Donnington Grove is a

Strawberry Hill Gothic Strawberry Hill House—often called simply Strawberry Hill—is a Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival villa that was built in Twickenham, London, by Horace Walpole (1717–1797) from 1749 onward. It is a typical example of the "#Strawb ...

mansion, now a hotel and country club, and associated Golf Course at Donnington in the civil parish of Shaw-cum-Donnington, near Newbury, in the English county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. It is overlooked by Donnington Castle.

History

Donnington Grove was built in 1763 for James Pettit Andrews the half-brother of the lord of

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada *Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village *Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...

Manor. The Grove was built in "Strawberry Hill Gothic" a style named after the house created for

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

Strawberry Hill Strawberry Hill may refer to: United Kingdom *Strawberry Hill, London, England **Strawberry Hill House, Horace Walpole's Gothic revival villa **Strawberry Hill railway station United States *Strawberry Hill (San Francisco), California *Strawberry ...

in London. Records show that Donnington House was expensive to construct and costly to maintain. Twenty years later Andrews sold the property to William Brummell who was responsible for turning Donnington Grove into the landscape it is today and here that his son,

Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...

, grew up. By the time Brummell died, the estate covered , the house and stables had been extended and entrance lodges erected. William Brummell died in 1794 and left the estate to be divided amongst his children. After the estate was requisitioned by Allied Supplies in 1940 it was sold on to the Hon Reginald Fellows, second husband of Daisy Fellowes, heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortunes, and remained in the family until the early 1990s. Donnington Grove Country Club opened in 1993. For some years in the early 2000s, it was called 'Parasampia', but the name has returned to its traditional form.

Donnington Grove Country Club

The course opened in 1993 and the architect was Dave Thomas, the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

player who was responsible for several courses such as the Brabazon at the Belfry and Bowood in Wiltshire. The course is well known for the change in character across its 18 holes: the front 9 are on notably higher ground whilst the back 9 are in classic parkland with an abundance of trees and water hazards.

References

Royal Berkshire History: Donnington GroveGoogle Timelines: Donnington GroveOfficial WebsiteToday's Golfer: Donnington Grove
{{coord, 51.41779, N, 1.34207, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title West Berkshire District Country houses in Berkshire Golf clubs and courses in Berkshire Hotels in Berkshire Gothic Revival architecture in Berkshire Sport in Newbury, Berkshire Country house hotels