Stoke Edith House is a derelict

country house 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 Townhouse (Great Britain), town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the cit ...

with surrounding park in

Stoke Edith Stoke Edith is a village in the English county of Herefordshire, situated on the A438 road between Hereford and Ledbury. The population in 1801 of Stoke Edith parish was 332. The 14th-century church of St Mary is a grade I listed building. It h ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The present 17th century quadrangular mansion was preceded by a multi-gabled,

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personif ...

home. Set within gardens, it was destroyed by fire in 1927.

History

Stoke Edith was the principal manor of Sir

Henry Lingen Sir Henry Lingen (23 October 1612 – 22 January 1662), Lord of Sutton, Lingen and Stoke Edith, was a Royalist military commander in Herefordshire during the English Civil War, and later a member of parliament. He was the son of Edward Lingen an ...

(1612 – 1662), Royalist

cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

. He and the resident rector, Henry Rogers, denounced for their political leanings, knew the property could be victimized at any time. Lingen's widow, Alice Pye of the Mynnd, sold the manor in the 1670s to the ironmaster Thomas Foley, who settled it on his second son

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

. Paul obtained licence from James II to empark up to 500 acres at Stoke Edith. After a visit by the leading garden designer, George London, in 1692, the park and gardens were remodelled to his suggestion, and it is likely that pleasure grounds would have been laid out around the house in a series of formal compartments with geometric walks, flower-beds and fountains. Paul rebuilt the timber-framed ancient mansion, Stoke Court, from 1695, when he became

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

, and it was mostly complete by 1698. It was finished by his son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

Auditor of the imprests Auditor of the Imprests was a profitable office of the Exchequer, responsible for auditing the accounts of officers of the English crown to whom money was issued for government expenditure, from 1559 to 1785. Foundation Prior to 1559 this duty was ...

. The house, subsequently known as Stoke Park, descended in the family to Thomas Lord Foley, who (having inherited the Great Witley estate from his distant cousin Thomas 2nd Baron Foley) settled Stoke Edith on his second son

Edward Foley (1747–1803) Edward Foley (16 March 1747 – 22 June 1803) was the second son of Thomas, 1st Lord Foley. Like his brother, he was profligate with the great family wealth. His father's will settled the paternal estate at Stoke Edith, Herefordshire together ...

, an MP. Many of the family were members of Parliament. Stoke Park remained their principal residence until it was destroyed by fire in 1927. The present Stoke Edith House (once the

Rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically o ...

), the park and extensive agricultural and woodlands remain in the ownership of the Foley family. The former rectory became a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

on 20 October 1952.

Architecture and fittings

A prior house,

in style, was characterized by its multiple shaped gables and stone detailing. That house was superseded by the present mansion, quadrangular in shape, and constructed of red brick, with wings. It was considered to be a good example of

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. One ...

architecture from the late 17th century period. The interior included a state wing is to the west and a parlour toom in the centre of the house. There was a long study, a drawing room, a wainscotted dining room, and an embellished hall. The east-wing stair was top-lit. The Stoke Edith Wall Hanging, dating to 1710-20 and which originally hung in the house, is now on display in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...

. In 1926, Paul Henry Foley donated 136 rare books in 242 volumes from the house to

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...

's library.

Grounds

The grounds are terraced and are within a wooded park. Improvements to the park were made by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

in the late 18th century, and to the formal garden by

William Andrews Nesfield William Andrews Nesfield (1793–1881) was an English soldier, landscape architect and artist. After a career in the military which saw him serve under the Duke of Wellington, he developed a second profession as a landscape architect, designing so ...

in the 1850s. This included an arabesque pattern, box edging, coloured walks, steep grass slope, and beech trees. Garden fittings included a statue of old Father Time and a sundial with the motto ''Horas non numero nisi serenas'' ("I count only the sunny hours").

References

External links

{{commons category
Official website
Country houses in Herefordshire Houses completed in 1697 Grade II listed houses Grade II listed buildings in Herefordshire 1697 establishments in England