Childwickbury Manor is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in the hamlet of

Childwickbury Childwickbury is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, England lying to the north of St Albans in the parish of St Michael. Childwickbury Manor was home to Stanley Kubrick from 1978 until his death there in 1999. Many of the buildings in Childwickbury ar ...

, Hertfordshire, England, between St Albans and Harpenden.

History

The Lomax family bought the house in 1666 and lived there until 1854 when Joshua Lomax sold it to

Henry Hayman Toulmin Henry Hayman (sometimes spelled Heyman) Toulmin (1807 – 1871) was a wealthy British ship owner who became Justice of the Peace and High Sheriff of Hertfordshire. Biography Early life Henry and Calvert Toulmin - A great deal is known abo ...

, a wealthy ship owner,

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisio ...

and mayor of St Albans. Toulmin left the property to Sir John Blundell Maple around 20 years later. Toulmin's granddaughter, the author

Mary Carbery Mary Carbery (1867-1949) was an English author. Biography Mary Vanessa Toulmin was born and raised at Childwickbury Manor, Hertfordshire. She married London-born and Cambridge-educated Algernon William George Evans-Freke, 9th Baron Carbery of ...

, was born at the house.St Michael's Parish Church
Sir John Blundell Maple, 1st Baronet bred and raced

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

s and built

Childwickbury Stud Childwickbury Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Originally built in 1888 by Sir John Blundell Maple as part of his Childwickbury estate, he bred and raced Thoroughbreds and built Childwickbury Stu ...

into a very successful horse breeding operation. Another prominent racehorse owner, Jack Barnato Joel, bought the estate including the

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word " stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation ...

in 1906. On his death in 1940, his son Jim Joel took over the operation. He too became a successful racehorse owner and breeder and maintained the property until 1978 when the stud and the manor were sold separately. It was advertised thus:

"The Manor House, mainly 18th century has 12 Reception Rooms, 18 Bed and Dressing Rooms, 11 Staff Bedrooms, and 10 Bathrooms. Immaculate Timbered Grounds. Walled Garden. Courtyard with Garaging and Flat. Estate Office. Victorian Dairy House with about 19 Acres 7,000 m² Two Coach House Cottages with Magnificent Stable Yard with Paddock and Woodland 16 Acres 5,000 m² Cheapside and Shafford Farms, 2 Well Equipped Corn and Stock Farms with about 724 Acres .9 km² 146 Acres 91,000 m²of Timbered Parkland, 37 Acres 50,000 m²of Railed Paddock and 104 Acres 21,000 m²of valuable Commercial Timber". In addition there were "18 Attractive Houses and Cottages, some with Paddocks. Old Mill and other Buildings for conversion, Stud Buildings, 30 Loose Boxes, Potential Riding School, and fishing in River Ver and Mill Race. Total 1,100 Acres .5 km²

The stud was sold to the Marquesa de Moratalla.

Current owner

Film director Stanley Kubrick bought the manor in 1978. He used the estate as both a home and a nerve centre for his film productions. He lived there until his death in 1999 and is interred in its grounds together with his eldest daughter Anya Kubrick, who died in 2009. His widow, Christiane Kubrick, still lives in the Manor House and one of their grandchildren runs a recording studio adjacent to it as a sound engineer.

References

External links

Childwickbury Estate
{{coord, 51, 46, 44, N, 0, 20, 56, W, region:GB-HRT_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Country houses in Hertfordshire Grade II listed buildings in Hertfordshire Grade II listed houses Stanley Kubrick