Moggerhanger House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Moggerhanger House |
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| General information | |
| Type | Manor house |
| Architectural style | Georgian architecture |
| Location | Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 52°07′29″N 0°20′34″W / 52.12465°N 0.34291°W |
| Ordnance Survey | TL1353248665 |
| Construction started | 1790 |
| Completed | 1812 |
| Renovated | 1994 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Soane |
| Other designers | Humphry Repton |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Peter Inskip |
Moggerhanger House is a beautiful old country house in Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire, England. It is a Grade I-listed building, which means it's very important and protected. The famous architect John Soane designed it.
Today, a Christian charity called Harvest Vision and the Moggerhanger House Preservation Trust own the house. It has recently been restored, costing about £7 million. Many groups helped with this, like the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage.
Contents
The House's Story
Building a Masterpiece
The first house at Moggerhanger was quite small. It was built in the Georgian style. A director of the Bank of England, Godfrey Thornton, bought it. He asked the Bank's architect, John Soane, to make changes between 1790 and 1793.
Later, Thornton's son, Stephen, inherited the house. Soane continued working on it from 1806 until 1812. He completely redesigned Moggerhanger. He made it bigger and moved the main entrance. Soane also put a new roof on the house. He used his earlier work from 1793, keeping the design balanced and classic. Soane even used the house to try out new ideas for his future projects.
Soane's Special Touches
Soane covered the house with a new material called "Parker's Roman Cement." It was a biscuit-brown color. The garden side of the house has a wooden porch. The main entrance has a low, round porch with Greek Doric columns. Inside, there was once a round entrance hall with a shallow dome. The windows have dark grey bars, which makes the window shapes stand out. There is also a special staircase that seems to float.
The beautiful gardens around the house were designed by Humphry Repton. He was a very famous landscape designer. Moggerhanger House is one of only a few houses designed by Soane that are still standing today. Others include Pitzhanger Manor, Tyringham Hall, and Pell Wall Hall.
A Hospital for Many Years
For most of the 1900s, Moggerhanger House was used as a hospital. In 1919, it opened as a hospital for people with TB. Later, in the late 1950s, it became a hospital for bone problems. It was renamed Park Hospital in 1960 but closed in 1987.
Modern Times
Saving the House
After the hospital closed, local builders bought the house. They wanted to turn it into offices or apartments, but they couldn't get permission. The house started to fall apart, with leaky roofs and rot.
In 1993, the builders got special permission to build 12 small houses nearby. This was allowed if they helped save the main house. Then, they gave the house and 15 acres of parkland to Harvest Vision. Harvest Vision is a Christian trust that wanted to use the house for charities and education. They paid just £1 for it!
Community Efforts and Big Grants
Harvest Vision raised money from supporters and bought more parts of the estate. Many volunteers from the local community helped start the restoration work. English Heritage even gave a grant to replace the roof.
In 1997, Moggerhanger House became a Grade I-listed building. This was because it was the only country house by Sir John Soane that could be fully restored. English Heritage encouraged Harvest Vision to apply for a large grant. The National Heritage Memorial Fund offered £3.5 million. But there was a condition: the 12 new houses could not be built.
Harvest Vision then got another grant to buy the land where the houses were planned. This was amazing because it meant they could bring back the original gardens designed by Humphry Repton. The big grant was then paid through the new Heritage Lottery Fund. A special trust was set up to manage the restoration.
The Preservation Trust
In 1998, Harvest Vision created the Moggerhanger House Preservation Trust (MHPT). This trust was in charge of the restoration. They hired architects, first Mark Eddison, then Peter Inskip. Peter Inskip knew a lot about Sir John Soane's work.
Peter Inskip, who led the restoration, said that Soane had a long friendship with the house's owner. This allowed Soane to try out new ideas. Inskip said, "Through deep research, we have found a great work of art that was ignored for 100 years." He believes Soane is as skilled as other great British architects like Inigo Jones, Christopher Wren, and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Some of Soane's ideas from Moggerhanger House were even used in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street!
Finishing the First Restoration
The first big restoration project took 10 years to finish. Harvest Vision created a small community of volunteers. They helped maintain the site while builders worked.
A part of the house, called the Garden Room, was moved and restored. It became a community space with a library and tea rooms. This helped bring the surrounding parkland back to its original beauty.
In 2010, the trust bought more land nearby. They used it for youth and community work. This land was later added to the main estate in 2020.
Moggerhanger House Today
Today, Moggerhanger House is used as a place for meetings and training for most of the year. But from mid-June to mid-September, it opens to visitors. You can take tours twice a day.
You can visit the grounds for free all year round. There's a nice tea room and a play area for children. The house has become an important part of the local community. Its successful restoration is a great achievement for the village and Bedfordshire.
The house still needs care and maintenance. The Moggerhanger House Preservation Trust is a charity. They are currently trying to raise money to restore the 33-acre (130,000 m2) parkland around the house.
