Tolmers Park
Encyclopedia
Tolmers Park is a manor house
in Newgate Street Village near Hatfield
in Hertfordshire
, England
.
compiled in 1277, a certain Walter de Tolymer was tenant-in-chief of lands close to Hatfield Great Park
. It is likely that he is the origin of the Tolmers name. A famous lord of the manor was Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
who held Tolmers from 1566 until his death without heirs in 1588, when his land reverted to the Crown. Legend has it that the young Lady Arbella Stuart
was detained there in the custody of the Earl. In 1608, Tolmers was granted to Sir Henry Goodere, a colourful character who was always short of money and given to writing poems to prominent figures in the Royal Household in the hope of advancement. In a petition of 1626 applying for a position at Court, he wrote that he "desired only meat, drink and lodging, with some dignity, in that place where I have spent most of my time and estate." He died in the following year.
house with the present building in the classical
style with an Ionian
porch. An Enclosure Act of 1806 allowed part of Northaw
Common
to be enclosed and planted with specimen trees to form Home Wood. The whole estate was sold at auction in 1834. It was bought by Samuel Mills, of Russell Square
, a textile and property magnate, who already owned adjoining land in Cuffley
. The estate then passed to his son, Thomas Mills, who was MP
for Totnes
and then to his other son, John Remington Mills, also an MP (for Wycombe
). In 1860, Tolmers was leased to Thomas Bazley
, a Manchester
cotton mill owner who had been a Royal Commissioner for the Great Exhibition and was MP for Manchester. He became 1st Baronet Bazley of Tolmers in 1869 (motto: Finem Respice). The ownership of the estate eventually passed to Samuel Mills’ two great-granddaughters, one of whom was the novelist Mary Cholmondeley
. From 1910 to 1918 the eastern edge of the estate was busy with excavations for the Hertford Loop
railway line, one of the last great projects of the railway age.
the house was used as a military hospital and between the wars was a girls’ boarding school, which had its own Girl Guide
Company (1st Tolmers). On an Ordnance Survey
map dated 1921, part of Tolmers is shown as a golf course. In 1939, 50 acres (202,343 m²) of the estate south of Cuffley Brook was sold to the Boy Scouts Association for use as a campsite. Tolmers Scout Camp was opened on 11 May 1940 by Lord Wigram
. On the outbreak of World War II
, Tolmers Girls School was evacuated, eventually to settle at Beechwood Park
near St Albans
. The house again became a military hospital, but later in the war the hospital was used for geriatric patients and it continued in this role until the 1980s. When the Health Service
finally vacated Tolmers Park, the house (a Grade II Listed Building) was refurbished and divided into luxury apartments.
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
in Newgate Street Village near Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
in 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...
, 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...
.
Early history
The early history of the manor is obscure, but in a register of lands belonging to the Bishop of ElyBishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
compiled in 1277, a certain Walter de Tolymer was tenant-in-chief of lands close to Hatfield Great Park
Hatfield House
Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...
. It is likely that he is the origin of the Tolmers name. A famous lord of the manor was Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
who held Tolmers from 1566 until his death without heirs in 1588, when his land reverted to the Crown. Legend has it that the young Lady Arbella Stuart
Arbella Stuart
Lady Arbella Stuart was an English Renaissance noblewoman who was for some time considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne....
was detained there in the custody of the Earl. In 1608, Tolmers was granted to Sir Henry Goodere, a colourful character who was always short of money and given to writing poems to prominent figures in the Royal Household in the hope of advancement. In a petition of 1626 applying for a position at Court, he wrote that he "desired only meat, drink and lodging, with some dignity, in that place where I have spent most of my time and estate." He died in the following year.
18th and 19th centuries
In 1761, Tolmers Park was in the hands of Sir Frances Vincent, who replaced the TudorTudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
house with the present building in the classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style with an Ionian
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
porch. An Enclosure Act of 1806 allowed part of Northaw
Northaw
Northaw is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Northaw and Cuffley, which was originally known as Northaw....
Common
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
to be enclosed and planted with specimen trees to form Home Wood. The whole estate was sold at auction in 1834. It was bought by Samuel Mills, of Russell Square
Russell Square
Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. To the north is Woburn Place and to the south-east is Southampton Row...
, a textile and property magnate, who already owned adjoining land in Cuffley
Cuffley
Cuffley is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of south-east Hertfordshire located between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. It has a population of just over 4,000 people. Politically, Cuffley is part of Broxbourne Constituency in the House of Commons, and sends a Councillor to Hertfordshire County...
. The estate then passed to his son, Thomas Mills, who was MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Totnes
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
and then to his other son, John Remington Mills, also an MP (for Wycombe
Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)
Wycombe is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of elections....
). In 1860, Tolmers was leased to Thomas Bazley
Sir Thomas Bazley, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Bazley, 1st Baronet was a British industrialist and Liberal politician.He was born at Gilnow, near Bolton, Lancashire. His father, also Thomas, was a cotton manufacturer, mathematician and journalist. Following education at Bolton Grammar School, Bazley was apprenticed to the...
, a Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
cotton mill owner who had been a Royal Commissioner for the Great Exhibition and was MP for Manchester. He became 1st Baronet Bazley of Tolmers in 1869 (motto: Finem Respice). The ownership of the estate eventually passed to Samuel Mills’ two great-granddaughters, one of whom was the novelist Mary Cholmondeley
Mary Cholmondeley
Mary Cholmondeley was an English novelist.The daughter of the vicar at St Luke's Church in the village of Hodnet, Market Drayton, Shropshire, England, where she was born, Cholmondeley spent much of the first thirty years of her life taking care of her sickly mother...
. From 1910 to 1918 the eastern edge of the estate was busy with excavations for the Hertford Loop
Hertford Loop Line
The Hertford Loop Line is a branch of the East Coast Main Line, providing a commuter route to London for Hertford and other Hertfordshire towns...
railway line, one of the last great projects of the railway age.
20th century
In World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the house was used as a military hospital and between the wars was a girls’ boarding school, which had its own Girl Guide
Girl Guides
A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...
Company (1st Tolmers). On an Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
map dated 1921, part of Tolmers is shown as a golf course. In 1939, 50 acres (202,343 m²) of the estate south of Cuffley Brook was sold to the Boy Scouts Association for use as a campsite. Tolmers Scout Camp was opened on 11 May 1940 by Lord Wigram
Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram
Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram GCB, GCVO, CSI, PC , was a British soldier and court official. He was Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 1931 to 1936....
. On the outbreak of 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...
, Tolmers Girls School was evacuated, eventually to settle at Beechwood Park
Beechwood Park School
Beechwood Park School, also familiarly referred to as "Beechwood", is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Hertfordshire in England, UK for reception to year 8. It is set on the site of an old Mansion house with extensions put in over the last 50 years including the junior...
near St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
. The house again became a military hospital, but later in the war the hospital was used for geriatric patients and it continued in this role until the 1980s. When the Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
finally vacated Tolmers Park, the house (a Grade II Listed Building) was refurbished and divided into luxury apartments.