Cornbury Park

Reservoir in Cornbury Park

Cornbury Park is an estate near Charlbury, Oxfordshire. It comprises about 5000 acres, mostly farmland and woods, including a remnant of the Wychwood Forest, and was the original venue for the Cornbury Music Festival and later the Wilderness Festival.[1]

History

Crowds at the 2007 Cornbury Music Festival

Cornbury used to be a royal hunting estate. The park is first mentioned in the Domesday book as a "demesne forest of the king",[2] which was used for the hunting of deer.[3]

Cornbury House

Cornbury House is a two-storey, eleven-bay Grade I listed English country house.[4] Built in the late 16th century, it was enlarged and altered several times, first in 1632-33 by Nicholas Stone for Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby.[4] Further alterations were carried out in 1663-77 by Hugh May[4] who built the east front, the stables, and the chapel (1663–68)[5] for Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. In 1901-6, John Belcher removed addition of c. 1850, and altered the house further for Vernon Watney. Belcher's work was mostly demolished c. 1972.[4]

Current use

Cornbury Park is currently the home of Robin Cayzer, 3rd Baron Rotherwick, a Conservative hereditary peer who runs it as a business. Cayzer has developed business units for rental there, and for several years sponsored the Cornbury Music Festival and later the Wilderness Festival there.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Koenig, Chris (18 November 2010). "Profile: Cornbury Park". Oxford Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Darby, H. C. (1986). Domesday England. Cambridge University Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-521-31026-0.
  3. ↑ Mileson, S.A. (2009). Parks in medieval England (1. publ. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-956567-2.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Listing Text
  5. ↑ John Bold, May, Hugh, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2008, accessed 3 September 2014

Coordinates: 51°51′43″N 1°29′38″W / 51.862°N 1.494°W