Wrest Park

I interrupted my return journey home with a short detour to Wrest Park. Having signed up to membership of English Heritage, I had flicked through the handbook and was surprised to find this place just 5 miles off my usual route.

It’s a fascinating place - a slice of France in Bedfordshire. The house could be a chateau, many of the buildings in the large garden could be French, and the beautiful gardens likewise. From the early 13th century up to the early 20th century Wrest Park was the home of the de Grey family.

English Heritage have had it since 2006. It was the first country house to be used as a hospital during the First World War, and was then bought by a brewing and mining magnate. After the Second World War the government bought it from Sun Insurance (it was their HQ from 1939), leasing it to the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering (later the Silsoe Research Institute, which closed in 2006). As well as the house and gardens there are other more modern buildings to one side of the house, which are now leased as offices and facilities to all sorts of businesses. This is as out of town a location as could be imagined.

I took rather a lot of photos, I’ve added two as extras. It’s a place I’ll return to.