East Sussex Town Guide

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Tourist Guide for East Grinstead West Sussex

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Hammerwood Park

History

John Sperling was the son of Henry Sperling of Dynes Hall in Essex.  In 1789, he married Harriet Rochfort, a relation of the extinct Earls of Belvedere. He commissioned Architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe (May 1, 1764 - September 3, 1820). to build the house in 1792, it was one of the first houses in England built in the Greek Revival style.

The Dorrien Magens family, descended from two banking families supplied silver bullion to the Royal Mint for the production of shillings.

Magens Dorrien Magens lived with his wife (nee Lady Henrietta Rhys), at Hammerwood Lodge his brother, General Dorrien Magens, occupied Thornhill, next door.

Magens Dorrien Magens was instrumental in setting up of a volunteer force of over 1000 men to act as 'Home Guard' due to the threat of a Napoleonic invasion in 1803. He was a leading London banker and MP for Carmarthen. He died in 1848, leaving Hammerwood to his son, John Dorrien Magens - the man responsible for the connection of East Grinstead to the railway system at Three Bridges in 1855. He was chairman of the local railway company until 1865, when it was purchased by the Brighton Line and extended to Tunbridge Wells.

The Dorrien Magens coat of arms is noted in heraldic circles as it contains the only examples of the Cross Hamecon.

1860s Oswald Augustus Smith - Smith's Bank.  The Smiths reputed descended from the Carrington family and Oswald Augustus' sister, Frances (grandmother of Her Majesty the Queen Mother), married Claude Bowes-Lyon.

Oswald Augustus installed a gas and roof insulation for Hammerwood. He also provided a school for 100 children in the village and commissioned the building of St Stephen's Church, Hammerwood and the Church at Holtye. He was also a  chief benefactor of the Victoria Memorial Hospital in East Grinstead.

1901 The Rev. George Ferris Whidborne. George died in the First World War and was awarded the M.C (Military Cross).

 During the remainder of the War, Thornhill (the dower house on the estate) became a home for disabled soldiers.

Due to Death Duties, 843 acres of the estate were sold in 1918. In 1921 the family sold the remaining estate. A further 1300 acres of local farms were sold off, the house was sold and the contents auctioned. The Lodge only had 320 acres of adjoining park and woodland, so the name was changed to Hammerwood Park.

1921 Lt. Col. Stephen Hungerford Pollen, C.M.G. purchased the park.

1930s, the Taylor family purchased the park.  During the second World War Hammerwood Park was requisitioned by the Army. It became home to 200 soldiers, including Denis Compton, the cricketer. Tanks were hidden in the woods and later, aircraft: the R.A.F. used the house for S.O.E. operations to France flying Lysanders from a temporary runway to the north of the Park.

After the War, the Chattell family moved to Hammerwood, they divided the house into eleven

1973 - Led Zeppelin planned to create a recording studio and living accommodation for the members of the group and their families. Plans were drawn but never executed due to their increasing commitments abroad and the problem of the dry-rot.  The house was boarded up in 1976 and offered for sale over the following years.

1982, Hammerwood Park was bought by David Pinnegar.

Hammerwood
East Grinstead
West Sussex
RH19 3QE

Phone: 01342 850594

Standen House

A family house built in the 1890s, designed by Philip Webb, friend of William Morris, and a showpiece of the Arts & Crafts Movement. It is decorated throughout with Morris carpets, fabrics and wallpapers, complemented by contemporary paintings, tapestries and furniture. The house retains many of its original electrical fittings.

The beautiful hillside garden gives fine views over the Sussex countryside and there are delightful woodland walks set in the area of Outstanding Natural Beauty of the High Weald.


West Hoathly Road
East Grinstead East Sussex RH19 4NE