Stubbers was a stately home in North Ockendon, Essex, England. The house was demolished in 1955 and the grounds became the Stubbers Activity Centre in 2011.
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History
editThe earliest reference to the estate subsequently known as Stubbers was in 1334. The name comes from William Stubber who owned the house in the 15th century.[1] In the early 17th century it was the home of William Coys, a well known botanist, who established a walled garden that subsequently provided plants for the establishment of Kew Gardens.[2] The garden contained 342 plant species and in 1604 a yucca plant bloomed there, for the first time in England.[3] In the book Early English Botanists Coys is attributed with compiling a list of his plants for John Goodyer of Hampshire, this being described as the oldest known list of plants from an English garden giving their scientific names.[4]
In 1689, the estate was bought by Sir William Russell, a London draper who included King Charles II among his acquaintances.[4] Stubbers remained in the Russel family for nearly 300 years, and Humphry Repton was commissioned to suggest how the gardens could be landscaped for which he produced a "Red Book".[5] On Repton's advice, the Coys garden was removed.[6] Writing in 1951, before the house was demolished, Glynn Morgan described the southern facade as "attractive".[7] To the east of the house was a dovecote with 662 nesting boxes.
Current usage
edit
The house was demolished in 1955 and the grounds are now the site of an activity centre.[8] In August 2011, it was announced that Havering Council had agreed to sell the land to the activity centre.[9]
Notes
edit- ^ Body, Val (1989). Stubbers: A Short History. Havering Libraries.
- ^ Smith, RG (1989). Stubbers: The Walled Garden.
- ^ Pavord, Anna (2005). The Naming of Names. Bloomsbury. p. 327. ISBN 9781596910713.
- ^ a b Addison, William (1949). Essex Heyday. London: J.M. Dent & Sons. pp. 293–295.
- ^ Russell, Mary. "Stubbers, North Ockendon". Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society. Vol. XXL.
- ^ Kenworthy-Brown, John (1981). Burke's and Savills Guide to Country Houses, Vol III. Burke's Peerage. p. 74.
- ^ Morgan, Glyn (1951). Forgotten Thameside. Thames Bank Publishing. p. 113.
- ^ Activity Centre web site
- ^ Announcement of purchase