Park Place is a historic Grade II Listed country house and gardens in the civil parish of Remenham in Berkshire, England, set in large grounds above the River Thames near Henley, Oxfordshire.
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Lord Archibald Hamilton bought the estate in 1719 from Mrs Elizabeth Baker and built a new villa on the site. Frederick, Prince of Wales (father of King George III) bought the house from Lord Archibald. Hamilton’s third wife, Lady Jane Hamilton, was Frederick's mistress
The estate was purchased by Henry Seymour Conway in 1752 and he made extensive improvements. Humphrey Gainsborough, brother of the artist Thomas Gainsborough, designed Conway's Bridge, built in 1763 at Park Place. This is an interesting rustic arched stone structure close to the River Thames that still carries traffic on the road between Wargrave and Henley-on-Thames.
In 1785, Henry Hawkins Tremayne visited Park Place whilst touring various gardens in southern England. He enthused about the garden, being especially impressed by its subterranean passages, menagerie, temples and "Rustick" bridge. These provided inspiration for his own new garden, now better known as the Lost Gardens of Heligan.[1]
In 1797 (following the death of Conway) the estate was bought by James Harris, First Earl of Malmesbury.
In 1816 Lord Malmesbury auctioned the estate and the main lot (mansion & park) was purchased by Henry Piper Spurling.
In 1824 Henry Spurling exchanged the estate for Norbury Park, Surrey, with his cousin Ebenezer Fuller-Maitland of Shinfield Park, Berkshire. He erected The Obelisk in memory of Queen Victoria's ascension, also known as the Victoria memorial - originally the late 17th Century spire of St. Bride's, Fleet Street, designed by Christopher Wren. [2] British Listed Buildings website".
Ebenezer Fuller-Maitland died in 1858 at which point Queen Victoria visited with the intention of purchasing the estate for Edward VII (then Prince of Wales), however Ebenezer's wife remained in the house until her death in 1865 when their son William Fuller-Maitland took over ownership. An attempt to sell by auction was made in 1866, but the eventual sale took place in 1867.
In 1867 the estate was bought by Charles Easton of Whiteknights, Reading - a speculator, purchased with the intention of dividing the then 800 acre estate.
In 1869 the Estate was bought by John Noble (Noble's Paints & Varnishes) The Noble family owned the estate until 1947 when John noble's son Wilson Noble auctioned the property and land off in a number of lots.
1949 and the house was bought by Middlesex County Council and in 1965 ownership was transferred to Hillingdon Council The house was used as a boarding school for children 11-16 with health / emotional problems until 1988
In 1989 the house went back into private ownership.
Following purchase by a consortium which looked to develop it into a country club, which failed to gain planning permission from Wokingham Council. After use for outside scenes in the filing of the 2007 film St Trinian's, in June 2007 it was sold for £40 million to Mike Spink, a developer who specialises in upmarket properties, for £42 million, which makes it the most expensive house sale in the United Kingdom outside London.[3]
Spink spent over £100 million restoring the gardens and the main house. In 2011 he sold Park Place to an anonymous Russian buyer for £140 million, making it the most expensive house sale in the United Kingdom. The sale included: the main house; three substantial houses; ten tenanted cottages; another eight cottages in need of renovation; a gabled boathouse; a stable block; an agricultural yard; various dilapidated agricultural outbuildings; and two golf courses. Spink retained 300 acres (120 ha) for a development.[4]