Bentworth Hall: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Historic building |
{{Infobox Historic building |
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|name = Bentworth Hall |
|name = Bentworth Hall |
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|image = Bentworth Hall geograph.jpg |
|image = Bentworth Hall geograph.jpg |
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|caption = Bentworth Hall in 2012 |
|caption = Bentworth Hall in 2012, from the south |
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|map_type =Hampshire |
|map_type = Hampshire |
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|coordinates = {{coord|51.147778|-1.05|display=inline}} |
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|location = [[Bentworth]], Hampshire |
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|location = [[Bentworth]], [[Hampshire]] |
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|location_country = England |
|location_country = England |
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|architect = |
|architect = |
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|client = |
|client = Roger Staples Horman-Fisher |
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|engineer = |
|engineer = |
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|construction_start_date = |
|construction_start_date = 1832 |
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|completion_date = |
|completion_date = |
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|date_demolished = |
|date_demolished = |
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|cost = |
|cost = |
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|structural_system = |
|structural_system = |
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|style = Exterior walls 24 inches thick with knapped squared flints embedded on the outside, held in place by high density mortar |
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|style = |
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|size = |
|size = |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Bentworth Hall''' is a country house |
'''Bentworth Hall''' is a [[English country houses|country house]] in the [[civil parish|parish]] of [[Bentworth]] in Hampshire, England. It is about {{convert|1|mi}} south of Bentworth village centre and {{convert|4|mi}} northwest of [[Alton, Hampshire|Alton]], the nearest town. |
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The current hall dates to 1832, when Roger Staples Horman Fisher purchased the estate and constructed a new mansion with an 800 metre drive to the south of the old manor house. |
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Before the 1830s, the building called Bentworth Hall or Bentworth Manor House is now re-named [[Hall Place (Bentworth)|Hall Place]]. |
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==History== |
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It was built in the early 14th century and is a [[Grade II listed building]]. It lies {{convert|330|ft}} south of the village green. The current Bentworth Hall is surrounded by woodland that was planted during building which started in 1832, after Roger Staples Horman-Fisher purchased the Bentworth Manor estate. |
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Bentworth is not mentioned by name in the [[Domesday Survey]] that was ordered by the first Norman king, [[William the Conqueror]]. However, the Domesday entry for the [[Odiham Hundred|Hundred of Odiham]] mentions that it had a number of outlying parishes. Soon after Domesday, Bentworth became an independent manor in its own right. In about 1111 it was given by [[Henry I of England | King Henry I]] "Beauclerc", the youngest son of William the Conqueror, together with four other English manors, to the diocese of Rouen and [[Geoffrey IV, Count of Anjou|Geoffrey, Count of Anjou]].<ref name="CreightonWinsor1919">{{cite book|last1=Creighton|first1=Mandell|last2=Winsor|first2=Justin|last3=Gardiner|first3=Samuel Rawson|title=The English Historical Review|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=hqDRAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=1919|publisher=Longman.}}</ref> When [[John, King of England |King John]] began losing his possessions in Normandy he took back the ownership of many manors, including Bentworth. He then temporarily ceded the manor of Bentworth in 1207–8 to the Bishop of Winchester, [[Peter des Roches]].<ref name="Vincent2002">{{cite book|last=Vincent|first=Nicholas|title=Peter Des Roches: An Alien in English Politics, 1205-1238|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u3ge5L4isf4C&pg=PA72|accessdate=14 February 2012|date=8 August 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52215-1|page=72}}</ref> It was John who signed [[Magna Carta]] in June 1215 at [[Runnymede]], staying at [[Odiham]] castle 10km north-east of Bentworth the night before.<ref name="Country life">{{cite book|title=Country Life|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=nwsgAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=14 February 2012|date=April 1965|page=18}}</ref> However, the manor was returned to the Archbishops of Rouen, who successively held the manor until 1316, when [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] appointed [[Peter de Galicien]] custodian of the manor in that year.<ref name="BH">{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56749|title=A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 4|publisher=accessed from British History Online|authors=Doubleday, Herbert Arthur, Page, William||date=1911|pages=68-71}}</ref> |
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[[File:Archbishop de Melton.jpg|thumb|left|[[William Melton]], [[Archbishop of York]], owner of Bentworth Hall in the late 1330s]] |
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Some time after 1280, most likely 1320s, a new stone hall-house was built in Bentworth, possibly by the constable of Farnham castle, William de Aula.<ref name="Emery2006">{{cite book|last=Emery|first=Anthony|title=Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300-1500: Southern England|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=g7EXvaDEYioC&pg=PA309|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-58132-5|page=309}}</ref> It is a typical medieval hall-house and has been variously called Bentworth Hall (until 1832) and Bentworth Manor House. Today it is known as Hall Place. In 1330 Matilda de Aula was given permission to have a private chapel at Bentworth Hall. In 1336 ownership of the manor of Bentworth passed to [[William Melton]], [[Archbishop of York]].<ref name="BH"/> Upon his death in 1340 he left his possessions to his nephew William de Melton, son of his brother Henry. |
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In 1348, William de Melton obtained the king's permission to give his manor to William Edendon, Bishop of Winchester, and then ownership of the manor of Bentworth passed by marriage to the Windsor family, who had been constables of [[Windsor Castle]]. However, Bentworth Hall was evidently returned to the Melton family, as it is mentioned among his possessions in an inquisition taken in 1362–3, and descended to his son, Sir William de Melton.<ref name="BH"/> Sir William de Melton's son, [[John de Melton]], inherited the house in 1399 and was still being recorded as owner of Bentworth in 1431.<ref name="BH"/><ref name="Feud. Aids, ii">{{cite book|title=Feud. Aids, ii, |year=1856|page=314|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mHpIAAAAYAAJ&q=Robert+Magewick+burkham&dq=Robert+Magewick+burkham&hl=en&ei=d0-aTIqrGZSjOIS2vYYN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAg}}</ref> He died in 1455, and was succeeded by his son (d.1474), then his grandson [[John Melton]].<ref name="Association1886">{{cite book|author=Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Association|title=The Yorkshire Archæological and Topographical Journal|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1Y-MexpI2TkC|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=1886|publisher=The Association|page=420}}</ref> The manor of Bentworth itself was said to have remained in possession of the Windsor family for at least one hundred and fifty years.<ref name="BH"/> |
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In 1590, Henry Windsor (1562–1605), the 5th Lord Windsor, sold the "sub-manor of Bentworth" to the Hunt family who had been tenants since the beginning of that century.<ref name="BH"/> Ownership passed in 1610 to Sir James Woolveridge of Odiham and in 1651 to Thomas Turgis, a wealthy London merchant.<ref name="BH"/> His son, also [[Thomas Turgis | Thomas]], was described as one of the richest commoners in England and in 1705 he left the manor of Bentworth to his relative William Urry, of [[Sheat Manor]], Isle of Wight.<ref name="BH"/> |
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In 1832, the Bentworth Hall estate of about 500 acres was sold at Garraway's Coffee House in the City of London by the Fitzherbert family. The Fitzherberts were relatives of [[Maria Fitzherbert]].{{CN|date=February 2024}} |
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In 1777 the Urry descendants were daughters Mary and Elizabeth, who married two Catholic brothers, Basil and William Fitzherbert of [[Swynnerton Hall]], Staffordshire.<ref name="BH"/> Their sister-in-law was [[Maria Fitzherbert]], the secret wife of the [[Prince Regent]], later [[King George IV]].<ref name="Munson2001">{{cite book|last=Munson|first=James|title=Maria Fitzherbert: The Secret Wife of George IV|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=EoVnAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=2001|publisher=Constable|isbn=978-0-09-478220-4}}</ref> In about 1800, Mary Fitzherbert (who had 11 children), became owner of Bentworth Manor and Manor Farm (now Hall Place).<ref name="BH"/> |
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[[File:Bentworth Hall UK 1848.jpg|thumb|right|The post-1832 Bentworth Hall in 1848, from a sale catalogue]] |
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[[File:BH Horman Fisher Crest & notes.jpg|thumb|left|500px|Horman-Fisher family Crest and notes]] [[File:BH Horman Fisher wives.jpg|thumb|centre|350px|Horman-Fisher wives]] [[File:Bentworth Hall painting c 1840.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Painting of the new Bentworth Hall c 1840]] |
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===Post-1832 Benworth Hall=== |
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In 1832, Hall Place was sold at auction at Garraway’s Coffee House in [[London]] by the Fitzherberts to Roger Staples Horman Fisher for about £6000. He then started building the current Bentworth Hall just half a mile to the south.<ref name="Smith1988">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Georgia|title=Bentworth: the making of a Hampshire village|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4xqLAAAACAAJ|accessdate=19 February 2012|date=June 1988|publisher=Bentworth Parochial Church Council|isbn=978-0-9513653-0-4|pages=52–55}}</ref> The present day Bentworth Hall is located about a kilometre south of the old hall at {{Coord|51|8|52|N|1|3|0|W}}, some 500 metres east of the Bentworth-[[Medstead, Hampshire|Medstead]] road and the hamlet of [[Holt End, Hampshire|Holt End]] at the end of a 800 metre private drive and is now split into several private dwellings. In 1848 the Bentworth Hall estate was sold to Jeremiah Robert Ives, including the Old Manor House and the new hall.<ref name="Burke1858">{{cite book|last=Burke|first=Bernard|title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wmNmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA618|accessdate=15 February 2012|year=1858|publisher=Harrison|page=618}}</ref> The Ives family later included [[George Cecil Ives]] who lived for a time at Bentworth Hall with his widowed mother, Emma. In 1897, Emma Ives died and ownership of the Bentworth Hall estate passed to her son Colonel Gordon Maynard Gordon-Ives who had in 1890 built and lived in Gaston Grange. After his mother died he continued to live there, leasing Bentworth Hall to [[W. G. Nicholson]], a [[Member of Parliament]]. Colonel Gordon-Ives died 8 September 1907 and the estate passed to his son, [[Cecil Maynard Gordon-Ives]], a Captain in the [[Scots Guards]] in the Great War", who occupied it until his death on 23 July 1923.<ref>Inscription on the Gordon-Ives grave in Bentworth Churchyard</ref> The Bentworth Hall Estate of 479 acres was then offered for sale by John D Wood & Co in 1924 and again by them in 26 June 1930, when an A. Willis purchased it,<ref name="Country life">{{cite book|title=Country Life|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=DXVMAAAAYAAJ|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=1978|publisher=Country Life, Ltd.}}</ref> and after this, Major [[John Arthur Pryor]] lived at Bentworth Hall until the estate was taken over by the military during the Second World War.<ref name="BurkePirie-Gordon1937">{{cite book|last1=Burke|first1=Sir Bernard|last2=Pirie-Gordon|first2=Charles Harry Clinton|title=Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry: Founded by the Late Sir Bernard Burke|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=iD_ZAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=1937|publisher=Shaw}}</ref> |
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The Bentworth Hall estate was purchased by Roger Staples Horman-Fisher for about £6000.{{CN|date=February 2024}} |
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| ⚫ | In 1947, the Bentworth Hall estate was bought by Major [[Herbert Cecil Benyon Berens]], who was a director of [[Hambros]] bank in London from 1968.<ref name="Grossman1972">{{cite book|last=Grossman|first=David|title=Who's Who in British Finance|url= |
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Horman-Fisher started building the current Bentworth Hall on what was then open downland about {{convert|0.6|mi}} to the south of the earlier Bentworth Hall at {{Coord|51|8|52|N|1|3|0|W}}, access being from an {{convert|800|metre}} |
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| ⚫ | Major Berens died at Bentworth Hall on 27 October 1981 and after this the remaining estate was put up for sale.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/228582.html|title=Obituaries in 1981|publisher=[[ESPN]]|accessdate=14 February 2012}}</ref> |
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private drive from the Bentworth-[[Medstead]] road.<ref name="Smith1988">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Georgia|title=Bentworth: the making of a Hampshire village|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4xqLAAAACAAJ|accessdate=19 February 2012|date=June 1988|publisher=Bentworth Parochial Church Council|isbn=978-0-9513653-0-4|pages=52–55}}</ref> |
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The book "Heraldic Illustrations" by Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, stated the following about the Horman-Fisher family. Capitals and abbreviations are as in the original: |
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[[File:Hall Place front.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Hall Place, the previous Bentworth Hall in the early 20th century.]] |
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Hall Place, formerly the Bentworth Hall or Manor, is a Grade II* listed medieval manor house, located along the main road of Bentworth at {{Coord|51|9|19|N|1|3|11|W}}. It was built in the early 14th century with extensive additions in the 17th and 19th centuries.<ref name="BLBhf">{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-141909-hall-farmhouse-bentworth|title=Hall Farmhouse, Bentworth|publisher=British Listed Buildings|accessdate=15 February 2012}}</ref> The hall is believed to have been constructed by either the constable of Farnham Castle, William de Aula, or John of Bynteworth (Bentworth), and served for some time as the manor court.<ref name="Emery2006"/><ref name="BLBhf"/> The de Aula family, however, are documented as being the first owners, followed by the de Meltons.<ref name="Emery2006"/> |
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"ROGER STAPLES HORMAN-FISHER, Esq., of Bentworth Hall, eldest son of the late Robert Fisher, Esq. of the Inner Temple, and of Mitcham, Surrey, by Mary, his second wife, dau. of Charles Staples, Esq. of London, by Mary, his wife, dau. and heir of Baron Butz, a German noble, bears a quartered shield, FISHER and HORMAN, and an escutcheon of pretence for HORMAN, in right of his wife, Elizabeth, dau. and heir of John Horman, Esq. of Finchley."<ref>BURKE’s Landed Gentry, Supplemental Volume</ref> |
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The hall has thick flint walls, gabled cross wings,<ref name="tvas">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvas.co.uk/reports/pdf/HFB04-74wb.pdf|title=Hall Farm, Bentworth, Alton, Hampshire|publisher=Thames Valley Archaelogical Services|accessdate=15 February 2012}}</ref> with a Gothic stone arch and 20th century boarded door and two-storey porch. <ref name="BLBhf"/> The west wing of the house has a stone-framed upper window and very large attached tapered stack.<ref name="BLBhf"/> The east wing has sashes dated to the early 19th century.<ref name="BLBhf"/> The old fireplace remains in the north-facing room with it roll moulding and steeply pitched head.<ref name="Emery2006"/> A chapel in the grounds was part of the house complex and was added soon after building in 1330 under the request of Matilda de Aula.<ref name="Emery2006"/> |
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It would appear that proof reading in those days was not very good, because under the Horman-Fisher crest, Bentworth is spelled "Brereworth", and the heading of the extract quoted above says "Fisher, of Bentworth Hall, Hants" omitting the name "Horman" which in the copy referred to in this entry was added in pencil.{{CN|date=February 2024}} |
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[[File:BH 1848 by Bagster.jpg|thumb|left|500px|Bentworth Hall from the north, drawing by C Bagster from 1848 sale catalogue – note that the artist has drawn the wrong roof line on the right hand side – the roof is higher and runs close to the peak of the wall at the right of the picture]] [[File:BH sale map1848.jpg|thumb|right|500px|Sale map 1848]]In 1848 the Bentworth Hall estate was sold to Jeremiah Robert Ives, including the Old Manor House (now Hall Place) and the more recent 1832-built Bentworth Hall.<ref name="Burke1858">{{cite book|last=Burke|first=Bernard|title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wmNmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA618|accessdate=15 February 2012|year=1858|publisher=Harrison|page=618}}</ref> The sale catalogue dated 16 July 1848<ref>copy in Hampshire record office</ref> includes the following rather exaggerated description: |
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"A handsome newly erected Elizabethan (sic) mansion of unique elevation with wall garden, elegant conservatory and stabling. The mansion is built in the most substantial manner and finished without reference to expense, by the proprietor for his own residence. The walls are constructed almost entirely of BLACK FLINT (emphasised in capitals in the original), carefully and minutely cut and smoothed at an incalculable cost, with Stone Cornices, mullions &C blending a beautiful and unique specimen of workmanship with a suitability and durability impenetrable to every change of atmosphere. Six airy and cheerful Family Bedrooms, spacious landing and a broad light principle (sic) staircase leads to the Ground Floor on which is another water closet. This floor comprises a neat vestibule, with a porch at the northwest entrance for the carriage road; a handsome inner hall; surrounded by a library and a breakfast room, elegant drawing room {{convert|23|ft}} by {{convert|18|ft}}. A dining room of the same size, all {{convert|12|ft}} high finished with expensive cornices, handsome modern marble chimney pieces and other decorations." |
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==Later 19th century== |
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Robert Ives died in 1865 and the estate passed to his widow Emma.<ref>Pevsner notes</ref> The Ives family later included [[George Cecil Ives]] who lived for a time at Bentworth Hall. George Cecil Ives met [[Oscar Wilde]] and Lord Alfred Douglas in London, publishing books on history and homosexuality. |
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In 1890, Emma's son, Colonel Gordon Maynard Gordon-Ives built and lived in [[Gaston Grange]], about {{convert|0.8|mi}} west of Bentworth Hall. Emma Ives died seven years later and ownership of the Bentworth Hall estate passed to Colonel Gordon-Ives who continued to live at Gaston Grange. |
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[[File:Bentworth Hall about 1905.jpg|thumb|left|500px|The southern side of Bentworth Hall in 1905]] [[File:BH 1924 sale doc2.jpg|thumb|right|500px|Sale document 1924]]Colonel Gordon-Ives rented Bentworth Hall to [[W. G. Nicholson]],<ref>caption on photo of Bentworth Hall dated about 1905</ref><ref>[[William Graham Nicholson]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=July 2019}} member of Parliament for Petersfield. The caption on the photo states: |
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"Bentworth Hall, Bentworth, tenanted by W. G. Nicholson, M.P., J.P. Bentworth Hall is a large Mansion built about eighty years since of squared flints and stone. The flint work is held to be a fine specimen of its kind. The house stands in a park of 400 acres, and is the property of Colonel Gordon-Ives, C.B." |
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The small crenellated tower on the right in the photo is believed to have been a water tower, but has subsequently disappeared, as have the canopies over the ground floor windows on the south west side. In later photos the tower is almost completely covered with ivy. |
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Colonel Gordon-Ives died on 8 September 1907 and the estate passed to his son, [[Cecil Maynard Gordon-Ives]], a Captain in the [[Scots Guards]] in the 1914–18 war, who occupied it until his death on 23 July 1923.<ref>Inscription on the Gordon-Ives grave in Bentworth Churchyard</ref> The Bentworth Hall Estate, then of 479 acres, was offered for sale by John D Wood & Co of 6 Mount St London W1 on 19 July 1924.<ref>Source – Sale document</ref> |
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The sale document states, with capitals and punctuation as in the original: "THE CAPITAL AND SPORTING RESIDENTIAL ESTATE of about 479 acres, lies compactly together, with a FLINT AND STONE-BUILT MANOR HOUSE, approached by long avenue drive through richly timbered park, stands nearly 600ft. above sea, and contains fourteen bed and dressing, two bath, five reception rooms, halls, billiard room, good offices. ELECTRIC LIGHT. CENTRAL HEATING. AMPLE WATER. LODGE. COTTAGES. EXCELLENT STABLING. INEXPENSIVE SHADY OLD GROUNDS. TUDOR (sic) FARMHOUSE. EXCELLENT BUILDINGS" |
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The sale was in 7 Lots, Lot 7 being for the "Lordship of Manor." |
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It was offered again for sale on 26 June 1930, by direction of A d’A Willis who presumably purchased it in 1924.<ref name="Country life">{{cite book|title=Country Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXVMAAAAYAAJ|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=1978|publisher=Country Life, Ltd.}}</ref> This time, the advertised area was {{convert|462|acres}}, which suggests that Lot 6 of the 1924 sale, Redwood Fields, was not included (the Redwood area is south of Bentworth close to the village of Medstead). The purchaser may have been Major [[John Arthur Pryor]] because he is recorded as living at Bentworth Hall in the 1930s. |
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==World War II== |
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At the beginning of the war, the Bentworth Hall estate was taken over by the military together with other local large houses and estates such as [[Gaston Grange]] and [[Thedden Grange]]. |
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In 1941 Bentworth Hall was occupied by a unit of the Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisation (MNBDO) as an out-station of [[Royal Hospital Haslar|Haslar Naval Hospital]] in Portsmouth. The bedrooms were the wards and there was a doctor's office upstairs. The upstairs bathroom in the middle of the west wing was a darkroom for developing X-ray plates, presumably because it had one relatively small window that was easy to cover. This information came from N Crabb, a Royal Marine who was at Bentworth Hall during the war and married a maid who had worked at Medstead Grange, a country house {{convert|1.1|mi}} south of Bentworth Hall.<ref>Source: statement by N Crabb, ex Royal Marine, then living in Poole, who visited Bentworth Hall in 1990</ref> |
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[[File:BH WW2 drain.jpg|thumb|left|500px|2014 photos of drain cover and sewer in woods]] [[File:BH ablution block.jpg|thumb|right|500px|WW2 brick building in woods]] |
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[[File:BH WW2 Carvings.jpg|thumb|centre|300px|2016 carvings on trees by soldiers stationed at Bentworth Hall – particularly note "US Army" top centre]] |
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Later, other military organisations were there because in the woods there is a carving of "48 CDO" on one of the trees. This refers to the British 48 Marine Commando<ref>{{cite web | url=http://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/units/Royal+Marine+Commando+Units/48+RM+Cdo/ | title=48 Royal Marine Commando, Royal Marines }}</ref> which presumably had a unit at Bentworth Hall before their main body deployed abroad for operations. Several [[Nissen hut]]s were erected in the woods to the west of the Hall and the concrete bases of several of them are still there (in 2019) together with small amounts of the corrugated iron which covered them, although some concrete was removed in the 1980s because it was causing vegetation and trees to die. In the woods to the SW of the house, a brick-built enclosure is still standing which may have been an ablution block, and near the west boundary of the woods is a {{convert|3|ft}} wide square drain cover under which are sewer pipes that would have been connected to latrines in the hut complex. |
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[[File:BH Pepsi found near drain.jpg|thumb|left|200px|1939 Pepsi bottle found in woods]] [[File:BH concrete base & stove.jpg|thumb|right|500px|2013 photo of concrete hut base & remains of the top of a coke stove that would have been used inside one of the huts]] |
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In 1944 Bentworth Hall was occupied by American and British Commonwealth personnel. A swimming pool had been put in, also two cookhouses and a water tower. Huts in the woods were for accommodation although some officers lived in the Hall itself. The cornfield to the SW was an airstrip with 3 L4 light aircraft (the US Army version of the Piper Cub) which the Colonel used to fly to the airfield at Lasham<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=332 | title=Piper L-4 Grasshopper }}</ref> |
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The above information came from Michael (Mick) Lennox, ex US Army, who visited Bentworth Hall from his home in New York on 6 June 1994 (the day of D-Day 50 years earlier). Lennox said that he had been accommodated in one of the huts in the woods before D-day and on walking round the woods, he located where his bed-space would have been. |
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==After the War== |
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An ordnance disposal unit operated in the corner of the wood near the field to the south, towards Colliers Wood. Ordnance was taken to the hollow or "dell" in the field and detonated there.<ref>evidence from locals who were young people at the time, particularly K V Elliott who ran a business at the old Bentworth rail station NE of the village</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In 1947, the Bentworth Hall estate was bought by Major [[Herbert Cecil Benyon Berens]], who was a director of [[Hambros]] bank in London from 1968.<ref name="Grossman1972">{{cite book|last=Grossman|first=David|title=Who's Who in British Finance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39YiAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=14 February 2012|year=1972|publisher=R. R. Bowker Co.|isbn=9780716100751}}</ref> In 1950, Major Berens built two new lodge houses at the junction of the drive to Bentworth Hall with the main road through the village towards Medstead. He also built an extension to the south of the centre of Bentworth Hall itself with tall windows down to ground level facing south west. The walls of the extension matched the squared flint of the main building, and the extension was known as the "Garden Rooms".{{CN|date=February 2024}} |
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Major Berens was a keen game shooter and each year his keeper raised pheasants in the old stable and coach block before the young birds were put into the woods. There was accommodation for the keeper in the stable block with one downstairs and one upstairs room. In the 1970s the keeper was "Ginger" Woods, a well-known village character who also lived in house on the road between Bentworth and Medstead near the cricket pitch, land that was owned by the Berens family.{{CN|date=February 2024}} |
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| ⚫ | Major Berens died at Bentworth Hall on 27 October 1981<ref>http://www.stats.cricketworld.com/Players/209/209045/209045.htm{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and after this the remaining estate was put up for sale.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/228582.html|title=Obituaries in 1981|date=5 December 2005 |publisher=[[ESPN]]|accessdate=14 February 2012}}</ref> |
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[[File:BHW gdn 2013-7.jpg|thumb|left|1000px|West Wing of Bentworth Hall in 2013 with steps down to sunken garden]] [[File:BHW daffs 2016-4.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Daffodils at Bentworth Hall in 2016]] |
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Stella Strachan is founder chairman of the Bentworth Garden Club<ref>{{cite web | url=http://bentworthparishcouncil.org/the-villager/garden-club/ | title=Garden Club | Bentworth Parish Council }}</ref> that was formed in 2001 after the Bentworth area Millennium survey had identified a desire for such an organisation. |
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The West Wing garden is opened for special events associated with the Bentworth Garden Club and other local organisations. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Bentworth Parish}} |
{{Bentworth Parish}} |
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[[Category:Country houses in Hampshire]] |
[[Category:Country houses in Hampshire]] |
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[[Category:East Hampshire]] |
[[Category:East Hampshire District]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Houses completed in 1832]] |
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[[Category:Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire]] |
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[[Category:1320s architecture]] |
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[[Category:1848 architecture]] |
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[[Category:Manor houses in England]] |
[[Category:Manor houses in England]] |
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Latest revision as of 20:40, 26 February 2024
| Bentworth Hall | |
|---|---|
 Bentworth Hall in 2012, from the south | |
  Location within Hampshire | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Exterior walls 24 inches thick with knapped squared flints embedded on the outside, held in place by high density mortar |
| Location | Bentworth, Hampshire |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°08′52″N 1°03′00″W / 51.147778°N 1.05°W |
| Construction started | 1832 |
| Client | Roger Staples Horman-Fisher |
Bentworth Hall is a country house in the parish of Bentworth in Hampshire, England. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Bentworth village centre and 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Alton, the nearest town.
Before the 1830s, the building called Bentworth Hall or Bentworth Manor House is now re-named Hall Place. It was built in the early 14th century and is a Grade II listed building. It lies 330 feet (100 m) south of the village green. The current Bentworth Hall is surrounded by woodland that was planted during building which started in 1832, after Roger Staples Horman-Fisher purchased the Bentworth Manor estate.
1832 – Building the new Bentworth Hall
[edit]In 1832, the Bentworth Hall estate of about 500 acres was sold at Garraway's Coffee House in the City of London by the Fitzherbert family. The Fitzherberts were relatives of Maria Fitzherbert.[citation needed]
The Bentworth Hall estate was purchased by Roger Staples Horman-Fisher for about £6000.[citation needed]
Horman-Fisher started building the current Bentworth Hall on what was then open downland about 0.6 miles (0.97 km) to the south of the earlier Bentworth Hall at 51°8′52″N 1°3′0″W / 51.14778°N 1.05000°W, access being from an 800 metres (2,600 ft) private drive from the Bentworth-Medstead road.[1]
The book "Heraldic Illustrations" by Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, stated the following about the Horman-Fisher family. Capitals and abbreviations are as in the original:
"ROGER STAPLES HORMAN-FISHER, Esq., of Bentworth Hall, eldest son of the late Robert Fisher, Esq. of the Inner Temple, and of Mitcham, Surrey, by Mary, his second wife, dau. of Charles Staples, Esq. of London, by Mary, his wife, dau. and heir of Baron Butz, a German noble, bears a quartered shield, FISHER and HORMAN, and an escutcheon of pretence for HORMAN, in right of his wife, Elizabeth, dau. and heir of John Horman, Esq. of Finchley."[2]
It would appear that proof reading in those days was not very good, because under the Horman-Fisher crest, Bentworth is spelled "Brereworth", and the heading of the extract quoted above says "Fisher, of Bentworth Hall, Hants" omitting the name "Horman" which in the copy referred to in this entry was added in pencil.[citation needed]
1848 – Sale of Bentworth Hall Estate
[edit]
In 1848 the Bentworth Hall estate was sold to Jeremiah Robert Ives, including the Old Manor House (now Hall Place) and the more recent 1832-built Bentworth Hall.[3] The sale catalogue dated 16 July 1848[4] includes the following rather exaggerated description:
"A handsome newly erected Elizabethan (sic) mansion of unique elevation with wall garden, elegant conservatory and stabling. The mansion is built in the most substantial manner and finished without reference to expense, by the proprietor for his own residence. The walls are constructed almost entirely of BLACK FLINT (emphasised in capitals in the original), carefully and minutely cut and smoothed at an incalculable cost, with Stone Cornices, mullions &C blending a beautiful and unique specimen of workmanship with a suitability and durability impenetrable to every change of atmosphere. Six airy and cheerful Family Bedrooms, spacious landing and a broad light principle (sic) staircase leads to the Ground Floor on which is another water closet. This floor comprises a neat vestibule, with a porch at the northwest entrance for the carriage road; a handsome inner hall; surrounded by a library and a breakfast room, elegant drawing room 23 feet (7.0 m) by 18 feet (5.5 m). A dining room of the same size, all 12 feet (3.7 m) high finished with expensive cornices, handsome modern marble chimney pieces and other decorations."
Later 19th century
[edit]Robert Ives died in 1865 and the estate passed to his widow Emma.[5] The Ives family later included George Cecil Ives who lived for a time at Bentworth Hall. George Cecil Ives met Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas in London, publishing books on history and homosexuality.
In 1890, Emma's son, Colonel Gordon Maynard Gordon-Ives built and lived in Gaston Grange, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) west of Bentworth Hall. Emma Ives died seven years later and ownership of the Bentworth Hall estate passed to Colonel Gordon-Ives who continued to live at Gaston Grange.
Early 20th century
[edit]
Colonel Gordon-Ives rented Bentworth Hall to W. G. Nicholson,[6][7][circular reference] member of Parliament for Petersfield. The caption on the photo states:
"Bentworth Hall, Bentworth, tenanted by W. G. Nicholson, M.P., J.P. Bentworth Hall is a large Mansion built about eighty years since of squared flints and stone. The flint work is held to be a fine specimen of its kind. The house stands in a park of 400 acres, and is the property of Colonel Gordon-Ives, C.B."
The small crenellated tower on the right in the photo is believed to have been a water tower, but has subsequently disappeared, as have the canopies over the ground floor windows on the south west side. In later photos the tower is almost completely covered with ivy.
Colonel Gordon-Ives died on 8 September 1907 and the estate passed to his son, Cecil Maynard Gordon-Ives, a Captain in the Scots Guards in the 1914–18 war, who occupied it until his death on 23 July 1923.[8] The Bentworth Hall Estate, then of 479 acres, was offered for sale by John D Wood & Co of 6 Mount St London W1 on 19 July 1924.[9]
The sale document states, with capitals and punctuation as in the original: "THE CAPITAL AND SPORTING RESIDENTIAL ESTATE of about 479 acres, lies compactly together, with a FLINT AND STONE-BUILT MANOR HOUSE, approached by long avenue drive through richly timbered park, stands nearly 600ft. above sea, and contains fourteen bed and dressing, two bath, five reception rooms, halls, billiard room, good offices. ELECTRIC LIGHT. CENTRAL HEATING. AMPLE WATER. LODGE. COTTAGES. EXCELLENT STABLING. INEXPENSIVE SHADY OLD GROUNDS. TUDOR (sic) FARMHOUSE. EXCELLENT BUILDINGS"
The sale was in 7 Lots, Lot 7 being for the "Lordship of Manor."
It was offered again for sale on 26 June 1930, by direction of A d’A Willis who presumably purchased it in 1924.[10] This time, the advertised area was 462 acres (187 ha), which suggests that Lot 6 of the 1924 sale, Redwood Fields, was not included (the Redwood area is south of Bentworth close to the village of Medstead). The purchaser may have been Major John Arthur Pryor because he is recorded as living at Bentworth Hall in the 1930s.
World War II
[edit]At the beginning of the war, the Bentworth Hall estate was taken over by the military together with other local large houses and estates such as Gaston Grange and Thedden Grange.
In 1941 Bentworth Hall was occupied by a unit of the Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisation (MNBDO) as an out-station of Haslar Naval Hospital in Portsmouth. The bedrooms were the wards and there was a doctor's office upstairs. The upstairs bathroom in the middle of the west wing was a darkroom for developing X-ray plates, presumably because it had one relatively small window that was easy to cover. This information came from N Crabb, a Royal Marine who was at Bentworth Hall during the war and married a maid who had worked at Medstead Grange, a country house 1.1 miles (1.8 km) south of Bentworth Hall.[11]
Later, other military organisations were there because in the woods there is a carving of "48 CDO" on one of the trees. This refers to the British 48 Marine Commando[12] which presumably had a unit at Bentworth Hall before their main body deployed abroad for operations. Several Nissen huts were erected in the woods to the west of the Hall and the concrete bases of several of them are still there (in 2019) together with small amounts of the corrugated iron which covered them, although some concrete was removed in the 1980s because it was causing vegetation and trees to die. In the woods to the SW of the house, a brick-built enclosure is still standing which may have been an ablution block, and near the west boundary of the woods is a 3 feet (0.91 m) wide square drain cover under which are sewer pipes that would have been connected to latrines in the hut complex.
In 1944 Bentworth Hall was occupied by American and British Commonwealth personnel. A swimming pool had been put in, also two cookhouses and a water tower. Huts in the woods were for accommodation although some officers lived in the Hall itself. The cornfield to the SW was an airstrip with 3 L4 light aircraft (the US Army version of the Piper Cub) which the Colonel used to fly to the airfield at Lasham[13]
The above information came from Michael (Mick) Lennox, ex US Army, who visited Bentworth Hall from his home in New York on 6 June 1994 (the day of D-Day 50 years earlier). Lennox said that he had been accommodated in one of the huts in the woods before D-day and on walking round the woods, he located where his bed-space would have been.
After the War
[edit]An ordnance disposal unit operated in the corner of the wood near the field to the south, towards Colliers Wood. Ordnance was taken to the hollow or "dell" in the field and detonated there.[14]
In 1947, the Bentworth Hall estate was bought by Major Herbert Cecil Benyon Berens, who was a director of Hambros bank in London from 1968.[15] In 1950, Major Berens built two new lodge houses at the junction of the drive to Bentworth Hall with the main road through the village towards Medstead. He also built an extension to the south of the centre of Bentworth Hall itself with tall windows down to ground level facing south west. The walls of the extension matched the squared flint of the main building, and the extension was known as the "Garden Rooms".[citation needed]
Major Berens was a keen game shooter and each year his keeper raised pheasants in the old stable and coach block before the young birds were put into the woods. There was accommodation for the keeper in the stable block with one downstairs and one upstairs room. In the 1970s the keeper was "Ginger" Woods, a well-known village character who also lived in house on the road between Bentworth and Medstead near the cricket pitch, land that was owned by the Berens family.[citation needed]
Major Berens died at Bentworth Hall on 27 October 1981[16] and after this the remaining estate was put up for sale.[17]
Stella Strachan is founder chairman of the Bentworth Garden Club[18] that was formed in 2001 after the Bentworth area Millennium survey had identified a desire for such an organisation.
The West Wing garden is opened for special events associated with the Bentworth Garden Club and other local organisations.
References
[edit]- ^ Smith, Georgia (June 1988). Bentworth: the making of a Hampshire village. Bentworth Parochial Church Council. pp. 52–55. ISBN 978-0-9513653-0-4. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ BURKE’s Landed Gentry, Supplemental Volume
- ^ Burke, Bernard (1858). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. Harrison. p. 618. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ copy in Hampshire record office
- ^ Pevsner notes
- ^ caption on photo of Bentworth Hall dated about 1905
- ^ William Graham Nicholson
- ^ Inscription on the Gordon-Ives grave in Bentworth Churchyard
- ^ Source – Sale document
- ^ Country Life. Country Life, Ltd. 1978. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ Source: statement by N Crabb, ex Royal Marine, then living in Poole, who visited Bentworth Hall in 1990
- ^ "48 Royal Marine Commando, Royal Marines".
- ^ "Piper L-4 Grasshopper".
- ^ evidence from locals who were young people at the time, particularly K V Elliott who ran a business at the old Bentworth rail station NE of the village
- ^ Grossman, David (1972). Who's Who in British Finance. R. R. Bowker Co. ISBN 9780716100751. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ http://www.stats.cricketworld.com/Players/209/209045/209045.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Obituaries in 1981". ESPN. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ "Garden Club | Bentworth Parish Council".