Cobham Park
Encyclopedia
Cobham Park is a former country house, situated to the north of Downside, Surrey
, England
which was formerly the seat of John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
. It was later the home of Harvey Christian Combe
, who was Lord Mayor of London
and a partner in the Combe Delafield and Co. brewery.
The house was rebuilt in the classical style in the 1720s by John Bridges. The design was based an Italian villa of the 1680-90 period. A description appeared in Daniel Defoe
's "A Tour Through The Whole Island of Great Britain" which indicates that the house was quite splendid: "... for the size of this House, there is hardly any other near London, which has more useful and elegant Apartments". The grounds were also landscaped and the River Mole diverted.
The house was described as "a handsome and substantial building, nearly of a square form, and has a neat portico, which was erected some years ago in place of a veranda. It includes a good saloon with a coved and ornamented ceiling, (now a billiard room), a library, and other convenient apartments, embellished with a few marble busts, and some good pictures."
In around 1750, John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
occupied and bought Cobham Park and entertained William Pitt the Elder
at a party shortly thereafter. Ligonier appears to have used Cobham Park as a place of retreat and leisure (apparently he had a harem of four young girls).
Following Ligonier's death in 1770, Cobham Park passed to his nephew Edward
.
In 1806, Cobham Park was purchased by Harvey Christian Combe
, a brewer, for £30,000. Harvey died in 1818 and left the house to his son, Harvey who died in 1857; the house then passed to a nephew, Charles Combe. The house was destroyed by fire in the early 1870s.
On the 29 August 1843, painter Richard Dadd
stabbed his father to death in Cobham Park. He was judged insane and committed to Bethlem where he painted many fantastical paintings.
A new house was built on the same foundations and completed in 1873 to a design by Edward Middleton Barry
, third son of Sir Charles Barry
the architect of the Palace of Westminster
. Pevsner
doesn't appear to have liked the new house, describing it as "very ugly French Renaissance". The Combe family gave up Cobham Park as a family residence in the 1930s, Charles Combe having moved to nearby Painshill Park
in 1904.
The property was then leased by the Eagle Star insurance group (now a member of the Zurich Financial Services
group) as part of their administrative centre. Eagle Star left Cobham Park in 1958. In the 1960s and 1970s, various companies leased parts of Cobham Park as office space from the Combe family. By now, the building began to suffer from lack of maintenance.
In 1979 Logica took a lease on the house and outbuildings. Subsequently, Logica bought the freehold from the Combe family and restored the buildings.
Logica sold Cobham Park for £5.5 million in 2001 to Frogmore Estates, a property developer and speculator. They subsequently sold or leased it to Beechcroft (then a subsidiary of John Laing plc) who converted the house and outbuildings, and built some new apartments on the site, to make a total of around 22 luxury retirement apartments.
Downside, Surrey
Downside is a small village in the English county of Surrey, part of Cobham and Downside ward in the local government district of Elmbridge. Downside Village was designated as a Conservation Area in 1979....
, 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...
which was formerly the seat of John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
Field Marshal John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, KB, PC was a French-born British soldier.He was born to a Huguenot family of Castres in the south of France, and who emigrated to England at the close of the 17th century...
. It was later the home of Harvey Christian Combe
Harvey Christian Combe
Harvey Christian Combe was an English Whig politician.He was Lord Mayor of London in 1799.At the 1796 general election he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the City of London. He held the seat for 21 years, until he resigned from the House of Commons in 1817 by taking the Chiltern Hundreds...
, who was Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
and a partner in the Combe Delafield and Co. brewery.
History
Earliest records of a house on the site of Cobham Park date back to the 12th century when it was known as "Downe Place", and there are records of royal patronage from the late 13th century. The name was derived from a family named Downe that had resided there for several generations; and from whom this part of the parish acquired the appellation of Down-side, which it still retains. The house was later also known as "Downe Hall".The house was rebuilt in the classical style in the 1720s by John Bridges. The design was based an Italian villa of the 1680-90 period. A description appeared in Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
's "A Tour Through The Whole Island of Great Britain" which indicates that the house was quite splendid: "... for the size of this House, there is hardly any other near London, which has more useful and elegant Apartments". The grounds were also landscaped and the River Mole diverted.
The house was described as "a handsome and substantial building, nearly of a square form, and has a neat portico, which was erected some years ago in place of a veranda. It includes a good saloon with a coved and ornamented ceiling, (now a billiard room), a library, and other convenient apartments, embellished with a few marble busts, and some good pictures."
In around 1750, John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
Field Marshal John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, KB, PC was a French-born British soldier.He was born to a Huguenot family of Castres in the south of France, and who emigrated to England at the close of the 17th century...
occupied and bought Cobham Park and entertained William Pitt the Elder
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
at a party shortly thereafter. Ligonier appears to have used Cobham Park as a place of retreat and leisure (apparently he had a harem of four young girls).
Following Ligonier's death in 1770, Cobham Park passed to his nephew Edward
Edward Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
Lieutenant General Edward Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier KB was a British soldier and courtier. He was the illegitimate son of Col. Francis Augustus Ligonier, the brother of John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier....
.
In 1806, Cobham Park was purchased by Harvey Christian Combe
Harvey Christian Combe
Harvey Christian Combe was an English Whig politician.He was Lord Mayor of London in 1799.At the 1796 general election he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the City of London. He held the seat for 21 years, until he resigned from the House of Commons in 1817 by taking the Chiltern Hundreds...
, a brewer, for £30,000. Harvey died in 1818 and left the house to his son, Harvey who died in 1857; the house then passed to a nephew, Charles Combe. The house was destroyed by fire in the early 1870s.
On the 29 August 1843, painter Richard Dadd
Richard Dadd
Richard Dadd was an English painter of the Victorian era, noted for his depictions of fairies and other supernatural subjects, Orientalist scenes, and enigmatic genre scenes, rendered with obsessively minuscule detail...
stabbed his father to death in Cobham Park. He was judged insane and committed to Bethlem where he painted many fantastical paintings.
A new house was built on the same foundations and completed in 1873 to a design by Edward Middleton Barry
Edward Middleton Barry
Edward Middleton Barry was an English architect of the 19th century.-Biography:Edward Barry was the third son of Sir Charles Barry, born in his father's house, 27 Foley Place, London. In infancy he was delicate, and was placed under the care of a confidential servant at Blackheath...
, third son of Sir Charles Barry
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry FRS was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens.- Background and training :Born on 23 May 1795 in Bridge Street, Westminster...
the architect of the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
. Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
doesn't appear to have liked the new house, describing it as "very ugly French Renaissance". The Combe family gave up Cobham Park as a family residence in the 1930s, Charles Combe having moved to nearby Painshill Park
Painshill Park
Painshill Park , near Cobham, Surrey, England, is one of the finest remaining examples of an 18th century English landscape park. It was designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by the Hon. Charles Hamilton .Painshill Park is owned by Elmbridge Borough Council and managed by the Painshill Park...
in 1904.
The property was then leased by the Eagle Star insurance group (now a member of the Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services AG is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland.-History:The Company was founded in 1872 as subsidiary of the Schweiz Marine Insurance Company under the name Versicherung Verein...
group) as part of their administrative centre. Eagle Star left Cobham Park in 1958. In the 1960s and 1970s, various companies leased parts of Cobham Park as office space from the Combe family. By now, the building began to suffer from lack of maintenance.
In 1979 Logica took a lease on the house and outbuildings. Subsequently, Logica bought the freehold from the Combe family and restored the buildings.
Logica sold Cobham Park for £5.5 million in 2001 to Frogmore Estates, a property developer and speculator. They subsequently sold or leased it to Beechcroft (then a subsidiary of John Laing plc) who converted the house and outbuildings, and built some new apartments on the site, to make a total of around 22 luxury retirement apartments.
- For a full history see: An Estate For All Seasons. A History of Cobham Park, Surrey and its Owners and Occupiers by David Taylor. Phillimore & Co. 2006