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			{{Short description\|Country house in Wiltshire, UK}}
	{{coord\|51.374\|-1.643\|display=title\|region:GB_scale:10000}}
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}
	]
			]
	'''Tottenham''' is an historic estate in Wiltshire, England, centred on '''Tottenham House''', a large ] listed ] in the parish of ] in ], England, about 5 miles south-east of the town of ], from which it is separated by ], part of the Tottenham estate. The house, containing more than one hundred rooms, mostly dates from the 1820s, having then been remodelled by ], but also incorporates parts of earlier houses on the site, built by the Seymour family formerly of nearby ], about one mile to the south, also in the parish of Great Bedwyn.

			'''Tottenham House''' is a large ] listed ] in the parish of ], ], about five miles southeast of the town of ]. It is separated from the town by ], which is part of the '''Tottenham Park''' estate.
	==Descent of the estate==
	===Esturmy===
	]
	] (1819-1901), in her 1889 work ''The ] with some Account of the Norman Lineages'' wrote as follows of the Esturmy family, which held the estates of Tottenham, Wulfhall and the Savernake Forest:<ref></ref>
	:"Esturny for L'Estourmi, the true version of the name, as given on the Dives Roll; without any doubt a sobriquet, and, I am bound to add, to me, at least, incomprehensible. In England the first letter was often dropped, and it became Sturmy, Sturmid (as in Domesday), Stormey, Sturmer, Sturmyn, &c, while in Normandy it has survived to the present day as Etourmy. Jean L'Estourmi, a younger brother of the two companions-in-arms of the Conqueror, had remained at home; and became the ancestor of "a family that from the most remote antiquity held a high rank among the nobles of the province."—Nobiliaire de Normandie. In the seventeenth century they were Seigneurs de St. Privat; and in 1721 of Joinville. They bear D'azur a une fontaine d'argent, surmontee d'un renard couche de mime. Nothing can well be more unlike the coat of the English house: ''Argent, three demi-lions rampant gules''. The two brothers who came over at the Conquest, Richard and Ralph, were both land-owners in 1086; Richard, as the elder, held of the King, and Ralph as a mesne-lord under him in Hants, Wilts, and Surrey. Cowsfield-Esturmy in Wiltshire, and Lysse-Sturmy, in Hampshire, were two of his manors. His descendants continued, for a long succession of generations, Foresters in fee of Savernake. "The Esturmies," says Camden, "from the time of King Henrie the Second were by right of inheritance the Bailiffes and Guardians of the Forest of Savernac lying hard by, which is of great name for plentie of good game, and for a kinde of Ferne there, that yeeldeth a most pleasing savour. In remembrance thereof, their Hunter's horn of a mighty bignesse and tipt with silver, the Earle of Hertford keepeth unto this day, as a monument of his progenitors." They founded the Hospital of the Holy Trinity at Easton, near Marlborough, where a Master (appointed at their presentation to the Bishop), was bound to have his "continual residence, to keep hospitality, and to find five priests to say daily masses for the founder's souls." Besides this "great inheritance" in Wiltshire, they possessed in Hampshire "large holdings at Odiham, Dogmersfield, Winchfield, and Elvetham. In 1206 Henry Esturmy paid at Porchester sixty out of one hundred capons promised in consideration of leave to break up land at Culefield; and in 1280 another Henry was summoned to show warrant for his taking the assize of bread and beer at Elvetham, and pleaded that his ancestors had enjoyed the privilege since the time of King Richard I."—Woodward's Hampshire. A third Henry, who was Sheriff of Wilts in 1362, and married Margaret, daughter and co-heir of Sir John de L'Ortie of Axford, was the father of the last of the line, Sir William Esturmy of Chedham and Wolfs Hall, living temp. Richard II. His only daughter Maud married Roger Seymour, ancestor of the Dukes of Somerset, to whom the great domain of the Esturmies thus accrued. His descendants, transplanted into Wiltshire from their distant home on the Welsh border, held it close upon three hundred years. The (Esturmy) family was represented in many other parts of England—in the Eastern Counties, in Worcestershire, Shropshire, and Yorkshire. In Shropshire, "the first of this race," says Eyton, "that occurs to my notice is Hugh Esturmi, amerced five marks in 1176 for trespass in the Forests of Worcestershire." This Hugh Esturmi came from Sussex, where his father exchanged some land near Chichester with the Earl of Arundel; and Hugh himself received from the same Earl—William de Albini, the first of the name—a grant of half a knight's fee in Offham.—v. Dallaway's Sussex. There is no further mention of the family in Sussex, and their connection with Shropshire had ceased in the first part of the fourteenth century. Stanford-Sturmy and Sutton-Sturmy bear their name in Worcestershire. "We find in the old White Book of the Bishopric, Willielmus Esturmy tenet Rushoke de dono domini Regis. They continued in possession in the reign of Ed. I., when Geoffrey Sturmy held it of the barony of William de Beauchamp, and it belonged to many lords of that name. Laurence Sturmy is reported in the Exchequer to have had it 28 Ed. I.; it then descended to Harry Sturmy, and 20 Ed. III. to Henry Sturmy his heir. Sutton-Sturmy was in early ages the habitation of that Sturmy who distinguished himself by his zeal for the recovery of the Holy Land, and is buried in Tenbury church. This memorable name of Sturmy ended in Rushoke 7 Hen. VI., and the lands were dispersed among the general heirs of Henry Sturmy."—Nash's Worcestershire. Robert Sturmy was knight of the shire in 1309 and 1315; and summoned for service against the Scots in 1322. The Yorkshire Esturmies (there, again, abbreviated to Sturmy) were Lords of Dromonby, in Cleveland, for four generations; their heiress married a younger son of Sir Robert Constable of Flamborough.—Grave's Cleveland. William Sturmy, in 1316, was joint Lord of Worsall, Faceby, and Skutterskelfe in Yorkshire.—Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs. At the same date, and in the same record, we find John Sturmy, joint Lord of Stratton and Thorp, Fritton, Skelton, and Hardwick; and Walter Sturmy, joint Lord of Surlingham, Rockwell, and Brandon; both in Norfolk. John was Admiral of the Fleet in 1325. Robert le Sturmy had received Stratton by grant from the Malherbes; "and gave his name to Sturmyn's or Sturmer's Manor, of which his son was Lord in 1262. The heiress of this family, Anne Sturmer, married Ralph Drury in the time of Edward IV."—Blomfield's Norfolk. Another contemporary family was seated at Buxhall in Suffolk: of whom Sir William Esturmy was High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk from 1210 to 1214. "In 1254 his grandson held the manor of Buxhall. About 1367 the last Sir William Esturmy died, leaving one daughter Rhosia, married to William Clement of Stow."—Hollingworth's History of Stowmarket. The name is found in Somersetshire in 1669; and certainly existed for 100 years after that; for it is inscribed on a pyramid of variegated marble in Cheltenham Church, which bears the three demi-lions that appertained to it, and commemorates Henry Sturmy, obt. 1772".

			The site of the house was part of the much larger Savernake Forest, and in the ] was controlled by the heads of the Esturmy family. In the 15th century, the land passed by marriage to the ] of nearby ], about one mile to the south. The original house was probably built in about 1575 by ], a nephew of ], when it was known as '''Totnam Lodge'''. The present house incorporates parts of the earlier houses on the site built by the Seymours. In 1675, the estate passed to Lady Elizabeth Seymour, who married ], thus bringing the house into the Bruce family.<ref name="listing" />
	====Sir William Esturmy (c.1356-1427)====
	Sir ] (c.1356-1427)<ref></ref>) was ], a ] and hereditary Warden of the ] of ]. he was the son of Geoffrey Sturmy (d.1381) and nephew and heir of Sir Henry Sturmy of ]. He inherited in 1381 and was knighted by October 1388. He held the post of hereditary warden of Savernake Forest from 1381 to 1417 and from 1420 until his death in 1427. He served as ] for ] in 1384 and again in 1390, and also eight times for ] and twice for Devon between then and 1422. He was elected ] in 1404. He was appointed ] for 1418. He held a number of public posts and served several times as an ambassador abroad.
	He married Joan Crawthorne, the widow of Sir John Beaumont of ] and ] in North Devon, by whom he had no male progeny, only two daughters and co-heiresses including:
	*Maud Esturmy, wife of Roger II Seymour (c.1367/70-1420),<ref>Loades, David, ''The Seymours of Wolf Hall: A Tudor Family Story'', Chapter 1: ''The Origins''</ref> ] in Somerset, by whom she had a son ] (d.1464) ancestor of Queen ]. He died at Wolfhall in 1427.

			In 1721, Elizabeth Seymour's son and heir, ], rebuilt Totnam Lodge to the design of his brother-in-law, the pioneering Palladian architect ], and parts of the grounds, including the kitchen garden, were laid out by ] between 1764 and about 1770, commissioned by ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book \|last=Stroud \|first=Dorothy \|title=Capability Brown \|date=1 October 1984 \|publisher=] \|year=1984 \|isbn=9780571134052 \|edition=5th \|location=Boston \|publication-date=1 October 1984}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal \|last=Willis \|first=Peter \|date=1984 \|title=Capability Brown's account with Drummonds Bank, 1753-1783 \|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/architectural-history/article/capability-browns-account-with-drummonds-bank-17531783/A7CEF9493F115486C7C306EEA038AA7D \|journal=Architectural History, Volume 27: Design and Practice in British Architecture \|volume=27 \|pages=382–391}}</ref> The house underwent a number of further rebuilds, and the current house, containing more than one hundred rooms, mostly dates from the 1820s, having then been remodelled by ], who in 1818 (while still Earl of Aylesbury) had added a new range of stables designed by ].
	===Seymour===
	]
	The ] (anciently ''de St. Maur'') is earliest recorded seated at ] in ] in the 12th century. The parish church of Penhow is dedicated to St Maur. It should however be differentiated from the Anglo-Norman "baronial family" named St Maur, created ] by ] in 1314, who bore different armorials (''Argent, two chevrons gules'') and which originated at the manor of St. Maur, near Avranches, in Normandy.<ref>Battle Abbey Roll. quoting "The Norman People"</ref>

			The Bruce family lived in the house until 1946. Thereafter it was used as a ] until 1994, and then leased to a charity until 2005, after which it was unoccupied for some ten years, apart from a period in 2006, when the band ] recorded part of their album '']'' at the house. It was then leased for 150 years to a US-based consortium with the intention of creating a luxury hotel and golfing centre, but the consortium went bankrupt in 2008. In 2014, the house was sold for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer who had plans to turn it back into a private home.<ref name=plans>{{cite web\|url=https://www.marlboroughnewsonline.co.uk/features/7947-analysis-tottenham-house-development-a-win-win-decision-for-wiltshire-council\|title= Analysis: Tottenham House development – a win-win decision for Wiltshire Council\|work=marlboroughnewsonline\|author= Tony Millett\|date= 12 September 2018}}</ref>
	The ancestor of the "baronial St Maurs" was Wido de St Maur (d.pre-1086) who came to during the ] of 1066, whose son William FitzWido is recorded in the ] of 1086 as a substantial tenant of Geoffrey Bishop of Coutances, and who held a feudal barony with lands in in Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucester, with ten manors in Somersetshire (of which Portishead was one). He made conquests in Wales in about 1090, which his family afterwards held.

			==Early history==
	No conclusive evidence exists to confirm the "baronial St Maurs" and the "Seymours, ]" as derived from a common stock, however ] believed this to be most probable.<ref>Battle Abbey Roll</ref> The two families adopted different arms at the start of the age of ], ''circa'' 1200-1215, with the "baronial St Maurs" bearing: ''Argent, two chevrons gules''. Certainly the "baronial St Maurs" died out in the male line in 1409 when their heir became ], namely William la Zouche, 5th Baron Zouche (c.1402-1462), whose son was William la Zouche, 6th Baron Zouche, 7th Baron St Maur (c.1432-1468/9). One of the heirs of the St Maur/Zouche family was the Bampfield family of ] in Devon (later ]) which inherited the Devon manor of ] from the Zouche family.<ref>The monument in North Molton Church to Sir ] (1560-1626) displays an escutcheon quartering Zouche and St Maur (''Argent, two chevrons gules a label of three points vert'')</ref> For the early history of the
			]
	Seymour family see: ].

			The site of Tottenham House was known by 1200 as Tottenham Wood, a part of the much larger ], and was under the control of the Esturmy family. The land passed to the ] by the marriage of Maud Esturmy to Roger II Seymour in the 15th century.<ref name="listing">{{National Heritage List for England \|num=1000472 \|desc=Tottenham House and Savernake Forest \|access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> It was probably ] (1539–1621), son and heir of the 1st Duke, of nearby ], who in about 1575 built the first house, known as Totnam Lodge, and enclosed its surrounding land to form a ].<ref name="listing" /> Wulfhall was partly demolished, and the building materials used to construct Tottenham House.<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbcHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA46\|page=46\|title=A Handbook for Travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire\|author=John Murray\|publisher=John Murray\|date=1869}}</ref>
	====Roger II Seymour (c.1367/70-1420)====
	Roger II Seymour (c.1367/70-1420), who married Maud Esturmy (''alias'' Esturmi, etc.), a daughter and co-heiress of Sir ] (d.1427), of ] in Wiltshire, ] and hereditary Warden of ] in Wiltshire. Following his wife's inheritance, he moved his principal seat from Undy to Wolfhall.

			The house was still known as the Lodge in 1623, in which year the parish register of Great Bedwyn records the baptism of the 1st Earl's great-granddaughter Frances Seymour, the daughter of ] (c. 1590 – 1664) (later created ]), which was performed "at the Lodge in the Great Parke by Henrie Taylor, Vicar of Great Bedwin".<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JS4EAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA21\|title=Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica \|year=1838 \|volume=5 \|editor1= Frederic Madden \|editor2=Bulkeley Bandinel \|editor3=John Gough Nichols\|page=31}}</ref> ] (1629–1675), an uncle, inherited the estate in 1671 on the death of his nephew the 3rd Duke, and in 1672 he rebuilt Totnam Lodge and redesigned the deer park, which at that date included long tree-lined walks and a deer ].<ref name="listing" /> The 4th Duke of Somerset bequeathed the ] Seymour estates to his niece Elizabeth Seymour, the wife of ] (1656–1741), thus passing some of the Seymour estates to the Bruce family. In 1721 Elizabeth Seymour's son and heir, ], rebuilt Totnam Lodge to the design of his brother-in-law, the pioneering Palladian architect ]. ] was the executant architect.<ref>Rudolf Wittkower, in ''Architectural Journal'' '''102''' 1945, noted in Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington".</ref> The 3rd Earl added wings to Burlington's block in the 1730s, and also built in 1743 a Banqueting House in the park to the design of Burlington (demolished in 1824).<ref>Colvin, "Boyle".</ref> ] inherited the estate in 1747 from his uncle, Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury in 1747. Parts of the grounds, including the kitchen garden, were laid out by ] from 1764 to c 1770, commissioned by Thomas Brudenell-Bruce.<ref name="listing" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
	====Sir John Seymour (c.1395/1402-1464)====
	Sir ](c.1395/1402-1464), son and heir, of ] in ], ], and of Hatch Beauchamp. He served as ] for ] in 1422 and ] for ] in 1435, 1439, and 1445<ref>J. S. Roskell, ''The Commons in the Parliament of 1422'' (Manchester University Press), (see footnotes)</ref> He was also ] in 1431-1432, having previously served as ].<ref>Mervyn Archdall, ''The Peerage of Ireland'', </ref> He married Isabel William (''alias'' Williams) (d.1486), daughter of ],<ref>''alias'' William MacWilliam or Williams of ],(see: Thomas Nicholas, ''Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales'' (1991), )</ref> a ] and ] of ],<ref name=magna>Douglas Richardson, Kimball G. Everingham, ''Magna Carta ancestry: a study in colonial and medieval families'' (2005), </ref>

			In 1818, ], 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, added stables to the design of ]. In 1823–26 he enlarged and remodelled the house, again to the designs of Thomas Cundy.<ref>Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Cundy, Thomas", "Wyatville, Sir Jeffry".</ref>
	====John Seymour (d.1491)====
	] (d.1491), grandson and heir, son of ] (1425–1463) who pre-deceased his father. His first wife was Elizabeth Darrell (born c.1451), daughter of Sir George Darrell (d. ''circa'' 1474) of ], Wiltshire, by his wife Margaret Stourton (born ''c.'' 1433), a daughter of ], and of Margery or Marjory Wadham.

			==Description of present house==
	====Sir John Seymour (1474–1536)====
			{{Empty section\|date=November 2024}}<!--how many floors? How many wings? Architectural style? How many bedrooms? Building materials?-->
	Sir ] (1474–1536), eldest son from 1st marriage, knighted in 1497 after the ], the father of Queen ] (1508–1537), 3rd wife of King Henry VIII.

			==Modern use==
	====Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c.1500-1552)====
			The Ailesbury family lived in the house, sharing it during the Second World War with the US Army, until 1946. Thereafter it was used by ] until 1994 when Hawtreys merged with ], Newbury. It was then leased for ten years to the Amber Foundation, a charity which helped unemployed troubled young people to rebuild their lives, but its work there ended due to cuts in government support.<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/mar/09/guardiansocietysupplement.socialcare\|title=On the pile\|last=Weaver\|first=Matt\|date=9 March 2005\|work=The Guardian\|access-date=28 March 2017\|language=en-GB\|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
	], 1st and 4th: ''Or, on a pile gules between six fleurs-de-lys azure three ]'' (special grant by his nephew King Edward VI); 2nd and 3rd: ''Gules, two wings conjoined in lure or'' (Seymour)''<ref name="Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.1036">Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.1036</ref> These arms concede the positions of greatest honour, the 1st & 4th ], to a special grant of arms incorporating the fleurs-de-lys and lions of the royal ]]]
	], ], (c.1500-1552), eldest son and heir, uncle of King ] (1547-1553) and ] of England (1547-9). in 1536<ref name="Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.1036"/> on his sister's marriage to King Henry VIII, he was created ] and in 1537 was created by the same king ]. He received his dukedom together with the subsidiary title ] on the accession of his nephew to the throne in 1547. In 1531 he had served as ] and during this time he probably resided at Hache Court.<ref name="Cookson">Cookson</ref> Thomas Gerard in his "Description of Somerset" (1633) wrote as follows:<ref>Quoted in Cookson</ref>
	::"The mansion house in which theis nobleman lived which I went to see is soe ruined that were it not called Hach Court you would not believe that it were any of the remaynes of a Barons house. yet I sawe in the Hall Beauchampes Armes and in a little Chappell on the top of the house Seymer's, Winges "Or" in a red shield, and going a little further to the church to see some monuments I find not one, the church having bin new built long since the Beauchamps time".
	The Duke was executed in 1552 for felony on the order of his nephew King Edward VI, and was attainted by Parliament shortly thereafter when all his titles were forfeited.

			In 1966, the house was designated as ],<ref>{{National Heritage List for England\|num=1183809\|desc=Tottenham House\|access-date=29 November 2015\|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> while the small octagonal ] building (c. 1720)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England\|num=1300392\|desc=Garden folly in Tottenham House deerpark\|access-date=29 November 2015\|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> in the deer park, and the stable block (1819)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England\|num=1365488\|desc=Stable Block to Tottenham House\|access-date=29 November 2015\|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> were designated Grade II*.
	====Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (1539-1621)====
	It was probably ] (1539-1621), son and heir of the 1st Duke, of nearby ], who in about 1575 built the first house, known as Tottenham Lodge, and enclosed its surrounding land to form a ].<ref>https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000472</ref> He was the son and heir of ] (executed 1522), brother of Queen ]. The Seymours were hereditary Wardens of Savernake Forest, which office together with most of their Wiltshire estates had been inherited by marriage to the daughter and heiress of Sir ] (died 1427), of Wulfhall, ] and hereditary Warden of the ] of ]. The house was still known as the Lodge in 1623, in which year the parish register of Great Bedwyn records the baptism of the 1st Earl's great-granddaughter Frances Seymour, the daughter of Sir ] (c.1590-1664) (later created ]), which was performed "at the Lodge in the Great Parke by Henrie Taylor, Vicar of Great Bedwin".<ref>''Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica'', Volume 5 edited by Frederic Madden, Bulkeley Bandinel, John Gough Nichols, p.31</ref>

			] owned 49% and his son Thomas James Brudenell-Bruce, Viscount Savernake owned 51%.{{citation needed\|date=January 2020}} Between 2011 and 2017, the impoverished Earl was involved in a bitter legal battle with the trustees.<ref name="simondebruxelles">Simon de Bruxelles, 'Penniless earl claims jobseeker's allowance after ex-wife's entire £1.5m estate goes to the children', '']'', March 07, 2013, No. 70826, p. 3</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/15168688.Earl_of_Cardigan_wins_High_Court_battle_to_oust_Savernake_Estate_trustees/\|title=Earl of Cardigan wins High Court battle to oust Savernake Estate trustees\|last=Mills\|first=Richard\|date=20 March 2017\|website=The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald\|language=en\|access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref>
	====William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (1587-1660)====
	] (1587-1660), grandson, inherited the estates on the death of his grandfather the 1st Earl, his father having predeceased the latter.

			In 2006 the house, with its 50-horse stable block, outbuildings and some farmland, was leased for 150 years to a consortium of Golf Club Investment Holdings, Conduit Investments, and (as operator) the Buena Vista Hospitality Group of ], Florida, with the intention of creating a luxury hotel, conference, spa, and golfing centre. Full ] was obtained, with the co-operation of the local Planning Authority and ], and an investment in the project of £50 million was announced. However 18 months later, before starting any building work, the consortium failed during the recession, and the lease ended.{{citation needed\|date=January 2020}}
	====William Seymour, 3rd Duke of Somerset (1652-1671)====
	] (1652-1671), grandson of the 2nd Duke. He inherited at the age of 8 and died aged 19 when his heir became his uncle ] (1629-1675). However, the heir to his estates in Hampshire, namely ] (where the 1st Earl had died) and Hound, was his sister Elizabeth Seymour, wife of Thomas Bruce, 2nd earl of Ailesbury, which were soon sold in 1676 to the Marquess of Worcester.

			In 2014, the trustees sold the house and 800 acres for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer, which was believed to be multi-millionaire property developer ]<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/14233653.Hotel_dream____still_alive____for_Tottenham_House/\|title=Hotel dream 'still alive' for Tottenham House\|last=Hicks\|first=Amber\|date=27 January 2016\|website=The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald\|language=en\|access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref> after overcoming a legal challenge from the Earl of Cardigan.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Earl of Cardigan loses appeal over sale of Tottenham House\|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-29664082\|publisher=BBC\|access-date=13 April 2015\|date=17 October 2014\|work=BBC News}}</ref> In November 2014 the Earl was reported in the ''Daily Telegraph'' newspaper to be living with his second wife and baby daughter in an unheated lodge in the grounds of Tottenham House on a £71-a-week jobseeker's allowance while training to be a lorry driver.<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11228135/Whats-happening-to-Henrys-houses.html\|title=What's happening to Henry's houses?\|last=Davidson\|first=Max\|date=15 November 2014\|work=Telegraph.co.uk\|access-date=28 March 2017\|language=en}}</ref> He is still theoretically the hereditary Warden of Savernake Forest and has stated he was: "put on this earth to take care of Savernake and I will never let it go".<ref name="Daily Telegraph, 17 Oct 2014">{{Cite news\|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11170474/Earl-of-Cardigan-admits-defeat-in-battle-to-keep-ancestral-home-on-Savernake-estate.html\|title=Earl of Cardigan admits defeat in battle to keep ancestral home on Savernake estate\|last=Rayner\|first=Gordon\|date=17 October 2014\|work=Telegraph.co.uk\|access-date=28 March 2017\|language=en}}</ref> He was due to benefit from the sale proceeds and would still own jointly with the trustees 3,700 acres, mainly woodland, in Savernake Forest.<ref name="Daily Telegraph, 17 Oct 2014"/> In 2017 he was able to remove both trustees from office, and restore his family’s income.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/15168688.Earl_of_Cardigan_wins_High_Court_battle_to_oust_Savernake_Estate_trustees/\|title=Earl of Cardigan wins High Court battle to oust Savernake Estate trustees\|last=Mills\|first=Richard\|date=20 March 2017\|website=The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald\|access-date=9 July 2018}}</ref>
	====John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset (1629-1675)====
	] (1629-1675), uncle, inherited the estate in 1671 on the death of his nephew the 3rd Duke, and in 1672 he rebuilt Tottenham Lodge and redesigned the deer park, which at that date included long tree-lined walks and a deer "chase".<ref>"Marquess of Ailesbury, 1962", quoted in</ref> The topographer ] (1626-1697) visited Wiltshire in 1672 and wrote of Wulfhall, about one mile to the south:<ref>Aubrey,John, ''An Essay Towards the Description of the North Division of Wiltshire'', 1672, (ed. Sir T. Phillipps), 1838 Edition, p.71</ref>
	:"The ancient seate of the Sturmeys, which house has been much bigger, and great parte pulled downe within these 10 years to build the house of Tocknam Parke. I remember a long gallery. It was never but a timber house, ''v(ide)'' Camden. Here is a very long barne of ..... bays, and 3 porches of timber and thatcht; in this barne was the wedding kept for Queen Jane, then hung with tapistry. Hard by is Tocknam Park, which is a most parkely ground and romancy pleasant place; several walks of great lengths of trees planted. Here the Duke of Somerset hath his best seate, which is now (1672) to be made a compleat new pile of good architecture; both in the parish of Bedwyn Magna".</br>
	He did not live long to enjoy his new house and died in 1675, aged 46, only three years after having started the rebuilding.

			As of 2017, the house had been unoccupied since 2005.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://unidoc.wiltshire.gov.uk/UniDoc/Document/File/MTgvMDAxOTUvTEJDLDExMjY5Nzc=\|title=Tottenham House & Estate: Vision Statement\|date=December 2017\|website=Wiltshire Council – planning application 18/00195/LBC\|access-date=17 January 2018}}</ref> Plans were submitted in December 2017 to return the house, stables, outbuildings, and park to a family residence.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z000014enMyAAI/1800195lbc\|title=Planning application 18/00195/LBC\|date=December 2017\|website=Wiltshire Council\|language=en-gb\|access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref>
	====Elizabeth Seymour====
	The 4th Duke of Somerset was childless, and faced with the Dukedom passing by law to his first cousin once removed and ] the 5th Duke, who was seated at ] in Wiltshire, he bequeathed the ] Seymour estates to his niece Elizabeth Seymour, the wife of ] (1656-1741), and thus the Seymour estates passed to the Bruce family.

	===Bruce===
	====Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury (d.1747)====
	]
	]
	] (c.1684–1748), commissioned by Charles Bruce, Viscount Bruce (1682-1747), from 1741 4th Earl of Elgin and 3rd Earl of Ailesbury]]
	Elizabeth Seymour's son and heir was ] (d.1747), who in 1721 rebuilt Tottenham Lodge to the design of his brother-in-law the pioneering Palladian architect ]. ] was the executant architect.<ref>Rudolf Wittkower, in ''Architectural Journal'' '''102''' 1945, noted in Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington".</ref> The 3rd Earl added wings to Burlington's block in the 1730s, and also built in 1743 a Banqueting House in the park to the design of Burlington (demolished in 1824).<ref>Colvin, "Boyle".</ref> In 1746, one year before the death of the 3rd Earl, who had no son, it was apparent that on his death the Earldom of Ailesbury would become extinct and his other Earldom of Elgin would pass to a distant cousin and ]. The former Seymour estates however he was free to dispose of as he pleased. He persuaded the king to create him ], with ] to his younger nephew Hon. ] (1739-1814), 4th son of ] (1685-1732) by his wife Elizabeth Bruce, to whom he also bequeathed his estates with the proviso that he should adopt the additional surname of Bruce, thus having created a new noble family bearing doubly the Bruce name, to continue the custodianship of the Seymour lands.

	===Brudenell===
	====Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1739-1814)====
	] (azure?) their fronts turned towards the ]''<ref>Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.44, Marquess of Ailesbury</ref>]]
	On the Earl's death in 1747 his 8 year old nephew Thomas Brudenell duly became ], having inheited the barony, the estates and the Wardenship of Savernake Forest. In 1776 King George III created him ]. In 1814 he was succeeded by his son ] (1773-1856).

	====Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury (1773-1856)====
	] (1773-1856) in 1818 added stables to the design of ]. In 1821 he was granted three further titles, ], ] and ]. In 1823-26 he enlarged and re-modelled the house to the designs of ].<ref>Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840'', 3rd ed. 1995, ''s.v.'' "Cundy, Thomas", "Wyatville, Sir Jeffry".</ref>

	==Modern use==
	The Ailesbury family lived there - sharing it in the Second World War with the US Army - until moving out in 1946. Thereafter it was used by Hawtreys Preparatory School until 1994 when Hawtreys merged with Cheam School, Newbury. It was then leased for ten years to a charity called the Amber Foundation which helps unemployed troubled young people to rebuild their lives, but its work there ended due to cuts in government support.

	] (born 1952) owns 49% and his son ] (born 1982), owns 51%.<ref name="natalieclarke">Natalie Clarke, , '']'', February 01, 2013</ref> In recent years, the impoverished Earl of Cardigan has been involved in a bitter battle with the trustees.<ref name="natalieclarke"/><ref name="simondebruxelles">Simon de Bruxelles, 'Penniless earl claims jobseeker's allowance after ex-wife's entire £1.5m estate goes to the children', '']'', March 07, 2013, No. 70826, p. 3</ref>

	In 2006 the house, with its 50-horse stable block, outbuildings and some farmland, was leased for 150 years to a consortium of Golf Club Investment Holdings, Conduit Investments, and (as Operator) the Buena Vista Hospitality Group of Orlando, ], with the intention of creating a luxury hotel, conference, spa, and golfing centre.<ref name="natalieclarke"/> Full Planning Permission was obtained, with the co-operation of the local Planning Authority and English Heritage, and an investment in the project of £50 million was announced. However 18 months later, before starting any building work, the consortium failed during the recession, and the lease ended.<ref name="natalieclarke"/>

	In 2014 the trustees sold the house and 800 acres for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer (believed to be Conservative Party donor and multi-millionaire property developer Jamie Ritblat) after overcoming a legal challenge from the Earl of Cardigan.<ref>{{cite web\|title=Earl of Cardigan loses appeal over sale of Tottenham House\|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-29664082\|publisher=BBC\|accessdate=13 April 2015\|date=17 October 2014}}</ref> In November 2014 the 61-year-old Old Etonian David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan, son and heir of the ], was reported in the Daily Telegraph nnewspaper to be living with his second wife and baby daughter in an unheated lodge in the grounds of Tottenham House on a £71-a-week jobseeker’s allowance while training to be a lorry driver.<ref>Daily Telegraph, 15 November 2014</ref> He is still theoretically the hereditary Warden of Savernake Forest and has stated he was: "put on this earth to take care of Savernake and I will never let it go".<ref>Daily Telegraph, 17 Oct 2014 </ref> He is due to benefit from the sale proceeds and will still own jointly with the trustees 3,700 acres, mainly woodland, in Savernake Forest.<ref>Daily Telegraph, 17 Oct 2014</ref>

	==In popular culture==		==In popular culture==
			The house featured as the boys' school in the 1995 film '']'', starring ].<ref>{{IMDb title\|qid=Q80609\|id=tt0109784\|title=A Feast at Midnight}}</ref> In 2006, the band ] recorded part of their 2007 album '']'' at the house.<ref name="Mojo">{{cite news\|title=Ghost in the Machine\|date=1 August 2006\|work=]\|pages=74–77\|author=Kent, Nick\|author-link=Nick Kent}}</ref> In 2013, the house and Savernake estate were used as the location for a short film commissioned by electronica pioneers ] to promote the song 'Drew' from their album '']''. Shot in black and white by film editor ], the internal and external aspects of the house and surrounding forest feature extensively in the five-minute film. In 2015, the house featured in season 6 of the romantic-drama TV series, '']''. The house, in the show called Dryden Park, is the rather run-down estate of Sir Michael Reresby; Thomas Barrow visits Dryden Park in 1925 to interview for a job as a man servant.{{Citation needed\|date=January 2022}}
	The house featured as the boys' school in the 1995 film '']'', starring ].<ref>{{IMDb title\|0109784\|A Feast at Midnight}}</ref>
	In 2013, the house and Savernake estate were used as the location for a short film commissioned by British electronica pioneers ] to promote the song 'Drew' from their album '']''. Shot in black and white by film editor ], the internal and external aspects of the house and surrounding forest feature extensively in the five-minute film.

			==References==
	==Sturmy's Horn / Savernake Horn==
			{{Reflist\|30em}}
	In the British Museum is a 12th century horn made of elephant ivory decorated with enamelled silver gilt mounts made in the second quarter of the fourteenth century and later. Each contains sixteen compartments, one for each carved facet on the horn. The internal rim of the upper band depicts sixteen hawks preening themselves. The outward faces of both bands show engravings of animals of the chase, including the mythical unicorn and a lion. In the centre of the upper band is depicted a king in conversation with a bishop, and a forester alongside, possibly indicating the making of an historic appointment of Forester. The horn was noted by William Camden (1551-1623) who stated it then to belong to the Seymour family, possibly an heirloom inherited from their Sturmy ancestors, hereditary Wardens of Savernake Forest since the reign of King Henry II (1154-89). The horn was sounded in 1940 by King George VI when he visited Savernake Forest.<ref>http://culturalinstitute.britishmuseum.org/asset-viewer/the-savernake-horn/pQGQJXrZb6vAHw?hl=en</ref>

	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	*Lennon, Ben, ''Burlington, Brown and Bill: The Landscaping of Tottenham Park and Savernake Forest in the Eighteenth Century''		* Lennon, Ben, Burlington, Brown and Bill:

	==References==
	{{Reflist}}

	==External links==		==External links==
	{{commons category~~\|Tottenham House~~}}		{{commons category-inline}}
	* {{NHLE\|num=1183809\|desc=Tottenham House - Grade I\|accessdate=13 April 2015}}
	* {{NHLE\|num=1365488\|desc=Stable block to Tottenham House - Grade II*\|accessdate=13 April 2015}}
	* {{NHLE\|num=1000472\|desc=Tottenham House and Savernake Forest - Grade II*, Register of Historic Parks and Gardens\|accessdate=13 April 2015}}
	* {{cite web\|last1=Weaver\|first1=Matt\|title=On the pile - the Amber charity at Tottenham House\|url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/mar/09/guardiansocietysupplement.socialcare\|publisher=The Guardian\|accessdate=13 April 2015\|location=London\|date=9 March 2005}}
	* at the Culpepper Family History Site.

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			{{coord\|51.374\|-1.643\|display=title\|region:GB_scale:10000}}

Latest revision as of 02:33, 6 December 2024

Country house in Wiltshire, UK

Tottenham House is a large Grade I listed English country house in the parish of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, about five miles southeast of the town of Marlborough. It is separated from the town by Savernake Forest, which is part of the Tottenham Park estate.

The site of the house was part of the much larger Savernake Forest, and in the Middle Ages was controlled by the heads of the Esturmy family. In the 15th century, the land passed by marriage to the House of Seymour of nearby Wulfhall, about one mile to the south. The original house was probably built in about 1575 by Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, a nephew of Queen Jane Seymour, when it was known as Totnam Lodge. The present house incorporates parts of the earlier houses on the site built by the Seymours. In 1675, the estate passed to Lady Elizabeth Seymour, who married Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, thus bringing the house into the Bruce family.

In 1721, Elizabeth Seymour's son and heir, Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury, rebuilt Totnam Lodge to the design of his brother-in-law, the pioneering Palladian architect Lord Burlington, and parts of the grounds, including the kitchen garden, were laid out by Capability Brown between 1764 and about 1770, commissioned by Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury. The house underwent a number of further rebuilds, and the current house, containing more than one hundred rooms, mostly dates from the 1820s, having then been remodelled by Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, who in 1818 (while still Earl of Aylesbury) had added a new range of stables designed by Thomas Cundy.

The Bruce family lived in the house until 1946. Thereafter it was used as a preparatory school until 1994, and then leased to a charity until 2005, after which it was unoccupied for some ten years, apart from a period in 2006, when the band Radiohead recorded part of their album In Rainbows at the house. It was then leased for 150 years to a US-based consortium with the intention of creating a luxury hotel and golfing centre, but the consortium went bankrupt in 2008. In 2014, the house was sold for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer who had plans to turn it back into a private home.

Early history

The site of Tottenham House was known by 1200 as Tottenham Wood, a part of the much larger Savernake Forest, and was under the control of the Esturmy family. The land passed to the Seymour family by the marriage of Maud Esturmy to Roger II Seymour in the 15th century. It was probably Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (1539–1621), son and heir of the 1st Duke, of nearby Wulfhall, who in about 1575 built the first house, known as Totnam Lodge, and enclosed its surrounding land to form a deer park. Wulfhall was partly demolished, and the building materials used to construct Tottenham House.

The house was still known as the Lodge in 1623, in which year the parish register of Great Bedwyn records the baptism of the 1st Earl's great-granddaughter Frances Seymour, the daughter of Sir Francis Seymour (c. 1590 – 1664) (later created Baron Seymour of Trowbridge), which was performed "at the Lodge in the Great Parke by Henrie Taylor, Vicar of Great Bedwin". John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset (1629–1675), an uncle, inherited the estate in 1671 on the death of his nephew the 3rd Duke, and in 1672 he rebuilt Totnam Lodge and redesigned the deer park, which at that date included long tree-lined walks and a deer chase. The 4th Duke of Somerset bequeathed the unentailed Seymour estates to his niece Elizabeth Seymour, the wife of Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (1656–1741), thus passing some of the Seymour estates to the Bruce family. In 1721 Elizabeth Seymour's son and heir, Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury, rebuilt Totnam Lodge to the design of his brother-in-law, the pioneering Palladian architect Lord Burlington. Henry Flitcroft was the executant architect. The 3rd Earl added wings to Burlington's block in the 1730s, and also built in 1743 a Banqueting House in the park to the design of Burlington (demolished in 1824). Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury inherited the estate in 1747 from his uncle, Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury in 1747. Parts of the grounds, including the kitchen garden, were laid out by Capability Brown from 1764 to c 1770, commissioned by Thomas Brudenell-Bruce.

In 1818, Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, added stables to the design of Thomas Cundy II. In 1823–26 he enlarged and remodelled the house, again to the designs of Thomas Cundy.

Description of present house

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)

Modern use

The Ailesbury family lived in the house, sharing it during the Second World War with the US Army, until 1946. Thereafter it was used by Hawtreys Preparatory School until 1994 when Hawtreys merged with Cheam School, Newbury. It was then leased for ten years to the Amber Foundation, a charity which helped unemployed troubled young people to rebuild their lives, but its work there ended due to cuts in government support.

In 1966, the house was designated as Grade I listed, while the small octagonal folly building (c. 1720) in the deer park, and the stable block (1819) were designated Grade II*.

David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan owned 49% and his son Thomas James Brudenell-Bruce, Viscount Savernake owned 51%. Between 2011 and 2017, the impoverished Earl was involved in a bitter legal battle with the trustees.

In 2006 the house, with its 50-horse stable block, outbuildings and some farmland, was leased for 150 years to a consortium of Golf Club Investment Holdings, Conduit Investments, and (as operator) the Buena Vista Hospitality Group of Orlando, Florida, with the intention of creating a luxury hotel, conference, spa, and golfing centre. Full planning permission was obtained, with the co-operation of the local Planning Authority and English Heritage, and an investment in the project of £50 million was announced. However 18 months later, before starting any building work, the consortium failed during the recession, and the lease ended.

In 2014, the trustees sold the house and 800 acres for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer, which was believed to be multi-millionaire property developer Jamie Ritblat after overcoming a legal challenge from the Earl of Cardigan. In November 2014 the Earl was reported in the Daily Telegraph newspaper to be living with his second wife and baby daughter in an unheated lodge in the grounds of Tottenham House on a £71-a-week jobseeker's allowance while training to be a lorry driver. He is still theoretically the hereditary Warden of Savernake Forest and has stated he was: "put on this earth to take care of Savernake and I will never let it go". He was due to benefit from the sale proceeds and would still own jointly with the trustees 3,700 acres, mainly woodland, in Savernake Forest. In 2017 he was able to remove both trustees from office, and restore his family’s income.

As of 2017, the house had been unoccupied since 2005. Plans were submitted in December 2017 to return the house, stables, outbuildings, and park to a family residence.

In popular culture

The house featured as the boys' school in the 1995 film A Feast at Midnight, starring Christopher Lee. In 2006, the band Radiohead recorded part of their 2007 album In Rainbows at the house. In 2013, the house and Savernake estate were used as the location for a short film commissioned by electronica pioneers Goldfrapp to promote the song 'Drew' from their album Tales of Us. Shot in black and white by film editor Lisa Gunning, the internal and external aspects of the house and surrounding forest feature extensively in the five-minute film. In 2015, the house featured in season 6 of the romantic-drama TV series, Downton Abbey. The house, in the show called Dryden Park, is the rather run-down estate of Sir Michael Reresby; Thomas Barrow visits Dryden Park in 1925 to interview for a job as a man servant.

References

^ Historic England. "Tottenham House and Savernake Forest (1000472)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
^ Stroud, Dorothy (1 October 1984). Capability Brown (5th ed.). Boston: Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571134052.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ Willis, Peter (1984). "Capability Brown's account with Drummonds Bank, 1753-1783". Architectural History, Volume 27: Design and Practice in British Architecture. 27: 382–391.
Tony Millett (12 September 2018). "Analysis: Tottenham House development – a win-win decision for Wiltshire Council". marlboroughnewsonline.
John Murray (1869). A Handbook for Travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire. John Murray. p. 46.
Frederic Madden; Bulkeley Bandinel; John Gough Nichols, eds. (1838). Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica. Vol. 5. p. 31.
Rudolf Wittkower, in Architectural Journal 102 1945, noted in Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840, 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington".
Colvin, "Boyle".
Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840, 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "Cundy, Thomas", "Wyatville, Sir Jeffry".
Weaver, Matt (9 March 2005). "On the pile". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
Historic England. "Tottenham House (1183809)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
Historic England. "Garden folly in Tottenham House deerpark (1300392)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
Historic England. "Stable Block to Tottenham House (1365488)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
Simon de Bruxelles, 'Penniless earl claims jobseeker's allowance after ex-wife's entire £1.5m estate goes to the children', The Times, March 07, 2013, No. 70826, p. 3
Mills, Richard (20 March 2017). "Earl of Cardigan wins High Court battle to oust Savernake Estate trustees". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
Hicks, Amber (27 January 2016). "Hotel dream 'still alive' for Tottenham House". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
"Earl of Cardigan loses appeal over sale of Tottenham House". BBC News. BBC. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
Davidson, Max (15 November 2014). "What's happening to Henry's houses?". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
^ Rayner, Gordon (17 October 2014). "Earl of Cardigan admits defeat in battle to keep ancestral home on Savernake estate". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
Mills, Richard (20 March 2017). "Earl of Cardigan wins High Court battle to oust Savernake Estate trustees". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
"Tottenham House & Estate: Vision Statement". Wiltshire Council – planning application 18/00195/LBC. December 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
"Planning application 18/00195/LBC". Wiltshire Council. December 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
A Feast at Midnight at IMDb
Kent, Nick (1 August 2006). "Ghost in the Machine". Mojo. pp. 74–77.

External links

Media related to Tottenham House at Wikimedia Commons 51°22′26″N 1°38′35″W / 51.374°N 1.643°W / 51.374; -1.643

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