Henley Road
Marlow-on-Thames
Buckinghamshire
SL7 2EY
Telephone Number
+44 1628 891010
Fax Number
+44 1628 890408
Email Address
sales@danesfieldhouse.co.uk
History of Danesfield House
Danesfield House, as it stands today, is the third property to have been built within this glorious setting, amidst 65 acres of formal gardens with outstanding views over the River Thames and to the Chiltern Hills beyond.
4,000 years ago, the site was reputed to have been a resting place of nomadic tribes who paused to hunt nearby land and fish in the then untamed river. If you stand on the crest of the bank between the present house and the river and look west there is a steep ravine directly in front of you which is the remnant of the ramparts of a pre-historic fortification. Because of the ample game and the discovery of flint within the chalk-based cliffs, the site became a settlement throughout the ages and although not named "Danesfield" until many years later, this name originated from the fact that Danish adventurers made an encampment here.
The next recollection of the estate is the transfer of land ownership in 1664 to an Edmund Medlycott. He and his wife Margaret built what is assumed to be the first property on the site, known at that time as "Medlycotts" and they lived there with their son James for over 60 years. Little more is known about the family and their name seldom occurs in any local record.
In 1725 James Medlycott, or his executors, rented "Medlycotts" to a Mrs Morton, whose son John was to be the creator of Danesfield. He purchased the freehold of the estate in 1750, had the house completely rebuilt and named it Danesfield. John Morton was a barrister and was appointed Attorney-General to Queen Charlotte. He was a contemporary in parliament of William Pitt, as MP for Abingdon (1747-70), New Romney (1770-74) and Wigan (1775). At this time, the Danesfield estate was not as large as it is now. John Morton later purchased land surrounding the property.
After his death, his widow continued to live at Danesfield for some years, but eventually sold the estate in 1787 because of financial difficulties.
The new owner was Robert Scott of Wimpole Street, London, the heir to a fortune made in the world of commerce. He rebuilt the house and erected a roomy building of the classical Georgian type, which remained standing for more than a century. Robert Scott died in 1808 and was buried at Medmenham. The property remained with his descendants - most notably his nephew Charles Robert Scott-Murray, whose conversion to the Catholic faith in 1845 saw the erection of a Roman Catholic Church at Marlow and subsequently, a domestic Chapel at Danesfield. It was Charles Robert Scott-Murray who diverted the Marlow Road away from the river to its present route and constructed the footbridge over that road which can be seen today. He died in August 1882 and was buried in the founder's tomb of the church he had built at Marlow.
The estate was passed to his son, but the old home at Danesfield never recovered its former prosperity after the death of its late owner. A period of agricultural depression set in and the value of the land was on the wane.
The house was let to successive tenants, who came principally for shooting and was eventually sold in 1897 to Mr Robert William Hudson. He had inherited his fortune from his father Robert Spear Hudson, the Victorian soap magnate, the manufactures of "Sunlight" soap. His first determination was to rebuild the property.
Mr Romaine Walker, FRIBA, was employed to assist in the rebuilding of the property in the style of the Italian Renaissance. The house was finished with such disregard of expense that it became an architectural show place. The re-building started in 1899 and was completed in 1901 and this is the Danesfield House that stands today, faced with locally quarried rock-chalk with imposing terraced gardens overlooking the river. On completion of the new mansion, the old house was pulled down and the chapel demolished. Robert Hudson's work was scarcely completed when he decided to sell the whole of his Medmenham possessions.
The property was then owned for a short time by a property speculator, Mr Hossack who passed it on a couple of years later to Mrs Arthur Hornby Lewis, who made many changes to the interior of the building and the layout of the gardens. Mrs Hornby Lewis died in 1930 and because she was so attached to Danesfield made the request to be buried in the grounds and this wish was observed. When her trustees found it difficult to dispose of the estate with the deceased owner still resident, permission was sought to transfer the coffin to Hambleden cemetery in 1938.
The settled property of Mrs Hornby Lewis was left to a grand niece Elizabeth Whitelaw, then a school girl of about sixteen, when she attained her twenty-fifth birthday. A period of financial depression led the trustees to seek permission to sell the estate. It passed to Mr Stanley Garton, who made preparations to take up residence, renovating the house and improving the amenities. They had hardly settled in before war clouds began to gather. When trouble was imminent Colet Court School was evacuated from Hammersmith to Danesfield with an influx of approximately 80 boys.
As war proceeded Danesfield was requisitioned as a base to develop the intelligence Section of the Royal Air Force (Reconnaissance and Photography Section), Mr Garton moved to Kingswood (1941) and Colet Court School departed.
Wooden structures appeared like mushrooms scattered over the landscape. An agreement to rehabilitate the property when war ceased seemed likely to cost more than the place was worth. Danesfield was therefore purchased by the Air Ministry in 1948 and was made Divisional Head Quarters for No. 90 Group (Signals). During this time the RAF residents formed a club called the Hell Fire Club (named after the notorious Hell Fire Club of Medmenham), whose members one night piled up all the tables and chairs in the grand hall and left a footprint on the ceiling!
The RAF used the "clocktower" side of the house for Officers' accommodation with the Grand Banqueting Hall, offering what must been the most luxurious Officers' Mess in the country.
The Commanding Officer and his family also lived in the house, although at the opposite end to that of the Officers. Much of the house was as it is today, with the bar located in a similar position to the one the RAF residents would have utilised. However the door, which offered the Commander his own personal access to the bar, no longer exists.
The property remained in the hands of the RAF until 1977 when it was sold to Carnation Foods to be used as their Corporate Headquarters.
Danesfield opened on the 1st July 1991 as a luxury Country House Hotel with a charm and character that cannot be compared. It is a property with a most unusual history and when walking around the grounds it is easy to imagine the strange events that must have taken place over the centuries
The Gardens at Danesfield
The grounds around Danesfield House have been completely restored and renovated over the period of time from the middle of 1989 until the present day.
One great success for our gardeners has been the rescue of the Magnolia which can be found in the corner of the Formal gardens. The topiary and the Box Hedging is original and has been restored and maintained by careful, skilled trimming.
With the exception of a few original shrubs, the majority of the present planting was carried out during 1990.
The original shrubs can be seen growing on the wall below the house and consist of Clematis, Wisteria, Choisya and Chimonanthus.
A Mixture of Herbaceous and Shrub plants ensures interest throughout the year. Along the right hand side of the wall you may be able to spot a Arbutus Tree, also know as a Strawberry Tree. The large areas of Lavender that can be seen consist of two main varieties; "Vera" surrounded by "Twickle Purple" with five other varieties of English and French origin.
If you walk along the path towards the river, on the left hand side you will see a Tulip Tree or "Liriodendron Tulipifera" which was planted in 1991. This task required four men to lift the tree as it weighed 200Kg. On the left at the bottom of the path you will see the rockery with approximately 30 different types of rockery shrubs and herbaceous perennials.
If you walk towards the Beech Glade you will notice a Red Turkey Oak on your left, planted in memory of John Ambler who co-ordinated the final landscape works in 1991.
At twilight the Grey Lady of Danesfield Park has often been seen taking a stroll. Dressed in the apparel of the Roman Sisterhood with a pale and solemn face and an old fashioned lantern in her hand, this ghostly lady walks from where Danesfield Chapel once stood, down the hill towards the school which was formerly Medmenham Gate and there she disappears!
