Okeborne Chace
Burderop Estate was for a time known as Okebourne Chace. The Calley family lived here for over two centuries; in 1649, William Calley was High Sheriff of Wiltshire, and in 1807 Thomas Calley held the title. Thomas was married to Elizabeth Keck, daughter of Anthony James Keck of Stoughton Grange; they had a son John James Calley, who sold the Estate to John Parkinson, who held the Estate as a trustee for the Duke of Wellington. The estates of Broad Hinton and Salthrop House were also owned by Thomas Calley and his wife and were sold in 1860 by the second Duke of Wellington to Anthony M. S. Maskelyne of Bassets Down.
Surroundings
The north of the Estate is Burderop Wood, designated a ‘Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest’ in 1971 for its wet ash-maple and acid pedunculate oak-hazel-ash woodland.
Timeline of Burderop Park
1200’s
The earliest record of Burderop dated from 1219, when it existed as Burithorp in the west of the parish of Chiseldon. Between 1305 and 1355, land belonging to the Cardeville family, including the land that is now Burderop, was given to Hyde Abbey and became known as Burderop manor.
1500’s
The Abbot dissolved his estates to the King in 1538, and in 1540 Burderop manor and Monkebaron grange were granted with Chiseldon to Sir John Bridges, which on his death passed to Sir Edmund Bridges. Thomas (II) Stephens of Burderop purchased Burderop in 1561. Soon after this transfer, the main farmhouse became a manor house, with the grange remaining as a farmhouse. Between 1596 and 1611, the Estate was inherited through the Stephens family. Queen Elizabeth, I stayed at Burderop in 1592 on the way from Ramsbury to Down Ampney. The bed she is meant to have slept on, of carved and painted oak, is preserved in America. The manor house was aggrandised before the Queen’s visit.
1600’s
A 1619 lease refers to Monkebaron Grange as ‘the Old Farmhouse’, with the main farmhouse known as the ‘Manor House’. It mentions a new stable block belonging to the old farmhouse. This stable still exists to the east side of the manor house forecourt. That same year Sir William Calley purchased Chiseldon and Burderop manors, unified as Burderop Estate, totalling 1,200 acres, with the accompanying purchase documents referring to a new manor house.
William (I) Calley made his fortune as an importer of silks and other cloths, gold and silver, cochineal and Seville oil. He subsequently obtained the contract to clothe the Spanish army in the Netherlands c.1607, and it is with the proceeds of this, the Estate was acquired. On his death, the Estate was inherited through the male line of the Calley family. As a tradition, at times of marriage or inheritance, changes were made to the property. At least three were recorded at Burderop, including by William (II) in 1660-1664 when a Tudor wing was built as a service range and demolished by a gallery running across the top of the main stair.
From 1664 there is no further mention of Monkebaron, the Old Farmhouse, so it is assumed to have been demolished. A new farmhouse (now referred to as the Cottage) was constructed, which remains to the west of the manor house forecourt.
1700’s
A significant re-building of the manor house started in 1731 for William (IV). The manor house was made into a Palladian building by regularising the elevations, raising the building by a whole storey and adding a two-storey porch to the west. The Granary, Walled Garden and North Wing were also constructed, and a brew-house was built on the site of Monkebaron Grange. Architect Francis Smith of Warwick led the work. The oldest surviving plan of 1773 shows the landscaped gardens and lawn to the east of the house and the principal access route running south, with a second drive to the farm.
1800’s
Between 1811-1831 race meetings were held at Burderop Down by Thomas Calley, then High Sheriff of Wiltshire. In 1821 Thomas Calley was brought to trial for debt, resulting in bankruptcy in 1823. The Burderop Estate was let to obtain funds, and in 1845 parts of the Estate were sold off. Burderop farm remained, listed as totalling 984 acres.
1900’s
During the C19, the Calley’s continued to host the landed gentry and their great friend King Edward VII, who visited on several occasions with his friends. The last male direct line of the Calley family, Thomas Charles Pleydell, died in 1932. His wife died in 1954, and her daughter Joan Marion continued to live in the mansion until she died in 1973. The house was left to Sir Henry Calley of Overtown Manor, a cousin. Halcrow, now CH2M Hill, bought the house and 30 acres from Henry Calley in 1977. The mansion required significant renovation, alongside conversion of the existing buildings as offices and a need for additional office space. Two Pavilions were constructed in 1977, and a third in 1990. The renovation and conversion of the mansion included re-building of the principal staircase, repairing moulded plaster ceilings and oak panelling and re-building the central glass dome. On removal of C18 oak panelling for repair, wall paintings were found in four of the first-floor rooms, depicting landscapes with animals, foliage and buildings divided by Trompe columns. Integral to two was the coat of arms of William (I) Calley, evidence of their painting between 1619 and 1641. The wall paintings on plaster were removed for restoration and storage in 1978.
Wars
From 1811 to 1831, race-meetings were held at Burderop Down under the auspices of Thomas Calley of Burderop Park, one of the stewards of the course. During the First World War, a hutted army camp was built in the south of the parish east of the ancient parish of Draycot Foliat. It covered a large ground area, extending about ½ mile from east to west and from north to south. After the war, it was used as a vocational training centre and accommodated both British and American troops during the Second World War. It was occupied by the army until about 1963, but by 1967 the married quarters alone were used.
The camp had its own chapel, dedicated to St. Michael and St. George, but this had been closed by 1967. Shortly before 1939, land from the Calley estate was acquired by the Royal Air Force to add to Wroughton R.A.F. Aerodrome and Hospital. During the Second World War, an American Base Hospital was built in Burderop Park. The Americans vacated the hospital about 1965 and were taken over by the South-West Regional Hospital Board.
Writings
John Richard Jefferies (November 6th 1848 – August 14th 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm significantly influenced him and provided the background to all his significant works of fiction. (more on wikipedia here)
Jefferies succeeded in befriending the gamekeeper of the Burderop Estate and regularly accompanied him on his rounds. He became skilled at shooting games, though, after a while, the sense of wonder he experienced in observing the wildlife often prevented him from pulling the trigger. His scruffy appearance and apparent idleness at this time aroused derision among the locals and gave his family cause for concern. However, the knowledge he was acquiring of natural history and the workings of a large estate proved valuable when he embarked on his writing career.
In 1880 he wrote Round About a Great Estate. This book displayed the full range of his knowledge of life in the agricultural villages and country towns of his native Wiltshire. Jefferies had an affection for the traditional practices and customs of the communities he knew but wrote without sentimentality on these subjects and saw that ‘the new’ could often exist harmoniously alongside ‘the old’.
(You can find out more about Jefferies on the Richard Jeffries Society website here)
KATE TYRON VISITED BURDEROP PARK IN 1910, MAKING MANY PAINTINGS AROUND THE ESTATE AND WRITING A DIARY OF HER DAILY EXPLORATIONS.
You can read about her visit in her book “Adventures in the Vale of the White Hors” “The kitchen-garden is behind the high, brick wall, through the wrought-iron gates. Huge oriental poppies flame all along the path, offset by blue masses of crane’s-bill – larger and more freely blooming than the wild – hollyhocks, very tall already, little yellow roses, very prickly, and many other beautiful things. In fact, I thought kitchen-garden a decided misnomer for such a flowery paradise.” Kate Allen Tryon (1865–1952)
RETURNING TO THE KITCHEN-GARDEN GATE, MY START LOOKED STRIKINGLY TRUE AND BRIGHT AS THE DAY ITSELF. THE THING SETS AT NAUGHT ALL IDEAS OF COMPOSITION EVER HEARD OF BUT IS INTERESTING, AND I AM GOING ON WITH IT.
Behind me, along the wall at the right of the gate, the turf makes a choice green alley towards the wooded dell, bordered on either side by old bushes of lavender and sweetbriar roses – roses pink and salmon-pink – and glorious larkspur.
By half-past seven, the light was still as perfect as ever, but it was chilly: and if I had worn my good old tweed and brogans, I could have stayed much longer. However, there is always a good place to stop with every sketch, and I reached it.
Grade II Listed
Early C18 large trapezoidal kitchen garden surrounded by a high red brick wall approximately 10 ft tall. Weathered stone capping. Gateways to the south and east sides. Moulded capping to ashlar piers cast and wrought iron gates with cresting.
5410 CHISELDON BURDEROP Kitchen garden walls, gates and gate piers to Burderop Park (formerly listed as walls of the walled garden at Burderop Park SU 18 S.E. 11/144 2.8.74 II GV Listing N.G.R.: SU1662880203
Walled Gardens
Walled gardens were a feature of many of the large old country houses in the U.K. The walls were not built for security but to protect the many plants often brought from different parts of the world. As a result, fruit such as nectarines, peaches & grapes could be grown as they were protected from the winds & frost. Some houses would also have a walled garden in which vegetables would be raised to feed the family living on the Estate. The walls were always built of brick or stone as heat from the sun would be absorbed & slowly released into the garden. Sometimes the walls would be hollow to enable fires to be lit and perhaps an orangery built against the wall. Many of these gardens have been restored by the National Trust & frequently have the most beautiful flower displays.
What is a Bothy?
A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Scotland, Northern England, Ulster, Wales and the Isle of Man. They are particularly common in the Scottish Highlands, but related buildings can be found around the world (for example, in the Nordic countries there are wilderness huts). A bothy was also a semi-legal drinking den in the Isle of Lewis. These, such as Bothan Eòrapaidh, were used until recent years as gathering points for local men and were often situated in an old hut or caravan.