Shottesbrooke Park is a Grade II* listed country house and park in

Shottesbrooke Shottesbrooke is a hamlet (place), hamlet and civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The hamlet is mostly rural: 88% covered by agriculture or wood ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, England, southwest of

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

. The house is a Tudor mansion, built in the 16th century. St John the Baptist Church, Shottesbrooke lies next to the grounds of Shottesbrooke Park House and dates back to the 14th century where it was established as a religious house, college, and chantry by Sir William Tressell.

History

A 17th century Speaker of the House of Commons,

Henry Powle Henry Powle (18 October 1630 – 21 November 1692) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1660 and 1690, and was Speaker of the House of Commons from January 1689 to February 1690. He was ...

, lived at the Park. In the 18th century and early 19th century, the estate was owned by the Vansittart family and was the seat of

Arthur Vansittart Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, one of the

verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

s of

Windsor Forest Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

. Vansittart was reported to have been 79 years of age upon his death in 1804, and his son and grandson shared the same name. In 1858, it was known to have been occupied by Francis Cherry, guardian of Thomas Hearne, who owned the house for well over 40 years. In 1874, it was reported that house was often repaired by a Robert Nelson. Until his death in 2007, the Park was the home of their heir and relation-by-marriage, Sir John Smith, the founder of the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

which has its headquarters in the adjoining farmhouse. In 1964, the famous "Great Steam Fair" was held for three days at Shottesbrooke Park. This is widely considered to be the forerunner of today's steam and vintage rallies in England, such as the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

References

Country houses in Berkshire Grade II* listed buildings in Berkshire Tudor architecture Grade II* listed houses {{Berkshire-struct-stub