Loseley Park is an historic manor house situated near the North Downs in Compton, just outside Guildford. The house was built in the 16th century and is open to the public, with the estate also including 2.5 acres of Walled Gardens and a 17th century tithe barn that is available for weddings.
The estate was acquired by the direct ancestors of the current owners, the More-Molyneux, at the beginning of the 16th century and the house was built between 1562 and 1568 with stone reclaimed from the ruins of Farnham’s Waverley Abbey. The house was built by Sir William More after Queen Elizabeth I supposedly commented that the previous residence was too small and inadequate for her to visit. It has remained fundamentally unchanged over the years and remains, as More intended, a place of calm, grace and subtle beauty.
“Loseley House has been my family’s home for over five hundred years yet, whilst the world has changed; Loseley itself remains reassuringly constant. A place that is welcoming, fascinating and dramatic. It is a pleasure to share this with every visitor.” – Michael More-Molyneux
Loseley Park is steeped in history; it appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Losele and its assets were described as ‘2 hides. It had 4 ploughs, 5 acres (20,000 m2) of meadow. It rendered £3’. In the house itself, some of the intricate panelling in the Great Hall was once in Henry VIII’s Nonsuch Palace and others from his banqueting tents. You can also find George IV’s coronation chair, whilst the ceiling in the Drawing Room was commissioned for a visit by James I. The King was so impressed by the welcome and hospitality that he and his queen received that he commissioned a pair of portraits from John de Critz (his court painter) that still hang in the Great Hall now.
The gardens in the estate are considered national treasures in their own right and are divided into five ‘rooms’ each with their own unique planting scheme and personality. Planted with over one thousand Old English Rose Bushes, the Rose Garden can be best seen from mid-June to early July when the blooms are at their peak. The Herb Garden contains a fascinating array of over two hundred culinary, medicinal, household and decorative herbs and the Organic Vegetable Garden still provides essential ingredients to the kitchens daily. The Flower Garden is full of subtle reds, burnt oranges, vibrant yellows and blues, whereas the White Garden is a place to sit and reflect amongst the white, cream and silver plants that surround a central water feature.
The gardens are surrounded by an old wall of similar age to the house and contain a vine walk, a huge spread of wisteria, the moat and the old mulberry tree around which a family prophesy revolves.
Loseley Park is also highly sought after for its corporate event facilities, civil weddings and as a filming location. If Loseley House could impress royalty back in the day, then it’s no surprise it is so popular in modern times for corporate functions and private parties and with such a beautiful backdrop, the Tithe Barn with its ancient oak beams is the perfect place to hold a wedding reception. And the estate is in high demand for filming with TV shows such as Midsummer Murders, Agatha Christie’s Marple and Sense & Sensibility already taking advantage.
Loseley House is a fantastic place to visit, with a whole host of events taking place throughout the calendar year. Head down to Compton and enjoy the grounds, the garden and the house and relax in one of England’s friendliest historic homes.
James Martin
Images sourced from: http://tinyurl.com/kkru6ap and http://tinyurl.com/pje8qvf