Saint Hill Manor
Encyclopedia
Saint Hill Manor is a country house at Saint Hill Green
, Mid Sussex
, near East Grinstead
, West Sussex
, England
that serves as the location of the head office for the Church of Scientology
in the United Kingdom
.
. Subsequent owners included Edgar March Crookshank and Mrs. Drexel Biddle, who commissioned the famous Monkey Mural which was painted by John Spencer-Churchill
, nephew of Sir Winston Churchill
. It was once owned by William Thomas Berger
and for many years in the late 1800s served as the England home headquarters of the China Inland Mission
. Hudson Taylor
and Berger met there often and it was a centre for training recruits for the mission field.
, founder of Scientology
, bought the mansion from Sawai Man Singh II
, the Maharajah of Jaipur
, in 1959. He lived there until early 1966. Much of early Scientology was developed at Saint Hill, including a key course known to Scientologists as the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course.
Under Hubbard's ownership, the manor was extensively modified, with a series of extensions and new buildings constructed on the estate during the 1960s and 1970s. The largest was a mock-Norman castle built behind the main manor house after 1968 to provide a purpose-built training facility for Scientology students. The development was controversial, with the East Grinstead Urban District Council initially refusing planning permission
. After a public enquiry, however, the Church of Scientology was granted permission to go ahead with the construction of "Saint Hill Castle".
Saint Hill Green
Saint Hill Green is a small village near East Grinstead, West Sussex, England.It is notable for two country houses in the vicinity: Standen, designed by the architect Philip Webb in the Arts and crafts style and now a National Trust property, and Saint Hill Manor, formerly the home of L...
, Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex is a local government district in the English county of West Sussex. It contains the towns of East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill....
, near East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, 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...
that serves as the location of the head office for the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Early history
Saint Hill Manor was built by Gibbs Crawfurd in 1792, situated on 59 acres (239,000 m²) of landscaped gardens overlooking the hills of the WealdWeald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
. Subsequent owners included Edgar March Crookshank and Mrs. Drexel Biddle, who commissioned the famous Monkey Mural which was painted by John Spencer-Churchill
John Spencer-Churchill (artist)
John George Spencer-Churchill , son of John Strange Spencer-Churchill and nephew of Sir Winston Churchill, was an artist. He was proud to acknowledge that he was "...a direct descendant of one of the sons of the American Revolution." His sister Clarissa married Anthony Eden, British Prime Minister...
, nephew of Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. It was once owned by William Thomas Berger
William Thomas Berger
William Thomas Berger was a Christian starch manufacturer in London and owner of Samuel Berger & Co., a patent rice starch manufacturer, who became the first home director of the China Inland Mission with James Hudson Taylor in 1865. At this time the headquarters of the mission agency was located...
and for many years in the late 1800s served as the England home headquarters of the China Inland Mission
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
. Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor
James Hudson Taylor , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission . Taylor spent 51 years in China...
and Berger met there often and it was a centre for training recruits for the mission field.
L. Ron Hubbard purchase
L. Ron HubbardL. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, founder of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
, bought the mansion from Sawai Man Singh II
Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur
|align=right|Sawai Man Singh II was the last ruling Maharaja of Jaipur belonging to Kachwaha clan of Rajputs. He ruled the princely state between 1922 and 1949, when the state acceded unto the Dominion of India. Thereafter, he held office as Rajpramukh of Rajasthan between 1949 to 1956...
, the Maharajah of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
, in 1959. He lived there until early 1966. Much of early Scientology was developed at Saint Hill, including a key course known to Scientologists as the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course.
Under Hubbard's ownership, the manor was extensively modified, with a series of extensions and new buildings constructed on the estate during the 1960s and 1970s. The largest was a mock-Norman castle built behind the main manor house after 1968 to provide a purpose-built training facility for Scientology students. The development was controversial, with the East Grinstead Urban District Council initially refusing planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
. After a public enquiry, however, the Church of Scientology was granted permission to go ahead with the construction of "Saint Hill Castle".
External links
- Saint Hill Manor - official site (Church of Scientology)
- Aerial photograph of Saint Hill (Multimap.comMultimap.comMultimap.com was a United Kingdom based provider of mapping and location-based services. It was acquired by Microsoft in 2007 and merged into Bing Maps in 2010.-History:...
) - Advanced Organization & Saint Hill United Kingdom (official home page)
- Saint Hill Manor (AboutBritain.com)
- L. Ron Hubbard when living in Saint Hill (brief biography) A favourable biography from a website with links to Church of Scientology.
- Scientology.org: L. Ron Hubbard A Chronicle (1959 - 1967)
- Official Scientology UK site
- Saint Hill (Jon Atack, A Piece Of Blue Sky, chapter 2)