Enham-Alamein (also known as Enham Place, Enham House)

Taylor's map of 1759 shows Knights Enham with a church and small house which may be the future Enham House, as well as Doles Lodge in a wooded area to the north. The first map to name Enham Place is Milne's Hampshire map of 1791 showing a house to the north of Knights Enham with a circular drive and marked as ‘owned by Dewar Esq.'.

George Dewar (1707-1786) was a wealthy West Indian planter of Scottish decent. As early as 18th June 1765 he purchased a cottage in Enham from William Golding. In May 1782 he went on to purchase the Lordships of the Manor of Hurstbourne Tarrant, Ibthorpe and Upton from James Wright who in turn had purchased them from the Paulet family, the Marquis of Winchester. Included in this estate was Doles Lodge (named on Taylor's map as Dole Wood Lodge) to the north of Enham Place, where George Dewar set up home, and the hamlet of Knights Enham. On the death of his father in 1786, David Dewar (1746-1792), the second son, inherited the estate and either replaced or rebuilt Enham Place or House.

Doles Lodge, or Doles Hall, remained in the Dewar family until the late-19th century, though the ‘Hon'ble Fitzroy' is named on the Milne map 1791, inferring that it was by now tenanted. David Dewar had a son, Albermarle Dewar. He was born in 1822 in Doles Hall, which would indicate the family had moved back to this house some time before this date. The Andover Weekend Advertiser suggests that the family sold Enham House before 1820.

By 1810 the Old Series Ordnance Survey map 1", shows the house and an avenue of trees from the north towards the house, with another avenue of trees sited to the west of the parkland surrounding the house. The 1826 Greenwood map shows extended parkland with both avenues of trees still present, but also another avenue to the north leading to Doles Lodge in the woods to the north. The grounds of Enham Place are shown as parkland with no formal gardens. A sketch naming Enham House rather than Enham Place dated 1829, shows a very handsome stone-built house of classical proportions with columns each side of the porch and a wide sweeping drive. Trees shown behind the house include both conifers and deciduous varieties. A glasshouse has been built onto the front right side of the house with what appears to be a raised area of garden within a retaining wall, directly outside it.

The first edition Ordnance Survey map 25", 1871, shows Enham House with several walled gardens behind the house, some planted as an orchard, others with trees around the perimeter. By this time the tree-lined drive at the front of the property has been removed and the drive now runs parallel with the road. There is an entrance and exit to the north and south of the grounds and a large turning area in front of the house. A lodge has been built at the southern entrance and several outbuildings at the rear of the house now form a courtyard. An elm tree is shown in the courtyard. The tree- lined drive from the north still exists, but does not appear to be used as a road access to the house. There are lawns to the front with fewer trees but nearer the road the house is well-hidden by a thicker planting of mixed trees. Several wells are shown around the house. This is interesting as the cellars of the property were known to have been flooded at the time of a fire in 1883. The 6" first edition Ordnance Survey map, 1872, marks a lodge to the south of the site.

The Earle family acquired the property at some time in the first half of the 19th century. Thomas Hughes Earle (1834-91) was named in various items in The Times as ‘of Enham Place'. He appears to have leased the property to various tenants during his ownership, including a Captain Powse, (Whites Directory 1859), and later to a Reverend H. Cheales, who was in residence in March 1883 when the property was destroyed by fire.

A new property was soon built, again and called Enham Place. Of typical late-Victorian design, this was a brick house with sash windows and many tall brick chimneys, somewhat smaller than the original house. The front porch retained something of the original house design, with two stone columns each side similar to the old house porch and possibly rescued from the fire. The 1891 census records that Isobel Earle is living ‘on her own means' with 10 servants. In the 1901 census the Earle family and a Hariam Bennett, coachman and family are living in Enham Place and Mr. Jeffries (a gardener) lives in the Lodge. During this period some changes are made and the 1909 map shows walled gardens which contain at least three large glass houses, whilst the orchard and perimeter trees have been removed.

After the death of Isobel Earle in 1917 the Earle family put the house and estate on the market. The whole site was purchased in 1918 by a consortium of London businessmen. They had secured an interest-free loan from philanthropist Sir Ernest Cassel. The site was to be used for the rehabilitation of disabled service men returning from the World War 1. A photograph dated 1920 shows the large Victorian brick house now covered both front and back with creepers. Though some flower beds can be seen around the edge of the house the rear lawns are bare of any planting.

By 1927 the enterprise was in financial difficulty and changes were made. Enham House, which was being used as a workshop known as The Factory, is believed to have been demolished in the 1930s and a purpose-built factory built on the site. In 1945 a substantial donation of £225,000 was received from the people of Egypt in gratitude for help received during the battle of El Alamein. This money went towards the building of a tuberculosis hostel on the site, called Phipps House. As health improved and the hostel was not needed it became a residential home for disabled people. The village was renamed Enham-Alamein in recognition of this generous donation.

Type

Garden

Purpose

Ornamental

Principal Building

Domestic / Residential

Survival

Part: standing remains

Open to the public

Yes