| Welford Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Berkshire | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Welford, Berkshire |
| Year(s) built | c. 1652 |
| Owner | James Puxley |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) |
|
| Known for | Filming site ofThe Great British Bake Off (2014-2019, 2022-) |
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Welford Park is a country house and estate in the village ofWelford in theEnglish county ofBerkshire, situated 5.2 miles northwest ofNewbury and 10.9 miles south ofWantage. It is a Grade I-listed building.[1]
The church ofWelford St Gregory, one of only two existinground-tower churches inBerkshire, is located adjacent to the house. The variouschalk streams that make up theRiver Lambourn flow through the grounds.
The estate opens its grounds to the public every year for about four weeks to enable visitors to see the carpets ofsnowdrops that line the riverbanks and flow through the nearby woods.
Welford Park is built on the site of amonastic grange that belonged toAbingdon Abbey fromAnglo-Saxon times.[2] After thedissolution of the monasteries,King Henry VIII used the site as a hunting lodge.[2] Later it was granted to SirThomas Parry byQueen Elizabeth I.[2] It was his main residence, but hisson moved the family toHamstead Marshall. Welford was then used as adower house for his mother, who is buried in the adjoining church.[2]
The existing house dates from about 1652 and was built by John Jackson of Oxford for Richard Jones, the grandson ofSir Francis Jones,Lord Mayor of London in 1620, who had purchased the property in 1618.[2] Jones died with no male heir and his daughter Mary in 1680 married John Archer, son ofJohn Archer ofCoopersale House,Essex and his wife Eleanor (Curzon), daughter ofSir John Curson, Baronet ofKedleston,Derbyshire. Welford Park was remodelled by their son-in-law, the architectThomas Archer (no relation), about 1700, which resulted in an additional storey and a facade decorated withionic columns.[2] The interior was again altered in 1840.[2]
The property then passed in 1706 by marriage toWilliam Eyre, on condition he changed his name to Archer and subsequently (in 1800) to the MP,John Houblon, who also changed his name, to John Archer-Houblon. It then passed to his younger son, Charles, who re-adopted the surname Eyre. In 1891 the house was let to tenants and during the First World War used as a convalescent home. It later (1954) passed by marriage to John Puxley.[3]
The house remains in the ownership of his sonJames Puxley, a local landowner, formerHigh Sheriff of Berkshire, and currentLord Lieutenant of Berkshire.[2][4][5]
The estate was the taping site ofThe Great British Bake Off between 2014 and 2019, with production for the 2020 and 2021 seasons moving toDown Hall to accommodate changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7] In 2022,The Great British Bake Off returned to the estate for its 13th series.[8]
Welford Park is a private residence, and for most of the year neither it nor its grounds are open to the public. However, in a tradition that is now over 50 years old, the grounds are opened to enable visitors to view the year's bloom ofsnowdrops and, to a lesser extent,aconites. The flowers thrive on thechalky soil, forming a white carpet across the estate's riversidebeech woodland.[9]
The actual dates of opening vary from year to year, depending on the state of the blooms. In recent years, the park has been opened for about four weeks in late winter from Wednesdays to Sundays. As one of the first signs of the end of winter, Welford's snowdrops are generally well covered by the local, and sometimes national, press, and attract large crowds of visitors. Car parking is free of charge at a nearby car park, although there is a fee for admission to the grounds.[10]
51°27′21.45″N1°24′48.87″W / 51.4559583°N 1.4135750°W /51.4559583; -1.4135750