Chippenham Hall & Park

History of Chippenham Park

Listed Building

Country House, built about 1886, Queen Anne revival, for William Montague Tharp on the original site of the early C17 mansion and incorporating the fabric of two later C17 and C18 houses. Architect unknown.

Dovecote, C18 recently restored.

Matching pair of Neo Classical lodges and gateway c.1745 built for Lord Sandys.

Matching pair of Neo-Classical lodges flanking gateways c.1794-8 built by James Wyatt (b.1746-d.1813) for John Tharp who purchased the Park in 1791.

Stable block, late C17, built by Edward Russell (b.1653-d.1727) later Lord Orford. … The house was visited by Ceilia Fiennes in 1698 and the clock tower is graphically described in her journal.

In 2024 the Cambridgeshire Archives Service published this note online:

John Tharp (1744-1804) was owner of Chippenham Park when he acquired the house and gardens in 1791. But perhaps he is better known as owner of sugar plantations in the West Indies.  In fact, Tharp is considered the largest individual slave owner in Jamaica during the 18th century.  His business empire was based on the exploitation of slave labour and an indication of the size of his sugar empire is given by the 2,800 slaves who worked his land by the end of his life. He used some of his profits to purchase estates in England with the best-known being Chippenham Park.  However, perhaps what is little-known is his illegitimate daughter Mary Hyde Tharp whom he fathered with one of his female slaves named Hannah Phillips.  Mary was born (and baptised) in Trelawney.  Rather than being one of many children fathered by a slave master and left to the same fate as their mother, Mary was loved by Tharp and allegedly became his favourite child.  Mary was sent to England for a British upbringing and whilst her father was overseas, she was taken care by the family at Chippenham Park.  In 1802 Mary married Robert Hayward a successful businessman from the adjacent parish of Fordham.  They had one daughter named Mary Ann.  After the death of Robert (1830), Mary married Robert Dix (1834).   Mary became a widow and was a very wealthy woman. Upon her death in 1864 her legacy was about £4000 which is worth nearly £300,000 in today’s money.  The value was bequeathed to her son-in-law, Tansley Hall, as Mary Ann had already died.   

Between 1940 and 1946 Chippenham park was used as a camp for the army as well as Polish refugees, while the west wing of Chippenham Hall was a maternity hospital 1940 – 1941.

Units known to have been based at the park include:

23rd Hussars, 1942 – 1943

2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 1942 -1944

50th Training Battalion Durham Light Infantry