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Trent Park

Coordinates:51°39′36″N0°08′04″W/ 51.66000°N 0.13444°W/51.66000; -0.13444
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For the photographer, seeTrent Parke.

Trent Park
Limes Avenue, Trent Park
Map
TypeEnglish country houseandcountry park
LocationCockfosters,London, UK
Coordinates51°39′36″N0°08′04″W/ 51.66000°N 0.13444°W/51.66000; -0.13444
Area320 hectares (3.2 km2)
Created14th century (as parkland)
Operated byLondon Borough of Enfield
StatusOpen all year
Public transit accessOakwoodandCockfosters

Trent Parkis anEnglish country house,together with its former extensive grounds, innorth London.The original great house and a number of statues and other structures located within the grounds (such as theOrangery) areGrade II listed buildings.The site is designated asMetropolitan Green Belt,lies within aconservation area,and is also included at grade II within theRegister of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.[1]

Until 2012, the house and adjacent buildings formed the Trent Park campus ofMiddlesex University.The campus was home to theperforming arts,teacher education,humanities,product design and engineering,television productionandbiological sciencedepartments of the university and the Flood Hazard Research Centre, but was vacated in October 2012.

The parkland extends to some 320 hectares (3.2 km2) and has been known as theTrent Country Parksince 1973. There is a sports ground in the park,Southgate Hockey Centre.There used to be an indoor tennis court that was attended by royalty. This became a sports hall when the building became a college of education.

The Trent Park site was purchased by a developer who received the necessary permits in October 2017 to build 262 residential units; the site will include a museum on the two lower floors of the mansion.[2]The university campus buildings were removed but the historic buildings, gardens and landscape were retained.[3]

History[edit]

Trent Park dates back to the fourteenth century when it was a part ofEnfield Chase,one ofHenry IV's hunting grounds. In 1777George IIIleased the site toSir Richard Jebb,his favourite doctor, as a reward for saving the life of the King's younger brother, the thenDuke of Gloucester.Jebb chose the name Trent, because it was inTrent,Italy, that the King's brother had been saved.[4]Jebb subsequently acquired the freehold interest in the house and on his death it was sold to Lord Cholmondeley.[5]

In about 1836 the house was bought by the bankerDavid Bevanfor his sonRobert Cooper Lee Bevanon his marriage to Lady Agneta Yorke. Robert Bevan builtChrist Church, Cockfostersin 1838 to provide a suitable place of worship for the district. In 1909 the estate was sold to Sir Edward Sassoon,[6]father ofPhilip Sassoon(cousin of the poetSiegfried Sassoon). Sir Philip Sassoon inherited the estate in 1912 upon his father's death[6]and went on to entertain many notable guests at Trent Park, includingCharlie ChaplinandWinston Churchill.

Trent Park House[edit]

Trent Park House

Sir Philip Sassoon had a reputation for being one of the greatest hosts in Britain.Herbert Bakerdesigned one house for him in 1912,Port Lympne,later thePort Lympne Wild Animal Park,in Kent, andPhilip Tildenlargely rebuilt another, Trent Park, from 1923.[7]

Stylistic differences between the two houses illustrate changes in taste among members of British high society of the period. Trent Park possessed a landscape designed byHumphry Reptonbut the existing house was Victorian and undistinguished. Sassoon had the Victorian additions demolished or altered, except for the west service wing, between 1926 and 1931. The projecting wings were added to the entrance (south) front. These modifications led to a large mansion in early-Georgian style.[8]It became one of the houses of the age, "a dream of another world – the white-coated footmen serving endless courses of rich but delicious food, theDuke of Yorkcoming in from golf...Winston Churchillarguing over the teacups withGeorge Bernard Shaw,Lord Balfourdozing in an armchair,Rex Whistlerabsorbed in his painting... while Philip himself flitted from group to group, an alert, watchful, influential but unobtrusive stage director – all set against a background of mingled luxury, simplicity and informality, brilliantly contrived... "[9]

The atmosphere, asClive Aslethas suggested, represented a complete about-face from Sassoon's earlier extravagance at Port Lympne to what Aslet called "an appreciation of English reserve."[10]In the words ofChristopher Hussey,at Trent, Sassoon caught "that indefinable and elusive quality, the spirit of a country house... an essence of cool, flowery, chintzy, elegant, unobtrusive rooms that rises in the mind when we are thinking of country houses."[11]

Second World War[edit]

German officers at Trent Park.
Back row from left to right: GeneralleutnantOtto Elfeldt,GeneralleutnantFerdinand Heim,GeneralmajorGerhard Bassenge
Front row from left to right: GeneralleutnantFriedrich Freiherr von Broich,General der PanzertruppeHeinrich Eberbach,GeneralleutnantGeorg Neuffer,Oberst Hans Reimann
Another photo of German officers at Trent Park.
Back row from left to right: General der InfanterieDietrich von Choltitz,OberstGerhard Wilck,General der FallschirmtruppeHermann-Bernhard Ramcke,GeneralmajorKnut Eberding,OberstEberhard Wildermuth
Front row from left to right: GeneralleutnantRüdiger von Heyking,GeneralleutnantKarl-Wilhelm von Schlieben,GeneralleutnantWilhelm Daser

Sir Philip Sassoon died in 1939 and the house was requisitioned by the government for use during theSecond World War.[8]Trent Park was used as a centre to extract information from capturedGermanofficers. During theBattle of Britainin 1940, capturedLuftwaffepilots were held initially at Trent Park. The rooms at Trent Park had been equipped withhidden microphonesthat allowed the British to listen in to the pilots' conversations. This provided information about the German pilots' views on a number of matters, including the relative strengths and weaknesses of German aircraft.[12]

Later in the war it was used as a specialprisoner-of-war camp(the 'Cockfosters Cage') for captured German generals and staff officers.[13]They were treated hospitably, provided with special rations of whisky and allowed regular walks on the grounds. The hidden 88A pressure microphones and listening devices allowed the British military (MI19) to gather important information and an intimate insight into the minds of the German military elite.[14]An example of the intelligence gained from Trent Park is the existence and location of the German rocket development atPeenemünde Army Research Center,when GeneralWilhelm Ritter von Thomadiscussed what he had seen there. This led to the area being attacked by Bomber Command inOperation Hydra.Intelligence was also gained on war crimes, political views, and theresistance in Germanythat led to the20 July plotagainst Hitler. Eighty-four generals and a number of lower-ranking staff officers were brought to Trent Park.

More than 1,300 protocols were written by the time the war ended; a selection of these was published in English in 2007 under the titleTapping Hitler's Generals.[15][16]Selected transcripts were dramatised in the 2008History Channel5-part seriesThe Wehrmacht.In the episodeThe Crimes,GeneralDietrich von Choltitzis quoted as saying in October 1944,

We all share the guilt. We went along with everything, and we half-took the Nazis seriously, instead of saying 'to hell with you and your stupid nonsense'. I misled my soldiers into believing this rubbish. I feel utterly ashamed of myself. Perhaps we bear even more guilt than these uneducated animals. (This in apparent reference to Hitler and his supporting Nazi Party members.)[17]

The transcripts from Trent Park are also included in the 2011 bookSoldaten – On Fighting, Killing, and Dying: The Secret Second World War Tapes of German POWsby historianSönke Neitzeland social psychologistHarald Welzer.In its review of the book,Der Spiegelreports:

Many Wehrmacht soldiers became witnesses to the Holocaust because they happened to be present or were invited to take part in a mass shooting. In one cell conversation, army GeneralEdwin Graf von Rothkirch und Trachtalks about his time in the Polish town ofKutno:

I knew an SS leader pretty well, and we talked about this and that, and one day he said: 'Listen, if you ever want to film one of these shootings?... I mean, it doesn't really matter. These people are always shot in the morning. If you're interested, we still have a few left over, and we could also shoot them in the afternoon if you like.

It takes some sense of routine to be able to make such an offer. The fact that the people involved did not try to keep their activities a secret demonstrates how much the perpetrators took for granted the "mass shootings of Jews", as one of thePOWsin Trent Park called it.[18]

Franz von Werrawas also interrogated at Trent Park.

College conversion[edit]

Former buildings ofMiddlesex Universityadjacent to Trent Park House.

In 1947 the estate became a Ministry of Education emergency training college for male teachers, then in 1950 it became Trent Park Training College, a constituent college of the University of London, Institute of Education a residential, co-educational training college. During the period as a college, famous alumni included Mike Figgis ( film director), David Hepworth (writer and broadcaster) and Christopher Rogers (master brewer).[19]In 1951 the entire estate was compulsorily purchased by Middlesex County Council asGreen Beltland. In 1965 the Greater London Council took over the administration of the park and the London Borough of Enfield took over the college. Trent Country Park was opened to the public in 1973.[8]

Trent Park Training College became part of MiddlesexPolytechnicin 1974, which itself becameMiddlesex Universityin 1992. The university'sVice-Chancellorwas provided with a residence within the park. Though not so grand as the main house, this nevertheless boasted several small private gardens including a rose garden.

In the mid-1990s, Middlesex University and Southgate Sports and Leisure Trust (SSLT) reached agreement to develop the dilapidated university sports ground. In 1997–8 SSLT built a clubhouse and two artificial grass pitches on the site, which was opened in March 1998 asSouthgate Hockey Centre.It is home toSouthgate Hockey Club,and provides sports and social facilities to the local community. Middlesex University vacated the Trent Park site in October 2012,[20]and in 2013 it was bought by Malaysia'sAllianze University College of Medical Sciences(AUCMS) for £30 million,[21]but the buildings were never developed and the college closed in 2014. The house and 50 acres of grounds were sold to Berkeley Housing Group in September 2015.[22][23]Campaigners wanted a museum opened in the house and were lobbying to ensure that this would become part of the official plan; the Trent Park Museum Trust was successful in this effort.[24][2]

Redevelopment[edit]

Building of a new housing community began in late 2017, to eventually include 262 homes and flats. Some of the heritage buildings were to be re-purposed into luxury apartments; the plan included a museum on the two lower floors of the mansion, expected to open in 2020.[25]The Middlesex University buildings were removed. Renovation of the mansion was expected to commence before the end of 2019. Landscape restoration on the North Lawn and on the south side of the lake was under way in 2019; a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) was being installed in Trent Park. Other landscape work for the park was included in the plan. The former dairy in the park was being converted into apartments, each with a garden or terrace. Woburn Cottage was to be demolished, with the new building to house a gym; an outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts were to be added.[26][27]

Country Park[edit]

The main entrance to Trent Country Park.

In 1973 Trent Park was opened to the public as a country park, which at that time surrounded the university buildings and is 320 hectares in area.[28]

For some years, country park included publicly accessible countryside, farmland, agolf courseand an equestrian centre. Some of the grounds were attractively landscaped byHumphry Reptonin the English manner (some also attribute the work ofCapability Brown). Features of the original landscaping that can still be seen include an impressive avenue oflime trees,an obelisk, ornamental lakes and a water garden. The water garden was renovated in the 1990s by park ranger Arthur Newson.

Reports in summer 2019 indicated that Trent Country Park features included the cricket fields and the animal sanctuary (Wildlife Rescue Centre); the site included a Go Ape, a Country Club, a cafe in the main parking area and a children's playground with new equipment.[29][30]The Waymark Trails were ready for use by mid-June.[31]The Friends of Trent Park made a brochure with map available for free download.[32]

Camlet Moat[edit]

Camlet Moat

Within the country park, close to the Hadley Road entrance, is a small moated isle known as Camlet Moat. The name has been abbreviated over the years from "Camelot",[33]and it first appeared in local records in 1440.[34]

The moat is protected under the Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Areas Act 1979. A survey of the area conducted between 1956 and 1958 attributes the site as the seat of habitation ofGeoffrey de Mandevilleduring the reign ofWilliam the Conqueror.[35]A 2019 report states that the "earliest documented reference to this site comes from the 14th century. There is also a documented fact that in May 1439 instructions were given to demolish the 'Manor of Camelot', suggesting there was a building on the site".[36]Another source indicates that a lodge was located on this site, and demolished in 1429 and the materials sold to help pay for repairs to Hertford Castle.[34]

SirPhilip Sassoonconducted excavations in the 1920s and was reported to have found oak beams which formed the basis of a drawbridge, Roman shoes and daggers as well as mosaic tiles depicting a knight. The walls and foundations of a large stone building were also found.English Heritagerefilled the excavations in 1999.[37]

The Historic England site states that the moat area was said to be a haunt ofDick Turpinin the 1700s.[8]

In fiction[edit]

The exterior of the house was used as the location for scenes in the 1957 filmThe One That Got Away.[38]

Trent Park was used as the location for scenes set in and around a boys' boarding school in the 1983Doctor Whostory, "Mawdryn Undead",featuringPeter Davisonas the Fifth Doctor.[39]

See also[edit]

  • Trent Park Cemetery
  • Farm Hall,a similarly bugged facility where German scientists were detained after the war to glean evidence of the Nazi nuclear programme
  • P. O. Box 1142A similar U.S. facility for interrogating Nazi officers and scientists during World War II.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Trent Park".Historic England.Retrieved28 April2022.
  2. ^ab"Trent Park Mansion - The Future".
  3. ^"Trent Park Historic Estate Transforming into Residential Community".Purcell. 1 March 2016.Retrieved3 August2019.
  4. ^Mills. A. D.Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names(2001) p230ISBN0-19-860957-4Retrieved 21 October 2008
  5. ^Christ Church Cockfosters: 125 years.Franey & Co., London, c. 1964. p. 5.
  6. ^abHistoric England."TRENT PARK, Enfield (1000484)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved3 March2019.
  7. ^Lilium (18 November 2020)."Philip Sassoon - Muses & the Beau Monde".Liliums-compendium.Retrieved28 December2023.
  8. ^abcd"TRENT PARK, Enfield - 1000484 | Historic England".historicengland.org.uk.
  9. ^Robert Boothby.I Fight to Live(1947)GollanczLondon
  10. ^Clive Aslet.The Last Country Houses(1982) Yale University Press New Haven and LondonISBN0-300-03474-1
  11. ^Christopher HusseyCountry Lifearticle, 17 January 1931 issue, pp. 66-7
  12. ^Holland, James, "The Battle of Britain: the Real Story", BBC Two, 2010
  13. ^"PRISONERS OF WAR SECTION | The National Archives".Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk.Retrieved18 November2015.
  14. ^"M Room Tech".thesecretlisteners.com.Retrieved7 January2024.
  15. ^Neitzel, Sonkeed.; Tapping Hitler's Generals: Transcripts of Secret Conversations, 1942–1945, London: Frontline, 2007
  16. ^"BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Drama, Listening to the Generals".Bbc.co.uk. 16 June 2010.Retrieved18 November2015.
  17. ^the original words were: "Ich habe meine Soldaten verführt, an diesen Mist zu glauben, habe die Bevölkerung, die das Offizierskorps noch als etwas Würdiges sah, veranlasst, auch ohne Überlegung mitzumachen. Ich fühle mich auf dasÄußerstebeschämt! Vielleicht sind wir viel mehr schuld als dieses ungebildete Viehzeugs, was ja sowieso sein ganzes Leben lang nichts anderes hört. "Quoted bySönke Neitzel(2005):Abgehört. Deutsche Generäle in britischer Kriegsgefangenschaft 1942-1945,p. 54
  18. ^Jan Fleischhauer (April 08, 2011),"Rape, Murder and Genocide: Nazi War Crimes as Described by German Soldiers".Der Spiegel.Retrieved on 9 November 2015
  19. ^"Trent Park - History of Trent Park - Enfield Council".Enfield.gov.uk. 31 July 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 18 November 2015.Retrieved18 November2015.
  20. ^[1]Archived23 May 2012 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^"Former university buildings bought for £30 million. (From Enfield Independent)".Enfieldindependent.co.uk. 23 August 2013.Retrieved18 November2015.
  22. ^"Housebuilder Berkeley poised to acquire Trent Park mansion site".Digitallook.com. 15 September 2015.Retrieved18 November2015.
  23. ^"Trent Park mansion to be sold to housing group (From Enfield Independent)".Enfieldindependent.co.uk. 15 September 2015.Retrieved18 November2015.
  24. ^"London Then & Now: Explore the Capital's Architecture Old & New with Patchwork London | The London Resident".www.theresident.co.uk.
  25. ^"Good-value family homes and top schools galore in this north London suburb".Homes and Property.12 November 2018.
  26. ^"An update from Berkeley about construction, great crested newts, daffodils and more..."11 March 2019.
  27. ^"Apartments for sale in north London mansion where Royals once partied".Homes and Property.25 June 2019.
  28. ^"Parks & Gardens UK, Trent Park, Enfield, England".web page.Parks & Gardens Data Services Ltd. 15 August 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 26 February 2012.Retrieved13 March2010.
  29. ^Skoulding, Lucy (8 June 2019)."13 things to do for under £5 in and around Enfield".MyLondon.Retrieved24 January2021.
  30. ^"New playground equipment coming!".11 June 2019.
  31. ^"Walk the trails and explore!".17 June 2019.
  32. ^"Trent Park Map".
  33. ^D Amery, Saxon Enfield: The Place Name Evidence, Edmonton Hundred Historical Society 2000
  34. ^abCridland, James (18 October 2008)."Camlet Moat | Flickr - Photo Sharing!".Flickr.Retrieved18 November2015.
  35. ^David Pam,The History of Enfield Chase,Enfield Preservation Society,1984.ISBN0907318037
  36. ^https://friendsoftrentcountrypark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/TRENT-COUNTRY-PARK-MAP-BROCHURE-EDITV2.pdf,Trent Park brochure
  37. ^Street, C.E. (2011).London City of Revelation.Hermitage Publishing, London. p. 23.ISBN978-0-9515967-5-3.Retrieved24 January2021.
  38. ^"The One That Got Away".Reel Streets.Retrieved10 October2016.
  39. ^"Trent Park: Obelisk".The Locations Guide to Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.Retrieved28 April2018.

Sources[edit]

  • Audrey Nona Gamble,A History of the Bevan Family,London, 1924, ASIN: B00089UYZ4

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toTrent Park: country park.
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