History of Wrest Park

Archer's Pavilion seen at Dawn The first recorded mention of the Grey family in connection with Wrest comes in the thirteenth-century, when Reginald de Grey held the manor.  The original house lay to the south of the present house, and was altered and extended at various times before its final demolition and replacement in the 1830s.  

From 1651 onwards there are records of exchanges of land suggesting the consolidation of the estate and the possible inception of a designed landscape around the existing manor house. In the 1670s land to the west and north of the house was acquired, as well as parts of the Cainho estate. The house was significantly aggrandised by the eleventh Earl in 1676, with the addition of a grand classical north front. This period also saw the initial laying out of formal gardens.

In 1710 Henry Grey, the twelfth Earl was created Duke of Kent, and engaged the Palladian architect Giacomo Leoni to produce schemes for the remodelling or the rebuilding of the house. Such plans were never realised on account of the Duke’s financial losses in the South Sea Bubble, but new canals and avenues were laid out about this time, with numerous garden buildings and structures located on the principal axes, notably Thomas Archer’s Pavilion (or banqueting house) of 1711-12 at the south end of the canal.  Archer designed a second pavilion, located on the summit of the re-modelled Cain Hill to the east. This introduced a strong east-west axis, which was further emphasised by the erection of the obelisk on the west edge of Old Park by 1735 designed by William Kent. 

The Orangery at Wrest Park  Between about 1710 and 1737 the areas to the west and east of the Long Canal were fashioned into woodland gardens, with walks and allées leading to features (buildings and statuary) placed at junction points and as vista ends to these walks. The whole of the area was enclosed by a series of canals, and the Long Canal was also extended by a cross arm running east-west.

Bowling Green House and the (old) Orangery were located to the northwest of these woodland gardens. Further changes also took place within the formal garden immediately around the house, and in the area of Cain Hill, which was planted with formal avenues and rides.  Statuary was a vital element of the gardens at this time, with contributions by van Nost. Much of the design appears to be the result of close collaboration between the Duke of Kent, his gardener John Duell and the designer Thomas Ackres.
 
Some of the most notable architects and designers of the eighteenth century were employed at Wrest. These included Giacomo Leoni (who is credited with the design of Diana’s Temple, and a series of arches for the parterre), Hawksmoor (obelisk, archway and possibly the early Bowling Green House), Thomas Archer (pavilions), Batty Langley (Bowling Green House, serpentine paths), James Gibbs (designs for summerhouses and shelters), and William Kent (obelisk). It has also been suggested that Lord Burlington was involved in a design for the Bowling Green House. The site was recorded in detail by Peter Tillemans (c1720-30), Edward Lawrence (1719), and John Rocque (1735 and 1737).

Wrest Park's Bowling Green House In the second half of the eighteenth century Jemima, Marchioness Grey, introduced fashionable new elements into the gardens, including the Chinese Temple and Bridge, the Rustic Hermitage (Root House), the Mithraic Altar, the Bath House and a memorial to Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. These were seamlessly introduced, with little alteration to the overall layout. Brown’s involvement introduced some informality around the edges, in particular the de-formalisation of the encircling canals and the Bath House.

In 1834, Thomas De Grey embarked on rebuilding the house in Louis XV style, near the axis of the double avenue, some 3oo yards to the north of the old house. He laid out a new formal French Garden with statues and parterres, with a formal Italian Garden to the west. The site of the old house was grassed over.

His debt to French architects, and specifically to Blondel, Mansard and Le Pautre is acknowledged in the plaster figures representing Art and Architecture in an overdoor in the hall, shown seated on volumes by those architects.

De Grey employed James Clephane as executant architect.  As well as the house, Clephane assisted de Grey with the design of the new Orangery, which formed the western terminal of a new east-west axis located just to the north of the site of the old house.

Ariel View of Wrest Park New walled kitchen gardens were created as part of de Grey’s rebuilding project, replacing older kitchen gardens to the north of the old house.

New lodges were placed at the entrances, Brabury and Silsoe Lodges being in an estate style echoing the French influence of the house.  The Cain Hill Lodge was removed and replaced with an obelisk on a plinth. Plantations created around the perimeter of the parkland (often hugging the upper contours) reflected a move towards ‘enclosure’ of the park which concentrated on inward views rather than distant vistas. Any remaining avenues cutting through the parkland were largely de-formalised, other than access routes.

In 1917 following the death in action of the eighth Baron Lucas, the estate passed to his sister, who put it up for sale. The contents of the House and some of the garden monuments were sold. Considerable felling was carried out, including specimen plantings and many of the mature trees in the park. The statuary was sold separately, the location of some items (notably the Duke’s Monument and the Duchess Column,  and Park Obelisk at Trent Park) is known.

In 1939 Sun Insurance purchased the House and about 260 acres for use as their wartime headquarters, and in 1946 the estate was sold to the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, which leased it to the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering (later the Silsoe Research Institute and since 1994 part of the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council - BBSRC). The upkeep and maintenance of the garden buildings remained the responsibility of the Ministry, a responsibility subsequently inherited by the Department of the Environment and (from 1986) English Heritage.  

The parkland beyond the garden core was not acquired by the Government, and has subsequently been absorbed into the modern agricultural landscape that encircles the historic garden.  This is mostly owned and farmed by one private owner.
The Institute steadily expanded in the post-war decades, with the addition of numerous laboratories, office and other buildings to the east and northeast of the House. The walled garden was also developed with new glasshouses, plant growing areas, offices and car parking.

Wrest Park Pavilion In 1981 the A6 was diverted through the parkland to bypass the village of Silsoe, thereby divorcing some of the western parkland and the Silsoe lodges from their historic context. The road was set in a cutting to minimise its visual and noise effect on the house and its setting.

Many of the garden buildings and items of statuary have been conserved and repaired since 1947. However, the approach to the gardens has been rather ad hoc in nature, characterised by basic maintenance and the occasional introduction of new features, such as the Berceaux Walk and some non-historical planting, such as in the Italian Garden. No explicit statement of philosophy for the conservation or restoration of the gardens appeared until 1983, when the first in a series of historical surveys and management plans was commissioned. Following Land Use Consultants’ Masterplan for Restoration and Management of 1993, work was carried out with the aim of returning the site to an eighteenth century layout and appearance.

In 2006 English Heritage acquired the House, eastern service buildings, gardens and Old Park. The BBSRC retaines ownership and control of the laboratory and office buildings to the east and northeast.