Pendley Manor
Encyclopedia
Pendley Manor is a hotel, conference and function center near Tring
, Hertfordshire
, UK. It is an historic country house and is grade 2 listed as an important example of Victorian architecture
.
when Sir Robert Whittingham's daughter married John Verney. Around 1440 Sir Robert Whittingam, sheriff of the county, enclosed 200 acres of the land and tore down all other buildings within, which at the time amounted to a small town, returning them to pasture. He rebuilt the manor as a double cloistered courtyard similar to those found at Herstmonceux Castle
and Eton College
.
The Verney family lived at the Manor for the next 150 years. The Anderson family then occupied the Manor for four generations after which it was inherited by the Harcourt family. Sir William Harcourt abandoned the Manor after the construction of the nearby London and Birmingham Railway
and the ancient buildings burnt down in 1835.
A Local landowner and mill owner, Joseph Grout Williams commissioned architect John Lion to build a new Tudor style Manor in 1872. He and his descendants then occupied the rebuilt Manor from 1875 until 1983. The last private owner was BBC show jumping
commentator Dorian Williams
, who developed it as a center for adult education and the arts. He inaugurated the Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival
in 1949 in the hotel grounds which continues to run to the present.
The house was sold to a property company in 1983 and then in 1989 to a hotel company which invested in the building and re-opened it as a country house hotel in 1991. There have since been several extensions built to house additional rooms, a spa and gymnasium and a banqueting / conference suite.
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
, Hertfordshire
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...
, UK. It is an historic country house and is grade 2 listed as an important example of Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
.
History
A village of Pendley is recorded from the 4th century AD. The Manor also pre dates the Norman conquest of 1066, at which it was confiscated by William the Conqueror and passed to his brother in law, Robert, Earl of Moretain. A later owner was John de Angle, an early Member of Parliament. It then passed to the Verney family who occupied it for 150 yearswhen Sir Robert Whittingham's daughter married John Verney. Around 1440 Sir Robert Whittingam, sheriff of the county, enclosed 200 acres of the land and tore down all other buildings within, which at the time amounted to a small town, returning them to pasture. He rebuilt the manor as a double cloistered courtyard similar to those found at Herstmonceux Castle
Herstmonceux Castle
Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built Tudor castle near Herstmonceux, East Sussex, United Kingdom. From 1957 to 1988 its grounds were the home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory...
and Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
.
The Verney family lived at the Manor for the next 150 years. The Anderson family then occupied the Manor for four generations after which it was inherited by the Harcourt family. Sir William Harcourt abandoned the Manor after the construction of the nearby London and Birmingham Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
and the ancient buildings burnt down in 1835.
A Local landowner and mill owner, Joseph Grout Williams commissioned architect John Lion to build a new Tudor style Manor in 1872. He and his descendants then occupied the rebuilt Manor from 1875 until 1983. The last private owner was BBC show jumping
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
commentator Dorian Williams
Dorian Williams
Dorian Williams was a British equestrian, journalist , broadcaster, author and patron of the arts.-Life:Williams was educated at Hawtreys prep school , then Harrow School and served as a soldier....
, who developed it as a center for adult education and the arts. He inaugurated the Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival
Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival
The Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival is, as the name implies, an annual festival dedicated to the plays of William Shakespeare. It takes place at the beginning of August at Pendley Manor, a hotel in Tring, Hertfordshire.-History:...
in 1949 in the hotel grounds which continues to run to the present.
The house was sold to a property company in 1983 and then in 1989 to a hotel company which invested in the building and re-opened it as a country house hotel in 1991. There have since been several extensions built to house additional rooms, a spa and gymnasium and a banqueting / conference suite.