Langleybury
Encyclopedia
Langleybury was a country house and estate in Hertfordshire
, England
situated 2 miles north of the town of Watford
on a low hill above the valley of the River Gade
.
then Solicitor General
later Attorney General
later Baron Raymond who was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
from 1724 until 1732.
In 1720 he demolished the original house, of which little is known and built a mansion which still stands on the site today. A park was laid out around the house in the later eighteenth century. His cipher, a griffin in a crown, can still be seen on the building.
, Kent
. He, dying unmarried in 1763, bequeathed it to his nephew, Sir John Filmer (7th Bt). It followed the descent of the family till 1838. The Filmers were absentee landlords.
In 1762 the road at the lower edge of the park became the Sparrows Herne turnpike
, and in the 1790s the Grand Junction Canal
and was dug along the valley bottom alongside the road.
. Jones Loyd built the nearby church of St Pauls in 1864.
His son, Edward Henry Loyd was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1894.
During the Second World War the house was leased to the Equity and Law Insurance Company
.
who converted the house and grounds into a secondary school, named Langleybury School, which opened in 1949. In the 1960s a modern school building was built to the south of the mansion which remained in use as part of the school and as teacher accommodation.
Langleybury School closed in 1996 and for a time partly housed Hertfordshire County Council
Social Services offices. The empty modern school became a favoured film location site, notably for the Hope and Glory
TV Series of 1999.
A children’s farm is situated in the old farm attached to the mansion house.
(1895–1970), explorer and journalist, buried at Langleybury church.
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, 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...
situated 2 miles north of the town of Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
on a low hill above the valley of the River Gade
River Gade
The River Gade is a river running almost entirely though Hertfordshire. It rises from a spring in the chalk of the Chiltern Hills at Dagnall, Buckinghamshire and flows through Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Croxley Green to Rickmansworth where it joins the The River Colne...
.
Raymond 1711-1756
The estate was purchased in 1711 by Robert RaymondRobert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond
Robert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond PC was a British judge.Robert Raymond was the son of the judge Thomas Raymond. He was educated at Eton and Christ's College, Cambridge. Said to have been admitted to Gray's Inn aged nine, he became a barrister in 1697 and was admitted at Lincoln's Inn in 1710...
then Solicitor General
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
later Attorney General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
later Baron Raymond who was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
from 1724 until 1732.
In 1720 he demolished the original house, of which little is known and built a mansion which still stands on the site today. A park was laid out around the house in the later eighteenth century. His cipher, a griffin in a crown, can still be seen on the building.
Filmer 1756-1838
On the death of his son, Robert Raymond, 2nd Baron Raymond, without issue in 1756 the manor was left in his will to Sir Beversham Filmer, 5th Baronet Filmer of East SuttonEast Sutton
East Sutton is a parish approximately 6 miles south-east of Maidstone in Kent, England. East Sutton is small in number of dwellings but relatively large in area: the parish has a women's prison, a council estate of 16 houses and the church of St Peter and Saint Paul.HMP East Sutton Park is a prison...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He, dying unmarried in 1763, bequeathed it to his nephew, Sir John Filmer (7th Bt). It followed the descent of the family till 1838. The Filmers were absentee landlords.
In 1762 the road at the lower edge of the park became the Sparrows Herne turnpike
Sparrows Herne turnpike
The Sparrow's Herne Turnpike road was an 18th century English turnpike road from London to Aylesbury.Its route was approximately that of the later A41 trunk road, , and much of the original route is now numbered as the A4251...
, and in the 1790s the Grand Junction Canal
Grand Junction Canal
The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford...
and was dug along the valley bottom alongside the road.
Fearnley Whittingstall 1838-1856
In 1838 Sir Edmund Filmer (8th Bt) sold the estate to Edmund Fearnley Whittingstall (né Fearnley), a Watford brewer. He started a bank in partnership with William Smith which went into bankruptcy soon after Whittingstall's death, forcing the sale of the estate in 1856.Jones Loyd 1856-1947
The estate was then held by William Jones Loyd (1821–1885), a partner in the London branch of Jones Loyd & Co, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1861 and cousin to Samuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron OverstoneSamuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron Overstone
Samuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron Overstone was a British banker and politician.-Background and education:Loyd was the only son of Reverend Lewis Loyd and Sarah, daughter of John Jones, a Manchester banker...
. Jones Loyd built the nearby church of St Pauls in 1864.
His son, Edward Henry Loyd was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1894.
During the Second World War the house was leased to the Equity and Law Insurance Company
AXA
AXA S.A. is a French global insurance group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. AXA is a conglomerate of independently run businesses, operated according to the laws and regulations of many different countries. The AXA group of companies engage in life, health and other forms of...
.
School 1947-1996
In 1947 the estate was sold to Hertfordshire County CouncilHertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. It currently consists of 77 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, which has 55 councillors, 17 Liberal Democrats, versus 3 Labour...
who converted the house and grounds into a secondary school, named Langleybury School, which opened in 1949. In the 1960s a modern school building was built to the south of the mansion which remained in use as part of the school and as teacher accommodation.
Langleybury School closed in 1996 and for a time partly housed Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. It currently consists of 77 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, which has 55 councillors, 17 Liberal Democrats, versus 3 Labour...
Social Services offices. The empty modern school became a favoured film location site, notably for the Hope and Glory
Hope and Glory (TV series)
Hope and Glory is a BBC television drama about a comprehensive school struggling with financial, staffing and disciplinary problems, and faced with closure...
TV Series of 1999.
A children’s farm is situated in the old farm attached to the mansion house.
Notable people
Violet Cressy-MarcksViolet Cressy-Marcks
-Personal life:Violet Cressy-Marcks was born Violet Olivia Rutley on 9 June 1895, in West Wickham, Greater London, the only daughter of Ernest & Olivia Rutley. On 13 October 1917 she married Maurice Cressy-Marcks, a captain in the North Lancashire regiment with whom she had one son...
(1895–1970), explorer and journalist, buried at Langleybury church.