Danbury Place was 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 ...

, first built by Sir Walter Mildmay in the time of Elizabeth I, dated to 1589. It is situated on one of the highest points of the county of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. The

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

was demolished and rebuilt on an adjoining site around 1830, completed as a red brick mansion in 1832. It then became an episcopal palace, as Danbury Palace, in 1845, a use that continued until 1890.

History

Danbury Place was in the Mildmay family until 1673, when John Mildmay died childless. His wife Mary then married Robert Cory,

Archdeacon of Middlesex The Archdeacon of Middlesex is a senior cleric in the Church of England, co-responsible for the Archdeaconry of "Middlesex", which mirrors the "Kensington" episcopal area of the Diocese of London — the other person responsible being the Bis ...

. She died in 1724; of the Cory children, only Elizabeth, who married William Fytche, survived to inherit, and Danbury Place passed to the Fytche family. In the next generation, Danbury Place passed in 1750 to William's younger son Thomas Fytche (1706–1777). He had work done on the house by Isaac Ware, who installed a chimney piece. He died without issue, and the house passed to his niece and adopted daughter Elizabeth, daughter of William Fytche who briefly was Governor of Bengal. In 1775 she had married Lewis Disney, who added Fytche to his name. William Huntington mentioned that he once worked there for "Squire Fitch". Lewis Disney Fytche had five daughters with his wife, who died in 1787. The eldest (Frances) Elizabeth married Sir William Hillary in 1800, who bought out his father-in-law's interest in the house in 1801, and resided there with his young family. He separated from Elizabeth in 1808, going to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

to live while she stayed at Danbury Place, until 1823 when her father died. At the time of her own death in 1828 it was let out; Hillary then sold Danbury Place to John Round. Round resided at Danbury Place, having replaced the old house with a new one designed by Thomas Hopper (1832), in a Tudor Gothic (neo-Elizabethan) style. After 12 years it became an episcopal palace for the

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

, with a change of name to Danbury Palace. Danbury Palace - geograph

Danbury Palace was put up for sale in 1892, with a park of 284 acres. It was sold to Seth Taylor, who sold it on to Hugh Hoare. At the beginning of

World War II 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 ...

, the house and grounds belonged to John Tyson Wigan, who allowed its use as a

maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...

. After the War a large part of the park was bought by

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

. The

and outer buildings went to Anglia Polytechnic University in 1974 to create Danbury Country Park. Danbury Place was registered as a

Grade II Listed Building 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 ...

in 1987. After three decades of use as a conference centre, Danbury Palace was sold by

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the Unive ...

to be converted (as of 2017) into thirteen flats.

The Park

Originally Danbury Place was set in a deer park. The park has now become Danbury Country Park.

Notes

External links

Houses completed in 1832 Episcopal palaces in England Danbury, Essex {{Coord, 51, 42, 56, N, 0, 33, 21, E, display=title