Tottenham House

{{Short description|Country house in Wiltshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=March 2025}} thumb|330px|Tottenham House, Wiltshire, east front, in 2006

'''Tottenham House''' is a large Grade I listed English country house in the parish of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, about five miles southeast of the town of Marlborough. It is separated from the town by Savernake Forest, which is part of the '''Tottenham Park''' estate.

The site of the house was part of the much larger Savernake Forest, and in the Middle Ages was controlled by the heads of the Esturmy family. In the 15th century, the land passed by marriage to the House of Seymour of nearby Wulfhall, about one mile to the south. The original house was probably built in about 1575 by Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, a nephew of Queen Jane Seymour, when it was known as '''Totnam Lodge'''. The present house incorporates parts of the earlier houses on the site built by the Seymours. In 1675, the estate passed to Lady Elizabeth Seymour, who married Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, thus bringing the house into the Bruce family.<ref name="listing" />

In 1721, Elizabeth Seymour's son and heir, Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury, rebuilt Totnam Lodge to the design of his brother-in-law, the pioneering Palladian architect Lord Burlington, and parts of the grounds, including the kitchen garden, were laid out by Capability Brown between 1764 and about 1770, commissioned by Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Stroud |first=Dorothy |title=Capability Brown |date=1 October 1984 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=9780571134052 |edition=5th |location=Boston |publication-date=1 October 1984}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Willis |first=Peter |date=1984 |title=Capability Brown's account with Drummonds Bank, 1753-1783 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/architectural-history/article/capability-browns-account-with-drummonds-bank-17531783/A7CEF9493F115486C7C306EEA038AA7D |journal=Architectural History, Volume 27: Design and Practice in British Architecture |volume=27 |pages=382–391}}</ref> The house underwent a number of further rebuilds, and the current house, containing more than one hundred rooms, mostly dates from the 1820s, having then been remodelled by Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, who in 1818 (while still Earl of Aylesbury) had added a new range of stables designed by Thomas Cundy.

The Bruce family lived in the house until 1946. Thereafter it was used as a preparatory school until 1994, and then leased to a charity until 2005, after which it was unoccupied for some ten years, apart from a period in 2006, when the band Radiohead recorded part of their album ''In Rainbows'' at the house. It was then leased for 150 years to a US-based consortium with the intention of creating a luxury hotel and golfing centre, but the consortium went bankrupt in 2008. In 2014, the house was sold for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer who had plans to turn it back into a private home,<ref name=plans>{{cite web|url=https://www.marlboroughnewsonline.co.uk/features/7947-analysis-tottenham-house-development-a-win-win-decision-for-wiltshire-council|title= Analysis: Tottenham House development – a win-win decision for Wiltshire Council|work=marlboroughnewsonline|author= Tony Millett|date= 12 September 2018}}</ref> after which it was sold to billionaire Chris Rokos, who had similar plans.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-21 |title=Transformation of billionaire's Wiltshire mansion moves a step closer |url=https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/23469658.billionaire-plans-turn-tottenham-house-family-home/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Wiltshire Times |language=en}}</ref> Planning applications made at the end of 2024 indicated significant renovations were planned.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=Latest plans for billionaire's mansion reveal details for “cinema room” |url=https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/24765732.chris-rokos-gets-approval-latest-tottenham-house-plans/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Wiltshire Times |language=en}}</ref>

==Early history== thumb|Tottenham House, depicted ''circa'' 1790, the Palladian building designed by Lord Burlington ''circa'' 1721, largely lost following remodelling in the 1820s

The site of Tottenham House was known by 1200 as Tottenham Wood, a part of the much larger Savernake Forest, and was under the control of the Esturmy family. The land passed to the Seymour family by the marriage of Maud Esturmy to Roger II Seymour in the 15th century.<ref name="listing">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1000472 |desc=Tottenham House and Savernake Forest |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> It was probably Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (1539–1621), son and heir of the 1st Duke, of nearby Wulfhall, who in about 1575 built the first house, known as Totnam Lodge, and enclosed its surrounding land to form a deer park.<ref name="listing" /> Wulfhall was partly demolished, and the building materials used to construct Tottenham House.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbcHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA46|page=46|title=A Handbook for Travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire|author=John Murray|publisher=John Murray|date=1869}}</ref>

King James and his consort Anne of Denmark visited the house in 1603. The Earl of Hertford asked the poet Samuel Daniel and his brother the lutenist John Daniel to write and organise an entertainment for the visit.<ref>John Pitcher and John Gaisford, "Samuel Daniel's Life and Circumstances: New Findings", ''Huntington Library Quarterly'', 84:4 (Winter 2021), pp. 863.</ref> The house was still known as the Lodge in 1623, in which year the parish register of Great Bedwyn records the baptism of the 1st Earl's great-granddaughter Frances Seymour, the daughter of Sir Francis Seymour (c. 1590 – 1664) (later created Baron Seymour of Trowbridge), which was performed "at the Lodge in the Great Parke by Henrie Taylor, Vicar of Great Bedwin".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JS4EAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA21|title=Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica |year=1838 |volume=5 |editor1= Frederic Madden |editor2=Bulkeley Bandinel |editor3=John Gough Nichols|page=31}}</ref>

John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset (1629–1675), an uncle, inherited the estate in 1671 on the death of his nephew the 3rd Duke, and in 1672 he rebuilt Totnam Lodge and redesigned the deer park, which at that date included long tree-lined walks and a deer chase.<ref name="listing" /> The 4th Duke of Somerset bequeathed the unentailed Seymour estates to his niece Elizabeth Seymour, the wife of Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (1656–1741), thus passing some of the Seymour estates to the Bruce family. In 1721 Elizabeth Seymour's son and heir, Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury, rebuilt Totnam Lodge to the design of his brother-in-law, the pioneering Palladian architect Lord Burlington. Henry Flitcroft was the executant architect.<ref>Rudolf Wittkower, in ''Architectural Journal'' '''102''' 1945, noted in Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington".</ref> The 3rd Earl added wings to Burlington's block in the 1730s, and also built in 1743 a Banqueting House in the park to the design of Burlington (demolished in 1824).<ref>Colvin, "Boyle".</ref> Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury inherited the estate in 1747 from his uncle, Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury in 1747. Parts of the grounds, including the kitchen garden, were laid out by Capability Brown from 1764 to c 1770, commissioned by Thomas Brudenell-Bruce.<ref name="listing" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In 1818, Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, added stables to the design of Thomas Cundy II. In 1823–26 he enlarged and remodelled the house, again to the designs of Thomas Cundy.<ref>Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Cundy, Thomas", "Wyatville, Sir Jeffry".</ref>

==Description of present house== {{Empty section|date=November 2024}}

==Modern use== The Ailesbury family lived in the house, sharing it during the Second World War with the US Army, until 1946. Thereafter it was used by Hawtreys Preparatory School until 1994 when Hawtreys merged with Cheam School, Newbury. It was then leased for ten years to the Amber Foundation, a charity which helped unemployed troubled young people to rebuild their lives, but its work there ended due to cuts in government support.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/mar/09/guardiansocietysupplement.socialcare|title=On the pile|last=Weaver|first=Matt|date=9 March 2005|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 March 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 1966, the house was designated as Grade I listed,<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1183809|desc=Tottenham House|access-date=29 November 2015|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> while the small octagonal folly building (c. 1720)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1300392|desc=Garden folly in Tottenham House deerpark|access-date=29 November 2015|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> in the deer park, and the stable block (1819)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1365488|desc=Stable Block to Tottenham House|access-date=29 November 2015|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> were designated Grade II*.

David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan owned 49% and his son Thomas James Brudenell-Bruce, Viscount Savernake owned 51%.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} Between 2011 and 2017, the impoverished Earl was involved in a bitter legal battle with the trustees.<ref name="simondebruxelles">Simon de Bruxelles, 'Penniless earl claims jobseeker's allowance after ex-wife's entire £1.5m estate goes to the children', ''The Times'', March 07, 2013, No. 70826, p. 3</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/15168688.Earl_of_Cardigan_wins_High_Court_battle_to_oust_Savernake_Estate_trustees/|title=Earl of Cardigan wins High Court battle to oust Savernake Estate trustees|last=Mills|first=Richard|date=20 March 2017|website=The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald|language=en|access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref>

In 2006 the house, with its 50-horse stable block, outbuildings and some farmland, was leased for 150 years to a consortium of Golf Club Investment Holdings, Conduit Investments, and (as operator) the Buena Vista Hospitality Group of Orlando, Florida, with the intention of creating a luxury hotel, conference, spa, and golfing centre. Full planning permission was obtained, with the co-operation of the local Planning Authority and English Heritage, and an investment in the project of £50 million was announced. However 18 months later, before starting any building work, the consortium failed during the recession, and the lease ended.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

In 2014, the trustees sold the house and 800 acres for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer, which was believed to be multi-millionaire property developer Jamie Ritblat<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/14233653.Hotel_dream____still_alive____for_Tottenham_House/|title=Hotel dream 'still alive' for Tottenham House|last=Hicks|first=Amber|date=27 January 2016|website=The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald|language=en|access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref> after overcoming a legal challenge from the Earl of Cardigan.<ref>{{cite news|title=Earl of Cardigan loses appeal over sale of Tottenham House|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-29664082|publisher=BBC|access-date=13 April 2015|date=17 October 2014|work=BBC News}}</ref> In November 2014 the Earl was reported in the ''Daily Telegraph'' newspaper to be living with his second wife and baby daughter in an unheated lodge in the grounds of Tottenham House on a £71-a-week jobseeker's allowance while training to be a lorry driver.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11228135/Whats-happening-to-Henrys-houses.html|title=What's happening to Henry's houses?|last=Davidson|first=Max|date=15 November 2014|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=28 March 2017|language=en}}</ref> He is still theoretically the hereditary Warden of Savernake Forest and has stated he was: "put on this earth to take care of Savernake and I will never let it go".<ref name="Daily Telegraph, 17 Oct 2014">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11170474/Earl-of-Cardigan-admits-defeat-in-battle-to-keep-ancestral-home-on-Savernake-estate.html|title=Earl of Cardigan admits defeat in battle to keep ancestral home on Savernake estate|last=Rayner|first=Gordon|date=17 October 2014|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=28 March 2017|language=en}}</ref> He was due to benefit from the sale proceeds and would still own jointly with the trustees 3,700 acres, mainly woodland, in Savernake Forest.<ref name="Daily Telegraph, 17 Oct 2014"/> In 2017 he was able to remove both trustees from office, and restore his family’s income.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/15168688.Earl_of_Cardigan_wins_High_Court_battle_to_oust_Savernake_Estate_trustees/|title=Earl of Cardigan wins High Court battle to oust Savernake Estate trustees|last=Mills|first=Richard|date=20 March 2017|website=The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald|access-date=9 July 2018}}</ref>

As of 2017, the house had been unoccupied since 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://unidoc.wiltshire.gov.uk/UniDoc/Document/File/MTgvMDAxOTUvTEJDLDExMjY5Nzc=|title=Tottenham House & Estate: Vision Statement|date=December 2017|website=Wiltshire Council – planning application 18/00195/LBC|access-date=17 January 2018}}</ref> Plans were submitted in December 2017 to return the house, stables, outbuildings, and park to a family residence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z000014enMyAAI/1800195lbc|title=Planning application 18/00195/LBC|date=December 2017|website=Wiltshire Council|language=en-gb|access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

* The house featured as the boys' school Dryden Park in the 1995 film ''A Feast at Midnight'', starring Christopher Lee.{{citation needed|date=April 2026}} * In 2006, the band Radiohead recorded part of their 2007 album ''In Rainbows'' at the house.<ref name="Mojo">{{cite news|title=Ghost in the Machine|date=1 August 2006|work=Mojo|pages=74–77|author=Kent, Nick|author-link=Nick Kent}}</ref> * In 2013, the house and Savernake estate were used as the location for a short film commissioned by electronica pioneers Goldfrapp to promote the song 'Drew' from their album ''Tales of Us''. Shot in black and white by film editor Lisa Gunning, the internal and external aspects of the house and surrounding forest feature extensively in the five-minute film.{{citation needed|date=April 2026}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== * Lennon, Ben, Burlington, Brown and Bill: [https://www.academia.edu/3528675/Burlington_Brown_and_Bill_The_Landscaping_of_Tottenham_Park_and_Savernake_Forest_in_Eighteenth_Century ''The Landscaping of Tottenham Park and Savernake Forest in the Eighteenth Century'']

==External links== {{commons category-inline}}

Category:Houses completed in 1826 Category:Country houses in Wiltshire Category:Gardens in Wiltshire Category:Georgian architecture in Wiltshire Category:Grade I listed houses in Wiltshire ~ Category:1826 establishments in England Category:Thomas Cundy (junior) buildings