• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Danesbury Fernery

Researching and Restoring the Danesbury Victorian Fernery

  • Who we are.
  • Where we are
  • News
  • Notices
  • Reports
    • Work Parties
    • Visits
  • Garden and Gardening
    • Design Objectives
    • Planting Record
      • Planting Record – trees, shrubs and flowers
      • Wild Flower Planting Record
    • Garden News
  • Research
    • Geology
    • The Gardener
      • Anthony Parsons
    • British Pteridological Society
      • Ferns
    • Danesbury House and Families
  • Calendar
    • Index
      • Ferns – Index
      • Planting Index
      • Wild Flower Index
      • Geology
    • FODF
  • Contacts
  • Galleries
    • Victorian Fernery
      • Excavation – stages
      • Garden Restoration – stages
      • Ferns
      • Wild Flowers – Planted
    • Local Nature Reserve
      • Butterflies/Invertebrates
      • Fungi
      • Wild Flowers – Nature Reserve
  • Links
  • Funding
You are here: Home / 2017 / Archives for July 2017

Archives for July 2017

Introducing Danesbury

19th July 2017 By John Roper Leave a Comment

THE HOUSE

Location

Danesbury House and the Danesbury Park estate is to the North of Welwyn Village in Hertfordshire, UK, about 40 kms North of London.

Background reading

A definitive account of the history of Danesbury has been researched by local historian Gordon Longmead in his book: The History of Danesbury, the House and its Lands¹ which should be required reading for any student of the history of Danesbury.

Gordon’s book provides a fascinating and detailed account of the peoples who lived in and around Danesbury in the pre-Roman period, long before the House was built in 1776, and chronicles its subsequent transitions of ownership and family residency, its use through two World Wars, its ultimate use as a long stay Hospital in the grounds of which Welwyn village used to hold annual Summer Fetes, to the present time when after a period of dereliction, it has been restored and converted to apartments, with Mews Houses at the rear where hospital wards used to be sited.

Danesbury House was originally named St Johns Lodge, and was built in 1776 by Mary St John wife of Captain the Hon. Henry St John. He was killed in action against the French in 1780, and Mary died in 1784.

William and Mary Blake rented the house in 1819 for their out of town residence (they lived in Portland Place when in London) and finally bought St John’s Lodge at Christmas 1824, renaming it Danesbury House. William Blake was a banker and water colourist.

1916 Major Fire Damage – Photo by Bishop – by permission Howard Hill, Welwyn

At that time the estate comprised some 500 acres of countryside.

The House itself suffered a catastrophic fire in 1916 requiring a major structural rebuild ² but it has remained largely unaltered since then.

In 1964 some of Danesbury Park land was sold to developers who built the Danesbury Housing Estate,  which was further extended in 1985. At this later time, in 1985, the remaining land on Danesbury Park,  (some 32 acres) was acquired by the (then) Welwyn Hatfield District Council for agricultural purposes.

In 1993, facing the costs of major buildings repair,  Danesbury Hospital moved out to new premises on the land of the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in School Lane, Welwyn. Danesbury House then became derelict until 1998, when it was restored and developed into apartments, with mews houses at the rear where the Hospital wards had once been sited.

In 1998 the land which had been acquired by the (now) Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council was designated a Local Nature Reserve, comprising two main fields: the ‘Park Field’ in the West from the B656 Codicote Road, to the (North Ride) entrance to Danesbury House, and the ‘Fernery Field’, or simply ‘The Motorway Field’, to the East from Danesbury House and Danesbury Park Road to the A1(M) Motorway.

THE FAMILIES

The Blakes were the third owners of Danesbury, and it was William John Blake, son of William Blake, who in 1859 directed their Head Gardener, Anthony Parsons, to build a Fernery. It was completed in 1860 and later gained wide acclaim.

The Blakes moved out of Danesbury in 1902 and after renting it out, eventually sold the house in 1919 to the Dewar family, of the Scotch Whisky connection. The Dewars were destined to be the last family to live there.

The Dewars moved out in 1937 and in 1939 the House became a TB Hospital. Danesbury Park itself was requisitioned by the Army in 1943 and operated as a Command Bakery run by the Royal Army Service Corps.

In 1944 the Dewars, the last family to live in Danesbury, sold the estate to the Barnet (Hospital) Management Group and the House became home for long stay hospital patients.

 

¹ Published in 1999 by New Concept Publishing, Welwyn

² The History of Danesbury, the House and its Lands, p. 17.

³ The Gardeners’ Chronicle 1881, January 1st, p.22

Filed Under: Danesbury House and Families, News

Primary Sidebar

Earlier News

Danesbury Fernery Closed until 30th January 2021

Resulting from the recent extremely wet weather the Fernery Paths have … [Read More...] about Danesbury Fernery Closed until 30th January 2021

Work Parties re-commence

The Borough Council have given us permission to re-commence Work Parties on the … [Read More...] about Work Parties re-commence

A Time to Reflect

The Talking has to stop! On Thursday 5th March 2020 John and Colin gave a … [Read More...] about A Time to Reflect

Archives

  • January 2021 (1)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (3)
  • February 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (3)
  • November 2019 (6)
  • October 2019 (1)
  • September 2019 (5)
  • August 2019 (3)
  • July 2019 (5)
  • June 2019 (2)
  • May 2019 (5)
  • April 2019 (6)
  • March 2019 (8)
  • February 2019 (7)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (4)
  • November 2018 (7)
  • October 2018 (4)
  • September 2018 (3)
  • August 2018 (4)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (3)
  • May 2018 (4)
  • April 2018 (5)
  • March 2018 (5)
  • February 2018 (3)
  • January 2018 (2)
  • December 2017 (3)
  • November 2017 (4)
  • October 2017 (3)
  • September 2017 (7)
  • August 2017 (2)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • Full Archive

Follow Us Online

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 Friends of Danesbury Local Nature Reserve. Non attributed Photography by John Roper.