Hursley House, Hampshire
Hursley House, Hampshire
Hursley House, Hampshire |
Hursley House, Hampshire |
The earliest references to Hursley date from the late 12th century; Bishop of Winchester Henry de Blois built a manor house called Merdon Castle, within the parish, in 1138. Hursley continued in the ownership of the Bishop of Winchester until 1552 when it was surrendered to king Edward VI.
The buildings had become ruinous by the 16th century, when Edward Vl granted the manor and park at Hursley to Sir Philip Hoby. During the reign of Queen Mary the manor was briefly restored to the church but given back to the Hoby family by Elizabeth I. The Hoby family sold the manor and castle to Thomas Clerke in 1600. The lodge and park at Hursley were leased separately at this time, but the two estates were brought together again in 1630.
The estate passed into the Cromwell family in 1643 when Oliver Cromwell's son Richard married Dorothy Major, daughter of the owner, Richard Major.
Richard Cromwell lived with his wife in Hursley from 1649 until 1658 when he was proclaimed Lord Protector of the Realm following the death of his father. This made Hursley briefly the country seat of the ruler of England. It was not to last however as Richard's grip on power was weak, he was forced from office within months and by 1660 concerns for his safety forced Richard Cromwell to flee the country with Dorothy. They travelled first to France and then to other parts of Europe where Richard lived under an assumed name. Richard's son Oliver Cromwell II(??-1705) took over the Hursley estate, and the tenants claimed their ancient rights and customs (including pastureage and felling trees) in a lengthy legal battle.
Richard returned to Hursley after Oliver died in 1705 and lived on as lord of the manor until he died in 1712 whereupon he was buried in the chancel of All Saints' Church, Hursley. Richard's daughters sold Hursley estate to Sir William Heathcote, baronet for £35,100 in 1718.
Hursley House is an 18th century Queen Anne style mansion in Hursley in the English county of Hampshire.
It was built by William Heathcote between 1721 and 1724, during the reign of George I. Since its construction, the house has undergone numerous changes, most notably in 1902, when Sir Thomas Heathcote, the grandson of William Heathcote, commissioned extensive development and redecoration work creating the House that can be seen today.
During the First World War the second floor of the House became a nursing hospital for officers. During the Second World War, the House was again used as a military hospital as well as being used to rehouse Vickers Aviation Limited, which had been bombed out of its original premises in Woolston, Hampshire. During its time in the House, Vickers worked on the development of many aircraft, of which the most famous is the Spitfire.
In 1958 IBM started using the House and its grounds as development laboratories. In 1963 IBM purchased the 100 acres (405,000 m²) of land surrounding the house and have since erected a large modern office complex employing over 1500 people. The original house is still used, mostly as conference rooms; the original oak-panelled library - restocked with technical books and journals - retains its former use.
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