Billingbear is a hamlet in thecivil parish ofBinfield and a formercountry estate in the civil parish ofWaltham St Lawrence, nearBracknell, in theEnglish county ofBerkshire.[1]
The settlement lies between theM4motorway and the village of Binfield, just north-west of Binfield Parish Church, along Carters Hill and Billingbear Lane. The country estate is immediately to the west.
Billingbear Park is now the site of a large late 20th centurycountry house and agolf course. It was previously a large area ofparkland surroundingBillingbear House, a hugeElizabethan mansion erected in 1567 by Henry Neville (d. 1593).[1] It burnt down in 1924.[1]
Just north-east of the hamlet is Allanbay Park, a grade II listed country house set in parkland.[2] It was the home of John Lycett Wills (1910–1999) and his wifeJean Elphinstone. Wills served asHigh Sheriff of Berkshire in 1958. Jean was a niece ofQueen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and lady-in-waiting to her cousin,Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. In 1955, Group CaptainPeter Townsend stayed at Allanbay to avoid the press furore surrounding his relationship with the Princess.[1]
