Phyllis Court is a building that currently houses a private members club in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England, situated by 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 ...

. The Club was founded in 1906 and is located in a Georgian-style building set within its own grounds, close to the town centre. It overlooks the finish line of the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

and is also slightly downstream (and on the opposite bank) from

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior ...

and upstream of

Remenham Club The Remenham Club is a private members club near the village of Remenham on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames, on the reach of the river that plays host to the annual Henley Royal Regatta. It was formed in 1909 by me ...

and Upper Thames Rowing Club. There is a rowing club on the river at Phyllis Court, the Phyllis Court Rowing Club, for recreational rowing.

History

The original building on this site dates from 1301. It was the

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

of Henley-on-Thames and was known as ''Fillets Court''. Queen Anne, the consort of King James I, visited the house in 1604. In 1643, troops loyal to

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

built a wall which still edges the garden near the river. The wall was built with the bricks remaining from the old Manor House which was burned by Royalists. In the mid 17th century, Phillis Court was the home of

Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (6 August 1605 – 28 July 1675) was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian, and one of the commissioners of the Great Seal during the Interregnum. Early life He was the eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke and ...

(1605–1675), parliamentarian and

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of ...

, who before his death gave it up to his son William Whitelock, later

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

member of parliament for the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. In 1689, William of Orange, on his way to London, held his first court here. Sir William Whitelock died at the house in 1717. The property later belonged to Edward Cooper, who sold Phillis Court to Sambrooke Freeman, the owner of

Fawley Court Fawley Court is a country house, with large mixed-use grounds standing on the west bank of the River Thames at Fawley, Buckinghamshire, Fawley in the English county of Buckinghamshire. Its former estate once encompassed both adjacent Phyllis Cou ...

nearby, in 1768. In 1939, the clubhouse was requisitioned by

HM Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

for the duration of 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 ...

. It was first used as a WAAF

Officers' mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

for the

Central Interpretation Unit MI4 was established in 1915 as a section of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (United Kingdom), Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). Section 4 was the designation for the Topographic Section, General Staff, later the Geographical ...

at RAF Medmenham. Later it housed a top-secret unit making important photographic mosaics and models of the future Allied landing beaches in France and planning many raids including the " Dambusters". The clubhouse ended the war on a more peaceful note being used by the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

as a rest centre for war-weary airmen. On 6 November 1998,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

visited the Club before travelling upriver by boat to open the

River and Rowing Museum The River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, is located on a site at Mill Meadows by the River Thames. It has three main themes represented by major permanent galleries, the non-tidal River Thames, the international spor ...

List of chairmen of the council

The following have been chairmen of the council for Phyllis Court:

References

{{reflist

External links

Phyllis Court Club website
Buildings and structures completed in 1301 1906 establishments in England Organizations established in 1906 Buildings and structures completed in 1837 Clubs and societies in Oxfordshire Country houses in Oxfordshire Buildings and structures on the River Thames Gentlemen's clubs in England Henley Royal Regatta Henley-on-Thames