, but only two years later it was purchased by John Hanbury. Like Arthur Pryor, John was chairman of the brewers Truman's. However, John Hanbury died suddenly in 1923 before taking occupation of Hylands. Christine was later left alone when Jock became one of the first pilots to die in the Second World War in a flying accident. Christine Hanbury made great changes to the grounds, including a lawn tennis court, rhododendron borders and a private area in the gardens dedicated to the memory of her husband and son. During World War IIWorld 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 estate was the site for a German Prisoner of War Camp, and the house was used by the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
as their headquarters.
Mrs Christine Hanbury died in 1962, aged 89, leaving the house and estate to her trustees, and for the final time in its history Hylands was again offered for sale. Chelmsford Borough Council purchased the house and estate at auction in 1966 and set about opening it to the public and eventually restoring both the House and the grounds.
Restoration of the House
The House was in a state of progressive deterioration but, despite its poor condition, in 1967 Hylands House became a Grade II listed building. In 1985 the Borough Council set up a restoration fund and later that year English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
gave their consent to the Council's proposal to reduce the house to its 19th-century appearance. Prior to work commencing Hylands House was re-graded to become a Grade II* listed building.
Phased restoration work began in 1986, and by 1996 the external work to the House had been completed and the Entrance Hall restored to its Georgian grandeur. The Blue Room and Boudoir were refurbished and once again the house was full of the sound of people.
The east wing was fully restored and opened to the general public at Easter 1999. The west wing and basement restoration quickly followed and their grand opening took place at Easter 2004. The restoration of the basement area has brought to life the original red brick Queen Anne house and a number of exciting discoveries were made. Interpretation boards throughout the house offer visitors an informative and photographic display of the restoration process.
The final phase of restoration in the House was completed in September 2005, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
. Hylands House is now fully restored to its Victorian splendour, giving visitors the opportunity to glide up the Grand staircase and imagine what it must have been like to attend one of the spectacular balls or banquets held there.
Restoration of the Estate
Intensive work on restoring the historic landscape of Hylands Park to its 18th century splendour, designed by famed landscape architect Humphry ReptonHumphry Repton
Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...
, began in 2004 and was completed in 2007. The restoration of Hylands Park was financed by a Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
grant of £3.4 million and by the Council.
Restoring Repton's parkland - the original 'Widford Approach' drive has been reinstated for pedestrians and cyclists, providing beautiful framed views of the estate, before finally revealing the house itself. Repton's spectacular views of the lake from the house can now also be enjoyed, especially from the Repton Room located with Hylands house.
Conversion of the stable block - the Georgian stables have been restored and converted into The Stables Visitor Centre which incorporates a new visitor centre, with craft studios. gift shop, cafe, interpretation rooms, education room and stabling for horses.
Home Farm - these farm buildings have been restored and adapted for storage and offices for the Grounds Maintenance team.
Flint Cottage - a former gamekeeper's cottage and now derelict, has been brought back to its original appearance and is now used as a store to support the Council's events in the park.
Recent history
Since 1996, the park has hosted the annual V FestivalV Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
. In the 2004 film Chasing Liberty
Chasing Liberty
Chasing Liberty is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Cadiff, and starring Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.-Plot:Anna Foster is the daughter of President James Foster and First Lady Michelle Foster . After Secret Service agents ruin a first date, Anna demands some freedom...
, Hylands House doubled as the US White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
In 2005 Hylands Park was the venue for the European Scout Jamboree and in 2007 Hylands welcomed scouts from over 160 nations for the 21st World Scout Jamboree
21st World Scout Jamboree
The 21st World Scout Jamboree was held in July and August 2007, and formed a part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations of the world Scout Movement. The event was hosted by the United Kingdom, as 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Scouting on Brownsea Island.The event was...
, which celebrated 100 years of scouting. The One World Garden was created to commemorate this historic event, and now forms part of the estate.