Bourne House, East Woodhay
Encyclopedia
East Woodhay
East Woodhay is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, situated approximately south-west of Newbury in Berkshire. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,794....
, lies at the north western tip of the parish of Widehaye in the Evingar hundred, in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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...
.
Bourne house, with a then small but neat estate of 30 acres (121,405.8 m²), five cottages, etc, was still described as Bourne cottage when it was sold to divine and writer Philip Antoine de Teissier (1819–1891) in 1872.
Whether cottage ornée, 17 hearth villa, or today’s dacha, back in 1853, a notice advertising its impending sale by auction in The Times of 1 March 1853 (page 12, column e) called it thus :
‘...a very valuable FREEHOLD ESTATE: comprising a compact gentleman’s residence, called BOURNE COTTAGE, with excellent yard, garden, barn, stable, and orchard..…bounded on the north by a beautiful stream*, … situate in a most desirable and highly respectable neighbourhood, and together forms a very pretty estate…The scenery around is very extensive and picturesque...’
(* trout stream = the River Auborn, Enn or Enborne
River Enborne
thumb|left|250px|River Enbournethumb|left|250px|River Enbourne at Headley Ford, near Crookham Commonthumb|left|250px|River Enborne at Shalford bridge, near [[Brimpton]]thumb|left|250px|Oxford Bridge over a small tributary of the River Enborne, near Inwood Copse...
).
The Barons de Teissier
The Rev. Philip Antoine de Teissier was the third son of James (first Baron) de Teissier (1794–1868), of Woodcote Park, EpsomEpsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, 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...
, who had been created a Baron of France by King Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
on 4 December 1819:
-
- '‘in consideration for the kindness shown by his father [Lewis, a merchant of London] during the French Revolution to French subjects, and in acknowledgement of the loyalty of the head of the family Jean Antoine (de Teissier) 3rd Baron of Marquerittas who was guillotined 20 May 1794'’.
The De Teissiers had the house from 1872 to 1910.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
(matric. 1837), Philip de Teissier held about 12 curacies between 1842 and 1871.
He wrote five books including Voices of the Dead (London, 1875) and Sermons upon the Lord’s Supper (London, 1878).
In 1891 Philip de Teissier, (by then third Baron de Teissier) died unmarried and childless at the Westminster Palace Hotel, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, leaving effects valued at £57,170.
The house passed to his brother General (Henry) Price (fourth Baron) de Teissier (1820–1895), described as ‘of Fetcham-grove, Leatherhead
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin...
’, and then of both of ‘Fetcham-grove and Bourne-house’.
General Baron de Teissier is unlikely to have used it much in the four years before he died and it then passed to his son, Henry (fifth) Baron de Teissier (1862-25 June 1931). This later Henry also does not appear to have occupied. He lived in various parts of London. In 1904, for example, he was at 27, Prince’s Gardens, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
. He sold Bourne House in 1910, and died of 30, The Avenue, Upper Norwood
Upper Norwood
Upper Norwood is an elevated area in south London, England within the postcode SE19. It is a residential district largely in the London Borough of Croydon although some parts extend into the London Borough of Lambeth, London Borough of Southwark and the London Borough of Bromley. Upper Norwood...
, Surrey leaving effects valued at £1,535 15s 3d to his wife, Agneta Mary, Baroness de Teissier.
Ernest Wills
Sir Ernest Wills, third Bart., (1869–1958), of the BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
firm W. D. & H. O. Wills, had the house for three and a half years, 1920–1923, after the First World War just before and after he inherited his baronetcy and another house on the comparatively early death of his brother in October 1921. Up to 1920 he had lived at Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. He died in 1958, effects valued at £766,556. Bourne House would have been a convenient short term home for such a keen breeder of racehorses, follower of the Craven and Tedworth hounds and player of tennis. In 1920 he already had Meggernie Castle
Meggernie Castle
Meggernie Castle is a castle in the heart of Perth and Kinross, in central Scotland. It is located halfway up Glenlyon, where the river Lyon flows through on its way to join Loch Tay...
, Glenlyon, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and went on to possess the 8000 acres (32.4 km²) Littlecote
Littlecote House
Littlecote House is a large Elizabethan country house and estate in the civil parishes of Ramsbury and Chilton Foliat in the English county of Wiltshire near to Hungerford. The estate includes 34 hectares of historic parklands and gardens, including a walled garden from the 17th and 18th centuries...
estate near Hungerford
Hungerford
Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...
(leased from 1922, freehold from 1929).
A director of Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...
, he was the last of his family to be directly involved in the business.
John William Douglas
John William Douglas had the house for five years from 1923 to 1928.His most obvious legacy were the brass labels for the keys to the outbuildings, which suggests that he therefore at the same time may have sorted everything else out. The bell board was probably his.
Arthur Southwell
Irish Peer, Sir Arthur Southwell, seventh Bart., the fifth Viscount SouthwellViscount Southwell
Viscount Southwell, of Castle Mattress in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Thomas Southwell, 3rd Baron Southwell. The Southwell family descends from Thomas Southwell. In 1662 he was created a Baronet, of Castle Mattress in the County of...
(1872–1944) and his family had it for 17 years from 1929 to 1946. Southwell was in the Royal Monmouthshire Engineers Militia, the Shropshire Yeomanry and was a Lt. Colonel in the Machine Gun Corps. During World War II
World 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...
Southwell led the local A.R.P.
Air Raid Precautions
Air Raid Precautions was an organisation in the United Kingdom set up as an aid in the prelude to the Second World War dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber...
, the dining-room at Bourne house was therefore used as the control room. They were probably responsible for the south front bay window extensions.
He married Dorothy Walrond in 1897. She, who died in 1952, was the daughter of the first Lord Waleran
William Walrond, 1st Baron Waleran
William Hood Walrond, 1st Baron Waleran PC , known as Sir William Walrond, Bt, between 1889 and 1905, was a British Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1906 when he was raised to the peerage...
. She created a Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
, some plants and the rockery of which were extant in 2006.
‘...Particularly Attractive Country Residence…Ten bedrooms, Four Bathrooms, Domestic Offices,... Main Electric Light, Telephone... The Residence is of moderate size, fitted with modern conveniences and easily run ... Two loose Boxes, Harness Room with loft over, Cowhouse for two Cows, Four dog kennels, Men’s E.C., Potting Shed, Apple Store ... Excellent Sporting and Residential neighbourhood’
Timeline
Main local events:- 1818: enclosures
- 1847: Newbury railway stationNewbury railway stationNewbury railway station is a railway station in the centre of Newbury, Berkshire, England. It was opened on 21 December 1847 by the Great Western Railway...
on the Berks and Hants Railway, aka, Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, Hungerford Branch, opens - 1850: separate ecclesiastical parish of Woolton HillWoolton HillWoolton Hill is a village in Hampshire, England, within the civil parish of East Woodhay.The village is situated approximately south-west of Newbury and encompasses the smaller hamlet of Broad Layings within its Northern borders...
formed - 1882: Railway line Newbury to Didcot opens
- 1885: Woodhay stationWoodhay railway stationWoodhay railway station served the villages of Enborne Row and Broad Laying in Hampshire, England.The station closed in the 1960s.-History:...
(one mile away) on the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton RailwayDidcot, Newbury and Southampton RailwayThe Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway was a cross-country railway running north-south between Didcot, Newbury and Southampton although it actually reached the latter by running over the London and South Western Railway tracks from Shawford Junction, south of Winchester...
opens (closes 1960) - 1946: The first Heathrow Airport departure, January
- 1972: M4 motorwayM4 motorwayThe M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
reaches junction 13 - 1985: VodafoneVodafoneVodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
was launched, January 1 - 1998: Second Newbury bypassNewbury bypassThe Newbury bypass, officially known as The Winchester-Preston Trunk Road , is a stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England...
opens (part of the A34A34 roadThe A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A6042 in Salford to Winchester in Hampshire. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham, The Potteries and Manchester...
, Preston to Winchester Trunk Road)