Aldenham House is an

English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire 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 Townhou ...

in Elstree, just south-east of

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire, England. The parish includes Radlett and Letchmore Heath as well as Aldenham village itself. The village of Aldenham lies north-eas ...

village and west of

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. It was the seat of the Gibbs family, who were the Barons Aldenham, and is now a main building of the

Haberdashers' Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School) is a 4–18 boys Independent school (United Kingdom) in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school was ...

, while its estate accommodates the other school buildings, the Haberdashers' School for Girls, the

Lister Institute The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute (the British Institute of Preventive Medicine) in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, ...

, and the Hilfield Reservoir. The house was built about 1672 for H. Coghill the Younger and was acquired, renovated and extended about 1870 by

Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham, (31 August 1819 – 13 September 1907), was a British banker, businessman and Conservative Party politician. Life Aldenham was the son of George Henry Gibbs, whose father Antony Gibbs was a brother of Si ...

. In 1932, the estate was sold after the death of its then occupant Vicary Gibbs, a financier, former member of parliament, and avid plant collector who had amassed a larger collection of Chinese flora than the

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

. Gibbs never married, and most of the plant collection was auctioned after his death.Audrey Le Lievre (1986). An Account of the Garden at Aldenham House and of Its Makers: Henry Hucks Gibbs, Vicary Gibbs and Edwin Beckett. ''Garden History'', Vol. 14, No. 2. (Autumn, 1986), 173–193.Harrison, H. (2012). Plant hunting for Borde Hill. ''The Plantsman'', June 2012, p.93

/ref> Habsfrontcricket

The house and grounds became a country club until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when it was requisitioned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for use as an overseas broadcasting station. After the war the house stood empty until occupied by the

in 1961. While building works for the new school were in progress, MGM shot Village of the Damned (1960 film) in front of the house and the 'carry-on' style film '' Kill or Cure'' in the entrance hall and on the front lawn. The frontage and grounds have since appeared in a number of episodes of several 1960s television programmes including '' The Avengers'' and '' The Saint''. Aldenham House is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building.

References

External Links

Parks & Gardens UK – Aldenham House
{{Authority control Country houses in Hertfordshire Grade II* listed buildings in Hertfordshire Aldenham International broadcasting Radio during World War II