Hilfield Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aldenham Reservoir - the reservoir in the grounds of Hilfield Castle

Hilfield Castle , also known as Hilfield Lodge , is a country house and estate, about 2.9 km southwest of the village of Aldenham in the English county of Hertfordshire , a suburb of London . There is a large reservoir on the site that was created by French prisoners of war in the 1790s . Elstree Airfield is just to the east and the M1 motorway passes to the west.

History and description

The mansion was built in 1798–1799 according to plans by Jeffry Wyatville on behalf of the Hon. George Villiers , brother of the Earl of Clarendon . It replaced Slys Castle . The house was built in a picturesque Gothic style and the property contains a number of farms, barns and a boathouse on the reservoir.

Nikolaus Pevsner noted that there is a "with battlements and Tour Ellen provided, cemented house with a gatehouse and a portcullis acted". He also mentioned that the entrance and the south facade are symmetrical and that the sun room is "of a church appearance". The country house was built from bricks and consists of a central, four-storey tower, "flanked by octagonal tourelles to lower, four-storey yokes with outer, two-storey yokes and a later attic top floor." The tourelles have slotted windows that are machined and provided with battlements are. Mention should be made of the "octagonal breakfast room with a vaulted ceiling and a Gothic sun room". On June 1, 1984 Hilfield Castle became a Historic Building II *. Grade listed. For many years it belonged to the Jefferis family .

In 1818 the Villiers sold the house to John Fam Timins , who died in 1843 and bequeathed it to his son William Raikes Timins . He died in 1866 and was succeeded by his nephew, Reverend Douglas Cartwright Timins . The Reverend died in 1872 and Hillfield Castle fell to his son Douglas Theodore Timins , who sold the house and the associated park in 1906 to the future Lord Aldenham . Mr Timins still owns part of the property and the house is uninhabited today.

Film set

The mansion's location in close proximity to Borehamwood Studios and its charismatic appearance resulted in it appearing in many television series and films, e.g. B. Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film Lolita , which played Peter Sellers ' "Pavor Manor", George Pollock's 1963 film The Wax Bouquet and the 1969/1970 episode For the Girl Who Has Everything from the Randall & Hopkirk series where Lois Maxwell lived in. From the first season of "Little Britain" (2003) Hilfield Castle appears as "Ye Olde Hotele", a hotel run by the character Ray McCooney.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hugh C. Prince: Parks in Hertfordshire Since 1500 . University of Hertfordshire Press. April 1, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  2. ^ British Journal of Photography . Henry Greenwood & Co., Ltd .. July 1, 2002. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b Nikolaus Pevsner, Bridget Cherry: Hertfordshire . Yale University Press. March 11, 1977. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ Hilfield Castle, Bushey . British Listed Buildings. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  5. ^ Joanna Banham, Leanda Shrimpton: Encyclopedia of Interior Design: MZ. . Fitzroy Dearborn. 1997. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  6. ↑ Country Life . November 1971. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Parishes - Aldenham | A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 2 (pp. 149-161) . British-history.ac.uk. December 17, 1903. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Locations: For the Girl Who Has Everything . Randallandhopkirk.org.uk. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

Coordinates: 51 ° 39 '13 "  N , 0 ° 20' 5.3"  W.