Hungerford Virtual Museum

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by Hugh Pihlens

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You are in [Places] [Great Estates] [Chilton Lodge]

To the north of the town is the estate of Chilton Lodge, the present house dating from 1795-1800.

Chilton Park: There was a house called Chilton Park by 1595, when it was owned by Sir Thomas Hinton, Sheriff of Berkshire, and Commissioner of Wool. It stood to the west of the current house, across the county boundary in Wiltshire, and just to the east of where Park Farm now stands.

In 1663 it was bought by Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke, the English lawyer, diarist, writer, Parliamentarian, and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England. He was a distinguished character during the Civil War and Commonwealth period, and after the restoration of Charles II he retired to live quietly at Chilton Lodge, dying there 28th July 1675.

The estate was afterwards sold to John Holwell, a nabob, and one of the survivors of the 'Black Hole' of Calcutta (1756). He was subsequently governor of Bengal in 1760.

Chilton Park, 1789-93: The property was then acquired by John Pearse, who apparently made a fortune from gun cotton during the Napoleonic Wars. He was later MP for Devizes. John Pearse commissioned the well known architect Sir John Soane to demolish the old 16th century house and design a new villa, closely following his design for Saxlingham Parsonage in Suffolk. The new house was built between 1789 and 1793.

Chilton Lodge (1798-1801): Remarkably, however, Pearse was not happy with the new house, and within five years he commissioned an entirely new house to be built. This time it was designed by Sir William Pilkington, and comprised a south front and a west front each of five bays, the south being particularly handsome incorporating a full-height Corinthian portico, with an east front of seven bays, and with a large north stable court. The new house was built about 600 yards to the east of the early buildings, and it now lay across the county boundary in Berkshire. The Soane house was demolished when the new one was completed.
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Part of the very first cargo to travel down the newly opened Hungerford stretch of the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1798 was "a wrought Portland stone staircase for J. Pearse of Chilton Lodge".

Humphrey Repton laid out the park around the new house for John Pearse as it was built.




	Arial view of Chilton Lodge

	Follow this link to read the full text of a talk on The English Country House and Chilton Lodge, given to the HHA on 27th February 2002 by Adrian Scrope



		Chilton Lodge possibly from Repton's Red Book, c1801



	Chilton Lodge, 1918

		Owners of Chilton Estate Chilton Park: 1595-1663 Sir Thomas Hinton 1663-1675 Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke c1750 John Holwell c1785- John Pearse Chilton Park (1793): John Pearse Chilton Lodge (1800): John Pearse --various owners-- 1890-1907 Sir William Pearce 1908- The Ward family: 1908-> The Hon Sir John & Lady Ward 1997-> Adrian & Sarah Scrope

During the middle of the 19th century the house went through various hands until the estate was bought in 1890 by Sir William Pearce, 2nd Bart. of Cardwell in Renfrewshire. His father the first Sir William, had made a fortune from shipbuilding at Govan on the Clyde. His heir inherited the title on his father's death at the age of 27 years in 1888.

Changes to Chilton Lodge, 1890: Sir William immediately employed the eminent architect Sir Arthur Blomfield to make alterations to Chilton lodge. These included adding a second storey with ten maids' rooms, an attractive porte cochère to the east, a large bachelor wing to the west, the coach house that forms the north wing of the stable block (in "Wrenaissance" style), and various garages and workshops.

Sir William Pearce made a major investment in 1891 when he installed the water supply for the estate, including the pump house on the Kennet below the house, along with river-powered turbines which pump water to the 40,000 gallon water tower built on the highest part of the estate, from which Chilton Lodge and all the estate properties are supplied.

He also added a number of properties in Chilton Foliat as well as the dairy and lodges at the east and south gates.

Sir William Pearce was an extremely generous benefactor to Hungerford. In July 1892 he issued an open invitation to all the inhabitants of Hungerford and Chilton. Thousands of people were treated to "an excellent and abundant dinner, served in an enormous tent. The weather was delightful. There were two admiral bands".

The Pearce's paid for Church House (Croft Hall), St John's Mission Hall and Hungerford Newtown School.

Sadly, having been MP for Plymouth in 1892-95, and a JP for Berkshire and Wiltshire, and having finally married in 1905, Sir William died in 1907 at the age of 46 years and without heirs.

The 1908 sale: The estate was offered for sale in 1908 - 2,330 acres, including eight farms and 73 separate dwellings. There is a detailed sale catalogue which includes information on all the properties.

It was purchased by The Right Hon Mr and Mrs Whitelaw Reid for their daughter Jean and hew new husband John Ward. The estate has been owned by the Ward family since 1908.

The Hon Sir John and Lady Ward had two sons, Col "Jackie" Ward and his brother "Reggie".

It was Reggie who developed the Chilton monoplane in 1937, when he was aged only 22 years. During the 2nd World War, Chilton was loaned to American forces, the grounds soon covered with Nissen huts. Chilton Aircraft became Chilton Electrics , and in the late 1950s it moved to newly built premises in Church Way Hungerford - the Chilton Factory.

Col "Jackie" and Susan Ward had a daughter Patricia, and a son, Gerald Ward, (who was President of the Hungerford Historical Association until his death in 2008).

The kitchen gardens at Chilton Lodge were made famous by the past head gardener, Mr. Harry Dodson, whose television series on the Victorian kitchen garden was broadcast by the BBC in 1987.

Since 1997, Adrian and Sarah Scrope (Gerald Ward's daughter) have lived at Chilton Lodge.

See also:
- The English Country House and Chilton Lodge - a talk given to the HHA on
27th February 2002 by Adrian Scrope
- Chilton Factory
- Chilton Aircraft website
- Gerald Ward

Updated: 28.9.2011