Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in
Stanmore
Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
on the northern edge of the
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
area in the
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow () is a London boroughs, London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street, Watl ...
.
It was originally a medieval
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
or cell of
Augustinian Canons
The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religio ...
in
Harrow Weald
Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about north of Harrow, London, Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of ...
, then in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
. There are no remains of the original priory, but it probably stood near Priory House, off Clamp Hill.
[''Victoria County History'', Middlesex, Harrow including Pinner, Manors, 1971](_blank)
/ref>
In 1775, Sir John Soane designed a large mansion house north of the original priory, called Bentley Priory, for the wealthy businessman James Duberley. This was added to throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by various owners. It was significantly extended in 1788, again by Sir John Soane, for John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn
John James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn (2 July 1756 – 27 January 1818) was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician.
Background and education
John James was born in July 1756 in London, the posthumous son of John Hamilton (Royal Navy offic ...
. The priory was the final home of the Dowager Queen Adelaide
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of King W ...
, queen consort of William IV, before her death there in 1849. It subsequently served as a hotel and girls' school before being acquired by the Royal Air Force in 1926.
In the Second World War, Bentley Priory was the headquarters of RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...
, and it remained in RAF hands in various roles until 2008.
As of 2013, the site has been sold to a developer and plans to convert some of the building to luxury apartments and build new houses have been approved and construction commenced. The Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust has secured part of the building to be used as a museum and memorial dedicated to those who served in the RAF.
The priory
Roman remains have been found in the grounds of the priory.[''Victoria County History'', Middlesex, Harrow including Pinner, Introduction, 1971](_blank)
/ref>
Medieval beginnings
Although little detail is known, the lands of Bentley Priory and the surrounding area were scantily populated but civilised long before the time of the Romans. At the time the first Priory was dedicated, the majority of the area was in the Manor of Harrow. The rest of the land in which the Priory now stands was in the area held by the Count of Mortain and known as Stanmore Magna.
Although the area was in part heavily wooded, many Anglo Saxon finds have been made indicating thriving communities around Brockley Hill and Harrow Weald Common. Professor J E B Gover in his book Place Names of Middlesex, derives the word Bentley from Anglo-Saxon: the prefix Bent from '', a kind of coarse grass or bent grass and the suffix ley from ', a tract of cultivated or cultivable land, a piece of land cleared from forest for pasture, etc. Thus the name Bentley would seem to mean land artificially cleared of coarse grass for pasture or cultivation.
By the time the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, William the Conqueror had invested his own bishop (Lansfranc) with the Archbishopric of Canterbury and restored the lands of Harrow, appropriated by King Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
, to the Church. The original Priory, which was the only monastic establishment in the Manor of Harrow, housed a cell of Augustinian Friars. Bentley Priory is (doubtfully) said to have been founded in 1171 by Ranulf de Glanvill
Ranulf de Glanvill (''alias'' Glanvil, Glanville, Granville, etc., died 1190) was Chief Justiciar of England during the reign of King Henry II (1154–89) and was the probable author of '' Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie ...
, who was King Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
's Justiciar
Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term or (meaning "judge" or "justice"). The Chief Justiciar was the king's chief minister, roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The Justiciar of Ireland was ...
from 1180 to 1189. It was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
, and was in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
. It may have been founded as a cell of St Gregory's Priory, Canterbury, and was certainly under its rule by 1301, when the prior of Bentley was reported to have let a farm without the approval of his superior, the prior of St Gregory's.[Victoria County History, Middlesex, Religious Houses, House of Augustinian canons, 1969]
/ref>
In 1243, the king pardoned the prior the interest on 60 shillings which he had borrowed from the Jews, and in 1291 the prior's goods at Stanmore
Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
were valued at 10 shillings, and land and rents in Wotton at 13s 4d. It is referred to in the early 14th century, but according to the court rolls of manor of Harrow in 1535, St Gregory's had ceased to maintain a cell at Bentley many years earlier.[
The first Priory was reported by Druett in his book, ''The Stanmores and Harrow Weald Through the Ages'', to stand further downhill than the present building. He places it in the area of Priory House on Clamp Hill, with the chapel standing apart on Harrow Weald Common. However, the evidence to substantiate this is inconclusive. It would appear that a small agricultural hamlet existed in the shadow of the Priory Chapel. This Chapel, of which all trace has been lost, is believed to have served the 'city' community that lived on the Weald.
Apart from a short list of Priors from this period in The Victoria County History of Middlesex, the only other reference to the Priory is in Chronicle by ]Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (; 1200 – 1259), was an English people, English Benedictine monk, English historians in the Middle Ages, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St A ...
who was a monk and chief copyist at St Albans. He mentions under the date 1248 the story 'Of the Miserable Death of the Priory of Bentley'. Apparently a hayrick fell upon him whilst he was inspecting it.
Another early reference to the Priory can be found in The Harrow Rolls of 1512, These state that:
'The Priory was built in honour of St Mary Magdalene, and the Archbishop of Canterbury beyond memory gave the Priory with all its lands to the Priory of St Gregory without the wall of Canterbury, and to the convent there in pure alms; that they from time of such grant used to find a priest to celebrate Mass and other divine services in the chapel within the Priory each week, and that the priest used to be called the Prior of Bentley'.
:"Thus Bentley Priory and its lands, apart from being passed back and forth between church and lay owners in its early years, managed to avoid falling into the covetous hands of its neighbours."
St Gregory's was dissolved in 1536, and the buildings and land of the former Bentley Priory were granted to Archbishop Cranmer, but in 1542 he was forced to hand them back to the king, and in 1546 they were granted to Henry Needham and William Sacheverell.
Subsequent buildings
In 1775, Sir John Soane designed a new house north of the original priory called Bentley Priory, for James Duberley, an Army contractor. Duberley is thought to have pulled down the original Priory building before having a more imposing house built on a higher point of the ridge some distance from the original site. Druett based his idea that the original site of the Priory can be found further down the slope at Priory House on the supposition that Duberley would have built higher on the ridge, 'to show off the evidence of his wealth and importance'. The house was sold in 1788 to John Hamilton, who succeeded his uncle as Earl of Abercorn in 1789.[ On his elevation in the peerage the following year to Marquess, he made extensive alterations to the house and park. He commissioned Sir John Soane, one of the most pre-eminent 18th century architects, to extend and refurbish the house in a more lavish and sumptuous manner, and the outside of the house as it appears today is largely due to his money and Soane's vision (although the clock tower was added at a later date).
The refurbishments included a gallery of fine paintings, several large apartments and a grand staircase of Portland stone; the intricate wooden banister is thought to have been added by Sir John Kelk. In the early 1860s, ]Sir Robert Smirke
Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles (such as Gothic and Tudor). As an attached (i.e. official) arch ...
(architect of the British Museum) was commissioned by the Marquess to make further additions to the Priory.
The Marquess lived at the Priory as a true nobleman of his day. He was the only man who held peerage titles in all three kingdoms: England, Scotland and Ireland. As a result of his influence, the Priory soon became a rendezvous for many political and literary celebrities. Visitors included: Pitt, Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, Canning
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...
, the Lords Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and Sidmouth
Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...
, and the poets Woodworth, Moore, and Campbell. Sir William and Lady Emma Hamilton (who was later the mother of Lord Nelson's illegitimate daughter Horatia) and thespians Mrs Sarah Siddons and John Kemble were attracted to the beautiful surroundings.
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
was a frequent visitor in 1807, spending much of his time in the summerhouse which was built on an island in the lake, writing and revising Marmion. The lake is still in existence as part of the Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, but can no longer be seen from the Priory due to the growth of surrounding trees. It is also no longer part of the Bentley Priory land.
James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to:
Dukes
*James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland
*James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman
*James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...
, a boy of seven when he became the second Marquess of Abercorn, took up residence in the Priory with his guardian, Lord Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in fo ...
. As well as being his uncle by marriage, Aberdeen became his stepfather in 1815 when he married the widow of Lord Hamilton. Until 1832, when James came of age, the Priory became the principal rendezvous of the Tory Party. Upon reaching his majority, the second Marquess married and lived only intermittently at the Priory. His third son, Lord Ernest Hamilton, says in his reminiscences that his father was 'compelled to leave Stanmore in self-preservation'. The house was so close to London that many of his friends visited. They were so enamoured of the place that Lady Blessington had called 'the most singular place on Earth' that they outstayed their welcome. The family became nomadic, searching for a place to settle in England and living in furnished houses while their possessions were packed away.
Queen Adelaide
In 1846, Dowager Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, leased the Priory, but it was not until 1848 that she finally moved in. By this time, she was quite ill from dropsy
Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...
, and on her arrival apparently found the stairs too much to cope with. A suite of rooms were prepared for her on the ground floor, and it was in these rooms that she would receive Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
, her niece, and Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Alb ...
during their visits.
Speculation remains over the reason for the decoration of the ceiling in the room we call today the Adelaide Room. It was long believed that the ceiling was painted with frescos depicting the Arts and four Seasons to give Queen Adelaide something of interest to look at while lying sick in bed. However, on the basis of evidence obtained from the Royal Library at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
, it now seems likely that she actually used the area of the present VIP suite for her bedroom and that this was where she died on 2 December 1849 at the age of 57.
After Queen Adelaide's death, the Priory was scarcely used until the estate was bought by Sir John Kelk in 1863. Sir John Kelk was an eminent Victorian engineer and the contractor for the Albert Memorial
The Albert Memorial is a Gothic Revival Ciborium (architecture), ciborium in Kensington Gardens, London, designed and dedicated to the memory of Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert of Great Britain. Located directly north of the Royal Albert Ha ...
. He also donated the lychgate
A lychgate (from Old English ''līc'', corpse) or resurrection gate is a covered gateway found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. Examples also exist outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the ...
and lectern to Stanmore Church. The lych gate is still in existence and in regular use. Sir John began immediate improvements to the Priory spending £9,000 on the conservatories alone (demolished in 1939 in order to provide additional office space). He also added a picture gallery, a library, the clock tower, an orangery (which stood some way in front of the present main entrance) a cedar garden and a deer park.
Gordon Hotels
In its heyday, the Priory estate boasted no fewer than 20 gardeners. A Tuscan portico was added to the garden in front of the house (now the back) at about this time. The magnificent Oriental Plane tree was brought from abroad and planted around this time.
In 1882, the Priory was bought by Frederick Gordon, of Gordon Hotels, who converted it into a residential hotel. In 1884, he built a house, 'Glenthorn', in the Priory grounds for his family to live in. On the front of the house was the Gordon Badge (a flexed bow and arrow) and motto ''Fortuna Sequatur'', which means 'Let Fortune Attend'. Despite surviving two World Wars, the house is no longer standing. Access to the hotel from London was not ideal, so Gordon had the railway line extended from Harrow to Stanmore via the Stanmore branch line for the convenience of his guests.
The railway cost £48,000 which Gordon raised by means of £36,000 in shares and £12,000 in debenture bonds. The remains of the old station can still be seen incorporated into a new building at the entrance to Gordon Avenue. It is almost certain that Gordon tried to sell the Priory in 1895.
Despite access to the Gordon Family records and research by Debenham, Tewson & Chinnocks who still practise in the city, no reason for the failure of the hotel has been identified nor why it was not auctioned unless, of course, it failed to meet its reserve price. Despite the railway, the hotel was never a financial success, so the Gordons and their eleven children moved from 'Glenthorn' into the Priory and lived there until the death of Frederick Gordon in 1908.
School days
The Priory changed hands yet again and was re-opened as a girls school. The school housed 70 boarders, and as part of its music focus, maintained a number of pianos in separate soundproof rooms. For several years the school prospered as a female preserve. Male staff were required to leave by 9:30pm when the gates were locked. Any man inadvertently entering the grounds was politely but rapidly removed. Local actor and journalist Pete Knobbler referred to his great-uncle's attempt to remain in the school after hours in an article published in the Harrow Observer in 1983.
After World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the school ran into financial trouble. At the end of the winter term, 28 December 1924, the school gates closed for good.
RAF Bentley Priory
In 1926 the Priory and part of the grounds was sold to the Air Ministry and it served as the Inland Area (Training Command). In 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 ...
, Bentley Priory was the headquarters of RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...
for which it gained historic significance. After the war the site took on various RAF administrative roles until final closure took place on 30 May 2008. The commander of RAF Fighter Command at the time of the Battle of Britain, Sir Hugh Dowding
Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is gene ...
, was honoured with a peerage, as Baron Dowding of Bentley Priory in 1943.
Bentley Priory today
The estate and house was purchased in 2011 by developers City and County in conjunction with Barratt Homes who planned to develop it into luxury housing.
In 2013 an appeal was launched to turn the priory house into a museum commemorating its role in the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
. The Bentley Priory Museum was formally opened to the public in September 2013 by Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
, then Prince of Wales. It commenced full public access in January 2014, managed by The Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust.The Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust
Accessed Dec 2013 The grounds are now Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
.[Natural England, Bentley Priory SSSI citation]
See also
* List of monastic houses in London
* RAF Bentley Priory
* Bentley Priory Nature Reserve
References
{{Royal palaces in the United Kingdom
Museums in the London Borough of Harrow
Historic house museums in London
Georgian architecture in London
Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Harrow
John Soane buildings
Monasteries in London
Augustinian monasteries in England
1171 establishments in England
1536 disestablishments in England
Christian monasteries established in the 1170s
Country houses in London
History of the London Borough of Harrow
History of Middlesex
Grade II listed houses in London
Grade II listed museum buildings
Houses in the London Borough of Harrow
Middlesex
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen