THE HISTORY
LUXURY LIVING PROPERTY u
THE HISTORY
260 LUXURY LIVING
Woolmers Park Estate is one of Britain ’ s most prestigious and expensive country estate to be placed up for sale this year . A survivor of a group of country estates around Hertford , a small county town , developed as gentlemen ’ s seats in the 18th and 19th Centuries , Woolmers Park has managed to remain in splendid condition .
Its name derives from the Woolmer family which is recorded in the area in the 13th Century . John Woolmer is mentioned in documents from 1285-1289 and Thomas Woolmer in 1358 . In the Middle Ages the land was attached to the Hertingfordbury property of John of Gaunt – ‘ Time honoured Lancaster ’ – and descended with the Duchy of Lancaster to The Crown .
The present house , which stands atop a gentle slope overlooking the River Lea , was built in the 1730s and by 1800 it had passed to Samuel Whitbread the Younger , of the brewing dynasty , who enlarged and consolidated it by exchange of land with a neighbour , Lord Cowper of Panshanger .
According to the current sales particulars , the first nationally famous person to own Woolmers Park was the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , the so-called ‘ Canal Duke ’, who bought the estate in 1801 as a base from which to oversee a project designed to link the River Lea , a tributary of the Thames , with the River Ouse . He employed the county surveyor and architect James Lewis to rebuild the main house , which was further remodelled and extended by the Duke ’ s successor , Sir Gore Ouseley , an entrepreneur , scholar and protégé of Wellesley in India , British Ambassador to Persia and foreignpolicy adviser to the government of the day . He purchased the estate in 1821 and was deemed to be the most accomplished of all owners of Woolmers Park . While Sir Gore Ouseley resided at Woolmers Park , he entertained many prominent figures including the Duke of York and The Duke of Wellington who visited by carriage from London with the Prime Minister to discuss the Middle Eastern political situation with the ex-ambassador .
Ouseley ’ s successor was William Herbert Wodehouse from Staffordshire , who bought Woolmers in 1842 and lived there for 60 years . He , too , was a scholar-squire , educated at Eton and Oxford .
In 1927 , when country estates all over England were being broken up and sold off , Woolmers was offered for sale in 50 lots , but the late Queen Mother ’ s parents , the Earl and Countess of Strathmore , stepped in and bought it as a whole . They spent the best part of the year there , right up to the outbreak of the Second World War , only going to Glamis Castle , the family seat in Scotland , between July and September , Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret often visited and stayed with their grandparents at Woolmers Park .
In 1949 the estate was acquired by a Chartered Surveyor and businessman , Lascelles Arthur whose passions in life were polo and hunting . Here ate Woolmers Park he founded the Hertfordshire Polo Club an established polo dynasty notably through his son , John , and daughter , Claire Tomlinson , who was the first woman to play English high-goal polo . The club drew the game ’ s elite , including The Prince of Wales , who played there during his time as a Cambridge undergraduate .
Polo remained the focus of life at Woolmers Park until its sale in 1997 , when the estate was put on the market by Lucas ’ s widow , Ethel . It was purchased by Mr Godbold , a successful entrepreneur who lived locally .
Over the last 19 years , Mr Godbold and his family have embarked upon a major renovation project improving not only the estate and its Grade II * -listed mansion but also developing the Hertfordshire Polo club facilities which now include four fields , stick-and-ball grounds , all-weather arenas and five-star stabling .