Albury Park is a country park and Grade II*

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

historic

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peop ...

(Albury Park Mansion) in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, England. It covers over ; within this area is the old village of

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – t ...

, which consists of three or four houses and a church. The

River Tillingbourne The River Tillingbourne (also known as the Tilling Bourne) runs along the south side of the North Downs and joins the River Wey at Guildford. Its source is a mile south of Tilling Springs to the north of Leith Hill at and it runs through Friday ...

runs through the grounds. The gardens of Albury Park are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Pre-1890

The

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Old St Peter and St Paul's Church, within the grounds of Albury Park, predates 1066. Albury Park was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. Over the centuries the estate has changed hands many times. The grounds of Albury Park were laid out by

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or m ...

, the 17th century diarist and landscape gardener between 1655 and 1677. He lived nearby at Wotton. At this time the park was owned by Henry Howard who later became the 6th

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

. John Evelyn's work included a yew walk, a vineyard, a terrace a quarter of a mile long, and a 160-yard tunnel, through the hill under Silver Wood. Beneath the terrace was a chamber built in imitation of a Roman bath, with niches for sculpture. He also designed a wide canal fed by the

; it was drained in the early nineteenth century. Many of Evelyn's alterations to the mansion were destroyed in a fire in 1697. At that time the owner was Heneage Finch who later became the first

Earl of Aylesford Earl of Aylesford, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1714 for the lawyer and politician Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Guernsey. He had already been created Baron Guernsey in the Peerage of England in ...

and Solicitor-General to Charles II. Finch rebuilt the mansion. In 1761, Albury Park was the scene of the coronation banquet of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. The house was owned by the immediate Finch family until 1782 when the 4th Earl of Aylesford sold the estate to his brother Captain

William Clement Finch William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

, a naval captain who had acquired a fortune by capturing a Spanish ship. Captain Finch wanted to enclose the park so he obtained magistrates' orders in 1784/5 to close and re-route a number of roads through the park. He enclosed the village green, incorporated part of the churchyard into the park grounds and harassed the villagers causing some of them to move away to a nearby hamlet which is now the village of Albury. In 1800, Captain Finch's widow sold the estate to Samuel Thornton, who made additions to the house, including the north front, to the designs of

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...

. Albury Park was purchased by Charles Wall in 1811, and then by Henry Drummond in 1819. Drummond added a battlemented stone

Gothick Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

tower at the north-west corner of the building, and 63 brick chimneys – each to a different design. His architect was

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

. Drummond also planted many of the rare trees in the park.

Post-1890

The

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke o ...

obtained Albury Park in 1890 and still owns most of the land, known as the Albury Estate. The mansion contains 64 different mantelpieces, which were in part the work of Robert Adam. The private areas of the park contain a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

bath and a cave inspired by the Grotto of Posilippo in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

. In 1969, the mansion together with of land, mostly laid to grass, was sold. The building was converted into private flats that were owned by the

Country Houses Association The Country Houses Association (CHA) was a British charity (a friendly society with charitable status) that converted country houses into retirement flats and maintained them from 1955 until its liquidation in 2004. History The Country Houses ...

until it went into liquidation in 2003. The house was then sold to private owners, who continued to let the flats, while living in the house themselves. The parkland and the

gardens remain private. Fly fishing is possible at Albury Park as part of the Albury Estate Fisheries fly fishing club. Park membership is based on a syndicate membership. There is a public footpath that cuts through the estate. The storms of 1987 and 1990 caused serious damage to parts of the park. Albury Park was featured in a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

television series, ''

Country House Rescue ''Country House Rescue'' is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand and in South Africa. In each e ...

'' in December 2008, and November 2009. The house and grounds have also been the location of the filming of the television series ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

''. A report by '' Country Life'' in March 2020 indicated that the Grade II* listed mansion had been split into luxury apartments. Six magnificent apartments for sale in stately homes across Britain
/ref>

References

External links

Albury History SocietyMultimapAlbury Estate Fisheries
{{Authority control Gardens in Surrey Grade I listed parks and gardens in Surrey Grade II* listed buildings in Surrey Grade II* listed houses Country houses in Surrey 1677 establishments in England