In Search of the Ward's – A Sojourn to Hampshire, Berkshire & Surrey in late April 2012

Ruth Butler and David Pagett

Thursday 26^th – Saturday 28^th April 2012

based at the Travelodge, Fleet, Hampshire

Chilton Foliat – Egham – Compton – Chastleton

Chilton Lodge; Watt's Gallery, Compton; Chastleton House; Great Fosters, Egham; St Mary's Church, Chilton Foliat

Day 1 – Thursday 26^th April, Chilton Foliat and Egham.

Chilton Foliat is a small village near Hungerford on the Berkshire/Wiltshire border, with a parish church dedicated to St. Mary and a public house, “The Wheatsheaf”. The main estate in the area is owned by the daughter and son-in-law of the late Gerald Ward, himself a descendant of Sir John Hubert Ward, who was a brother of the second Earl of Dudley. Sir John married Jean Templeton Reid, the daughter of Whitelaw Reid, the American ambassador to Great Britain from 1905 until his death in 1912. Reid's wealth as a New York newspaper magnate enabled him to purchase the whole of the Chilton estate in 1908 (complete with a large residence, Chilton Lodge) as a wedding present for his daughter. Gerald Ward was, like his grandfather, very close to the Royal Family; he became a godfather to Prince Harry, the Royals attending his funeral in September 2008 after he had suffered a fatal heart attack whilst playing golf at Sunningdale. The parish church contains monuments to the Ward family in the form of stained glass windows, whilst in the churchyard a huge open mausoleum serves as the family burial ground.

St. Mary's church, Chilton Foliat: stained glass memorial window with crest and motto in the upper left-hand light; nave and chancel:much of the carving is by a descendant of the Forsyth brothers, the pulpit is unusual in that it can only be accessed by means of a door in the vestry; in the churchyard an open mausoleum contains Ward family burials.

Great Fosters is a 16^th century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park and is still adjacent to the town of Egham, Surrey. It is a Grade I listed building, close to Heathrow and the M25 London orbital motorway. Judge John Dodderidge who was Solicitor General to King James I, and Sir Robert Foster owned the house in 1639. When he died in 1663 he left the house to his son, Sir Thomas Foster. Great Fosters remained in the family following his death in 1685 when it passed to his daughters. In 1715 Sir Charles Orbey resided here, and it was not until 1787 that one of Sir Thomas's great grandsons sold the property to a Mr Wyatt for £700.

The original house was built in about 1550 as a symmetrical U-shaped Elizabethan homestead. It is probable that it was extended in the early 17^th century because there is slightly larger brickwork in the porch. It was at this time the initial tall chimneys were built. However, these pinnacles were removed during World War II after a bomb blast. They have been replaced by replicas. A dominant feature of the house is the windows, all of which are stone mullions and transoms with leaded lights.

In the early 20^th century Great Foster was owned by Baroness Halkett, Queen Alexandra's lady in waiting. Later it passed to the Earl of Dudley (who never actually lived in the property) and then to the Hon. Gerald Montague. Today it is owned by the Sutcliffe family.

The front of the house was used in the opening title sequence of the 1950's TV comedy series Whack-O! set at a minor public school. Also used in the Rank Organisation movie about the Titanic, "A Night to Remember". Great Foster's is these days a luxury hotel complex.

Great Fosters: south and north elevations; oak panelling in a passageway; elaborate and pristine topiary in the extensive gardens which also contain impressive water features

Day 2 – Friday 27^th April, Watts Gallery, Chapel and Limnerlease, Compton near Guildford.

Watts Gallery is located in Down Lane, Compton, near Guildford and is the centre-piece of an assemblage of three important connected buildings in the village. The famous Victorian-era artist and sculptor George Frederic Watts lived and worked here at a house known as “Limnerlease” where he also had a studio. Across the road is the gallery and workshop which he built to house many of the works in his collection which he bequeathed to the nation; this gallery has recently been completely refurbished and is the only provincial art venue in Great Britain dedicated to a single artist. Nearby stands a magnificent chapel and graveyard in the Arts & Crafts idiom, complete with bespoke mausoleum, designed and built by his second wife Mary to commemorate her late husbands life and times. The gallery itself houses many of Watts' important works including landscapes, allegorical scenes and portraits and a selection of sculpture.

At the moment an exhibition is running which showcases Watts' portraits of the many rich-and-famous Victorians he was acquainted with, in a display entitled “Hall of Fame”. The trustees of the gallery have also purchased Watts' house “Limnerlease” and the intention is to restore this building with a view to future public access.

During Watts' lifetime he became intimately associated with the artistic circle at Little Holland House in London, and it was through these connections that he was introduced to such younger women as Rachel Gurney (later the Countess of Dudley) and her close family relatives whom he painted on a number of occasions.

Watts Gallery, Compton; Rachel Gurney by G.F.Watts; Watts chapel by Mary Watts; interior of Watts chapel; Limnerlease,Compton

Day 3 – Saturday 28^th April, Chastleton House, Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds.

It was our intention to visit another Ward estate, Cornwell Manor near Chipping Norton, whilst returning to Worcestershire on the Saturday morning. Unfortunately the weather turned against us and so we chose to visit nearby Chastleton House instead. This is another impressive Jacobean manorial abode administered by the National Trust, but has no connections with the Ward family.

Chastleton House was built between 1607 and 1612 for Walter Jones, who had made his fortune as a wool merchant or possibly from the law. The estate was bought in 1604 from Robert Catesby, although his residence was demolished to make way for the new house. The house is built of Cotswold stone, round a very small courtyard.The inside of the house is complex and quite labyrithine as there are a great many rooms, the foremost of which are the Great Hall, with its ornately carved wooden screen, and the first floor's Great Chamber, with its ornate panelling and plaster ceiling. The library holds a Juxon bible said to have been used at the execution of Charles I. The croquet lawn, situated to the north of the house, was originally established by Walter Whitmore-Jones in the 1860s. His version of the rules of croquet published in The Field in 1865 became definitive, and Chastleton is considered the birthplace of croquet as a competitive sport. Adjacent to the house is the parish church of St. Mary the Virgin.

Chastleton House and the adjacent parish church.

Interior photography is not currently permitted