Howbery Park is a 36-ha park located adjacent to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in Crowmarsh Gifford near Wallingford, UK. Its main feature is an English manor house built in about 1850 by Member of Parliament (MP) William Seymour Blackstone. Blackstone fell into debt, largely because of the building costs, which resulted in him spending time in the

debtors' prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histor ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and contributed to the end of his political career. He died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, never having lived at Howbery Park. Other owners of Howbery Park were Henry Bertie Williams-Wynn (who purchased the house in 1867), Harvey du Cros (in 1902) and George Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham. Manor House

The estate passed into the ownership of the government in the 1930s and was used during 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 ...

to house US and Canadian servicemen and then refugees from Central Europe. After the war, it was selected as the location for the new Hydraulics Research Station (HRS), established under the directorship of Sir Claude Inglis. HRS was privatised in 1982 from the Department of the Environment (DoE) and the HR Wallingford Group was created. The new company was limited by guarantee, had no shareholders and was given the remit to invest in hydraulic research. The assets transferred with Howbery Park in 1982 included the grant-funded-state-of-the-art- Fountain Building, and a new mainframe computer.HR Wallingford. (2007). Streamline 2007. An annual review from HR Wallingford The Manor House and Stable Block are Listed Buildings Grade II (1985). In addition to HR Wallingford who occupy a new building, Kestrel House, several other organisations are now based in Howbery Park, including the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

. There are several stories of strange occurrences concerning Howbery Park. The most common one is the ghost of the Lady in Grey. Several drivers on Benson Lane, adjacent to Howbery Park, claim to have been forced to swerve to avoid a lady dressed in grey who was walking in the road. A lady in grey was seen to walk in the grounds of the French Gardens, now the site of the

South Oxfordshire District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. Local stories are that this is the ghost of Lady Wittenham, wife of George Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham. In September 2007 key scenes for the feature-film adaptation of

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal

's The Butterfly Tattoo (film) were shot on site.

References

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External links

HR Wallingford

Howbery Park Estates
Parks and open spaces in Oxfordshire