Brinkworth House

A Short History

The land on which Brinkworth House now stands was mentioned in the Doomsday Survey in 1086 as being owned by Malmesbury Abbey. This continued until 1584 when it became the property of Thomas Howard, who was to become first Earl of Suffolk and first Baron Howard de Walden. The Earl’s family lived at Charlton Park. Ultimately in the 19th century, to satisfy the then Earl’s gambling debts, the land was sold to William Potter, a farmer, for grazing.

The house itself was constructed between 1871 and 1881 and was known as Clitchbury House in the ownership of Robert Beardsley, aged 30, an Army Captain in the Fifth Dragoons whose wife was a daughter of the 4th Marquess of Waterford. The Marquess’ son William de la Poer Beresford, a Colonel in the 9th Lancers and a visitor to the house, was awarded the Victoria Cross at the battle of Ulundi fought against the Zulus on 4 July 1879. Another son and visitor, Charles Beresford, was a courtier of great charm –he was devoted and some say even in love with Edward VII’s beautiful wife Alexandra. By all accounts he disliked the King and upon receiving an invitation to dine at the Palace wrote back “Sorry, can’t make it. Lie to follow by post.”

In 1888 the house was acquired by Thomas Wijuelin, a man of private means, his wife and six children. Little is known about them but the children having been born variously in London, Wales, Surrey, Hampshire and Gloucestershire it seems the family never stayed long in one place and in 1894 sold the house to a London solicitor, Frank Day and his wife. Again we know little about this family other than their generosity to the Church Restoration Fund to which in November 1902 he donated £10, equivalent to about £565 today. Following his death Mrs. Day sold the house to Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart who has sometimes been called ‘one of the bravest men who ever lived’. His exploits are too numerous to mention in full but some of them include joining Paget’s Horse, a Yeomanry unit in South Africa fighting the Boers where he was severely wounded and Aide decamp to the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa. He followed this by joining a succession of regiments during which time he was severely injured on eight occasions, lost an eye and his left hand and was awarded the Victoria Cross after the battle of the Somme. He was leader of the British Military Mission to Poland, was shot down in Yugoslavia and became an Italian prisoner of war. On his return to England Winston Churchill appointed him as his personal representative in China and after several other appointments he retired in England in 1946 having broken his back en route home. He was married twice and had two daughters by his first marriage. He died in County Cork in 1963 aged 83. With his black eye patch and empty sleeve he had in his lifetime become a figure of legend.

In 1919 he had sold Brinkworth House to Major Noel Campbell. Again little is known about the Major. He did not stay long and in June 1922 the House was put up for auction “At the low upset Price of £3,000” (£100,000 today). At this time the House had three storeys and was substantially different from the building today. It was purchased by a Mr. Basil Turner, a former army captain who bred hunting dogs and was a pioneer motorist. During the war years and just after there are no records for the House but by 1949 it had been sold to Major George William Murray-Smith, his wife and daughter. He won the D.S.O. in 1942 having served in the Middle East, Burma and Italy.

In 1954 he sold the house to Mrs. Pamela Scarlett-Streatfield who lived here with her husband Commander Norman John Scarlett-Streatfield and their five children. During the war the Commander served in H.M.S. Glorious and H.M.S. Illustrious, became a prisoner of war and after taking up various naval appointments retired in 1958. His wife sold the house to Anthony Richard Fitch and his wife Margaret. The Fitches divided up the estate, selling the old coach house and two cottages. In 1989 they sold the house to John Peter Millward of the JPI Group who converted the premises to use as a corporate headquarters building.

In February 1997 the House was acquired by Ken and Barbara Cooper who after extensive refurbishment have converted it to a business and events centre and who have many plans and ideas for the continued improvement of the House and grounds.