Stansted Park is an impressive Edwardian mansion built on an ancient site and set in 1,750 acres of glorious parkland.
King Harold's father, Earl Godwin, had a house here and in the medieval period the Earls of Arundel had a hunting lodge on the site, surrounded by vast forests.
The property passed by marriage to John, Lord Lumley, in the early 16th century. The house he built was mostly destroyed by Parliamentarian forces during the Civil War and in the 1680s the Lumleys built a new house of brick and stone under a hipped roof.
The planting the Lumley family carried out on the estate forms the basis of the present park.
In 1778 Stansted Park was sold to Richard Barwell whose great wealth was made in India. He commissioned James Wyatt and Joseph Bonomi to remodel the house and 'Capability' Brown to landscape the park.
The building was given a covering of stucco and porticoes were added.
When Barwell died in 1804 the property was purchased by Lewis Way. He tried to set up a college to convert Jews to Christianity at Stansted Park and built a chapel designed by Thomas Hooper.
By the end of the 19th century the estate was in the hands of the Wilder family.
When the main house was destroyed by fire in 1900 the Wilders engaged Sir Reginald Blomfield to rebuild it.
The grand Edwardian house built in 1900 - 04 was designed in the William and Mary style and incorporated elements of the previous houses on the site.
In 1924 the estate was purchased by the Ponsonby family, Earls of Bessborough. The family's previous home, Bessborough House in County Kilkenny, had been burnt down by Irish nationalists earlier that year.
The 9th Earl had managed to save most of the family's paintings and furniture and he installed these in his new seat at Stansted. During the 1930s the 9th Earl was Governor General of Canada. He died in 1956 and was succeeded by his son the 10th Earl who still lives at Stansted Park.
The house stands on wide lawns facing down a great avenue and surrounded by the magnificent park created by Brown. The design of the house is very similar to the 1680s building it replaced.
To the left of the house is the earlier yellow brick stable court which was part of Wyatt and Hooper's work.
A side door in the stable court leads the visitor into the Staircase Hall. This has a wide staircase in 17th century style and the walls are hung with Flemish tapestries that were woven for Stansted Park. These depict scenes from Marlborough's campaigns in which Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarborough was a general.
The tapestries were bought back for the house by the 10th Earl in 1961.
In the centre of the entrance front is the Main Hall which is hung with fine portraits including works by Holbein and Kauffmann and a splendid Flemish tapestry. The furniture here is Irish Chippendale.
The Blue Drawing Room on the garden front was redecorated in 1924 in Louis XIV style. This room contains a collection of fine French furniture brought to the house by the 9th Countess of Bessborough, who was French.
The furniture includes superb Louis XIV and Louis XV pieces. The four Arcadian landscapes which dominate the room are by the Dutch artist Dirk Dalens. Other paintings include portraits by Lely and Van Loo.
In the centre of the garden front is the Music Room which is hung with more modern family paintings including a group portrait of the 9th Countess with her children painted in 1932 by Sir Oswald Birley. The furniture here is a mixture of 17th, 18th and 19th century pieces.
The Dining Room has a Flemish painting of the 'Feeding of the Five Thousand' and splendid portraits by Liotard, Hoppner and Zucchero. The sideboards are Irish Chippendale and there is a Chinese export dinner service.
In the basement beneath the Dining Room get a real feel of the life 'below stairs' in the Edwardian era.
There are several Edwardian servants' rooms still in their original state and the Kitchen, which was in use until 1956, is also basically Edwardian. It still has its original fittings and there is a huge array of copper pans and utensils.
A short distance to the south-west of the house is the Chapel. The west front is a remnant of the Tudor house and rest was built in Gothic style by Thomas Hopper in the early 19th century for Lewis Way.
The wonderful park surrounding the house is rich in wildlife and famous for its peace and tranquility.
The woodland includes a fine arboretum. There are three walled gardens to be seen in the grounds. The first is in Victorian style, with box-edged paths and numerous tender plants. The old greenhouses here still produce figs and Muscat grapes.
The second garden is smaller and in formal Dutch style with a rose garden. The third garden was created by Ivan Hicks in 1991 for a television programme about dream gardens and is a surreal 'Garden in Mind'. The garden uses a great range of plants to create bold architectural shapes with strange sculptures and visual jokes.
The Stansted Park Light Railway is a fun ride for visitors to enjoy. Garden Centre.
2008: Easter Sun- end Sep: Sun & Mon 13:00-16:00. In Jul & Aug: Sun-Wed 13:00-16:00. Special opening times may apply during events so telephone to check. Grounds and Arboretum: daily 08:00-17:00 may be closed in winter, Sat and during events.
Tel: 023 9241 2265 Stansted Park Website
