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Park Place and Temple Combe

Introduction

Park Place and Temple Combe have later 18th century landscape park and gardens which at its most extensive covered about 360 hectares. The park contains a 'Druids Temple' or Neolithic chambered tomb, brought from Jersey and reconstructed in 1785. The park is now in divided ownership, the 'Druids Temple' being situated at Temple Combe. A golf course has been constructed in the north-east corner of the park.

Terrain

The site occupies a plateau above the Thames valley lying towards the southern end of the Chiltern Hills.

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest

Park Place, a 19th century country house on the site of an earlier house, surrounded by 18th and 19th century gardens and pleasure grounds and landscape park, with work in the mid to late 19th century by Robert Marnock. A second, smaller estate, Temple Combe, developed during the late 18th century, lies enclosed within the Park Place estate.

Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform and Setting

The Park Place estate lies adjacent to the north bank of the River Thames, east of Henley-on-Thames. The 240 hectare site is bounded to the south-west partly by the river and partly by the A321 Henley to Wargrave road, to the east by a lane linking the A4130 Henley to London road with the A321, and to the north by the A4130 itself. The site occupies a plateau above the Thames valley lying towards the southern end of the Chiltern Hills, including, to the south-west, the undulating hillside leading down to the adjacent river. The setting is largely rural, with views from the western edge of the site over the river towards Henley to the west, and towards the countryside to the south and west.

REFERENCES

P Noble, Park Place Berkshire (1905)

Victoria History of the County of Berkshire 3, (1923), pp 160-2

Country Life, 127 (24 March 1960), pp 640-2; 144 (24 October 1968), p 1074

N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Berkshire (1966), pp 192-3

B Jones, Follies & Grottoes (1974), p 289

J Harris, The Artist and the Country House (1979), p 229

D Jacques, Georgian Gardens (1983), pp 92-3, 120, 192

In Search of English Gardens: The Travels of John Claudius Loudon and his wife Jane. (National Trust Classics 1990), pp 109-10

Maps

J Rocque, Map of Berkshire, 1761

T Pride, A topographical map of the Town of Reading and the County adjacent to an extent of 10 miles, 1790

Sale plan of Park Place, Remenham, Berkshire, nd (C19), (D1245/FF.39), (Gloucestershire Record Office)

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1883

2nd edition published 1900

3rd edition published 1938

OS 25" to 1 mile: 2nd edition published 1913

Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts

Directions

South-east of Henley-on-Thames, off the A321.

History

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

In 1719 Mrs Elizabeth Baker sold land called Park's Place, also known as Strowdes, to Lord Archibald Hamilton, who at some time after this erected a Palladian mansion called Park Place on a new site (Victoria County History 1923). In 1738 Park Place was sold to Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707-51). Following Frederick's death in 1751 the estate was bought by General the Hon Henry Seymour Conway (1720-1795), cousin of Horace Walpole, who enlarged the parkland during the 1760s-1780s, embellishing it with various ornamental structures and buildings and developing the area known as Temple Combe. Following Conway's death in 1795, the estate was sold in 1797 to Lord Malmesbury who further expanded the park to the east, and entertained Pitt, Canning and other notable men of the day there. Following its sale in 1816 the estate passed through several hands during the 19th century. The house was rebuilt in about 1871, following a fire, for John Noble of Noble's Paints and Varnishes (who had bought the estate in 1867), together with a new stable block. The grounds were subject to extensive `landscape gardening' carried out under Robert Marnock (1800-1889) in about 1869, who planted thousands of specimen trees and shrubs, `as far as possible every known variety!' (Noble 1905). In 1949 the estate was sold out of the Noble family into divided ownership, the house becoming a school during the later 20th century, and being now (1998) in private ownership. A golf course has been constructed in the north-east corner of the park, with a second, smaller one in Happy Valley, and the estate remains in divided ownership.

Period

  • 18th Century (1701 to 1800)
  • Late 18th Century (1767 to 1800)
Associated People
Features & Designations

Designations

  • The National Heritage List for England: Register of Parks and Gardens

  • Reference: GD1578
  • Grade: II*

Features

  • Druid's Temple
  • Description: 'Druids Temple' or Neolithic chambered tomb, brought from Jersey and reconstructed in 1785.
  • Latest Date:
  • River
  • Description: The site is bounded to the south-west partly by the river Thames.
  • House (featured building)
  • Description: The house was re-built in 1871 following a fire.
  • Earliest Date:
  • Latest Date:
  • Stable Block
  • Earliest Date:
  • Latest Date:
  • Gardens
  • Parkland
  • Golf Course
Key Information

Type

Park

Purpose

Ornamental

Principal Building

Domestic / Residential

Period

18th Century (1701 to 1800)

Survival

Extant

Hectares

240

Civil Parish

Remenham

References

References