Newland Park, Chalfont St Peter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Newland Park |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Type | Country house |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Town or city | Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Newland Park is a beautiful old country house and estate. It is located near the village of Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire, England. This special building is protected as a Grade II listed site. This means it's an important historical place.
Contents
Newland Park: A Look at Its Past
Early Days and Royal Visits
Newland Park has a long and interesting history. Around 1770, a man named Henry Gott bought the estate. He was important enough to entertain King George III there. In 1785, Gott put up a tall stone pillar called Gott's Monument. This monument remembers a stag that was killed during a hunt with the king.
After Gott passed away, Thomas Allen bought Newland Park in 1809. His son, Thomas Newland Allen, inherited it in 1829. Later, in 1898, Allen's daughter, Mrs. Edmund Stevens, became the owner. She sold the estate to Henry Andrade Harben in 1903.
Gardens and Suffragette Refuge
In 1903, the famous garden designer Thomas Hayton Mawson created the beautiful gardens at Newland Park. When Henry Andrade Harben died in 1910, his son Henry Devenish Harben took over.
From 1910 to 1921, Newland Park became a safe place for suffragettes. Suffragettes were women who fought for the right to vote. Henry Devenish Harben and his wife Agnes Harben supported their cause. Agnes later started a group called the United Suffragists. Many famous people visited them at Newland Park. These visitors included Emmeline Pankhurst, George Bernard Shaw, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, and H. G. Wells.
Changes Over the Years
In April 1939, an insurance company called North British and Mercantile Insurance bought the estate. Their staff moved into new offices and homes there in August. After World War II, Newland Park became a college. The Newland Park Training College opened on March 1, 1946, to train new teachers.
In 1975, this college joined with another one to form Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education. A year later, in 1976, the Chiltern Open Air Museum was created on the estate grounds. In 1989, Amersham Hockey Club started using the estate for their games. A special hockey pitch was built there in 1990.
Filming Location and University Campus
Newland Park House was used for filming several television shows. Parts of Class Act (1994-1995) and Thief Takers (1995-1997) were filmed there. In 1999, the college became Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College. The main entrance of Newland Park was also used in the 2000 film Cor, Blimey!.
In 2007, the university changed its name to Buckinghamshire New University. However, the university closed its campus at Newland Park on August 1, 2009.
New Owners and Schools
On July 1, 2011, the university sold Newland Park to the Comer Group. In 2012, Newland Park House and its gardens were leased to a company that organizes events and weddings.
A new school, Newland College, opened in September 2015. It was later renamed Chalfonts Independent Grammar School in 2017. The local hockey club, Amersham and Chalfont Hockey Club, moved from Newland Park in spring 2017. They found a new home in Amersham.
