Chilworth Manor, Surrey

From Wikishire
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Not to be confused with Chilworth Manor, Hampshire
Chilworth Manor
Surrey

Chilworth Manor
Location
Grid reference: TQ02684786
Location: 51°13’15"N, -0°31’52"W
Village: Chilworth
History
Country house
Information
Owned by: Private

Chilworth Manor is a historic country house located midway between Chilworth, Surrey and St Martha's Hill to the north.[1] The manor is a Grade II listed buildding.[2]

History

The estate is recorded in the Domesday Book as a monastery. The monastery was dissolved by King Henry VIII and by 1580 was owned by William Morgan. William's son, John was knighted at Cadiz in 1596.

Sir Ernest Randyll, whose family held Chilworth for over a century, married John's daughter. During the time when Chilworth Manor was owned by the Randylls, the South front was built. This is the earliest recognisable part of the Manor - the architect is unknown.

Morgan Randyll[3] was a Member of Parliament for Guildford from 1680 to 1712. As a result of the costs involved in the Elections, the property was sold to Richard Houlditch, a director of the South Sea Company. After losses involved with the 1720 South Sea Bubble, the manor was again sold.

In 1725 the widowed Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, became the owner. She added the Marlborough Wing, developed a tiered garden excavated in the sloping hillside and still known as the "Duchess's Garden". It then passed from her grandson, John Spencer, through inheritances to the Dukes of Northumberland who held it until the 1930s.

Walls of Chilworth Manor Garden

In the 1930s, the estate was acquired by Alfred Mildmay, who carried out major renovations to the building.[4]

Sir Lionel and Lady Heald bought the manor in 1945 and lived there for over 60 years. Elected as Member of Parliament for Chertsey in 1950, Sir Lionel was Attorney-General in Churchill's post-war government. Lady Heald worked for many charitable causes including the National Garden Scheme of which she was chairwoman.

Since Lady Heald's death in 2004,[5] extensive restoration work has been carried out and the garden, fittingly, opened as part of the National Garden Scheme.

In literature and popular culture

John Bunyan lived nearby at one time, and local legend has it that he based The Hill of Difficulty in Pilgrims Progress on the path from the manor to St Martha's Chapel.[6]

The house has been featured in a number of films and television series over the years.[7]

Films

  • The Passionate Stranger (1957)
  • I Don't Speak English (1995)
  • Sliding Doors (1998)
  • Parting Shots (1998)
  • The Wedding Date (2005)

Television

  • Just William - Boys will be Boys (1995)
  • Daniel Deronda (2002)
  • Foyles War - The Funk Hole (2003)
  • Agatha Christie's Marple - A Murder is Announced (2005)
  • Agatha Christie's Poirot - Taken at the Flood (2006)

References