A HISTORY OF
COKETHORPE PARK
The Cokethorpe estate has seen many changes through the years from the medieval buildings which formed the estate in the 13th Century. The small chapel which stands alone in the grounds some distance from the Mansion almost certainly predates the buildings which stood on the site of the present Mansion, and probably formed the nucleus of a small village which was wiped out by the Black Death. The earliest mention of the Church is in the Saxon Charter of 958 AD when it was referred to as ‘The old Church, Eastleigh’. The church tower is a typical example of the period as the old Saxon windows are unlikely to have been inset into a new tower so it is possible the original tower is still standing today. The old Church mentioned in the Saxon charter was likely made of wood, except for the tower, with the remainder of the current building built in the 13th Century.
The Cokethorpe estate consisted of a large 18th Century house in a sweeping parkland setting, a medieval church two hundred metres away to the east, a 19th Century Home Farm four hundred metres north of the house and a Georgian gothic fishing lodge by the river on the far side of the A415. The parkland immediately around the house, together with the stable block to the west and the ha-ha which divides the park from the gardens probably all date from about 1770, when a wealthy East India merchant, Maximilian Western, modernised his new estate. He may have swept away the last houses of the village between church and house. Earlier in the 18th Century Lord Chancellor Simon Harcourt had probably laid out fine formal gardens, most likely on the north front. These were now out of fashion and were swept away everywhere in the later part of the Century. The manor-house of Tudor and Stuart times no doubt had small walled gardens and orchard.
The early manor-house was probably beside the church. The later manor-house spanning Tudor and Stuart times would have been just to the east of the current building, the foundations lie beneath the gravelled forecourt just outside the front door. The old manor-house was extended by Lord Harcourt, bringing it closer to the round house. After his death, the old building was torn down by the new owner, Maximilian Western, and the current frontage built in around 1770. The current Mansion House certainly includes some parts which are very old, and it is thought that the ha-ha to the south of the main lawn may well have been a Saxon ditch built as a fortification before it was turned into an ornamental structure.
Cokethorpe Park in the 18th Century
After the building of the current Mansion House, Lord Harcourt was visited by Queen Anne who presented him with the panelling for the Corinthian Room. In 1913 a fire destroyed the front of the house and the Queen Anne panelling was lost, it was restored a few years later. The stone fireplace in the entrance hall is dated MCMXIII for 1913, the Sicilian grey marble fireplace in the Corinthian room appears to be the original fireplace. It wasn’t until the estate passed to Simon Harcourt, Chancellor to Queen Anne, in 1709 that there was The house has been used once before as a school towards the end of any significant change to the buildings and the the 19th century when it was owned by the Strickland family. Until her mansion was largely rebuilt. The house played host death in 1892, Catherine Strickland ran a small school in the library for to many famous literary and political figures of the local children. Catherine is also responsible for the North Aisle in the day including Pope, Gay, Prior and Swift. Queen chapel which she built in 1874 as a memoriam for her late husband. Anne herself visited in 1713 and gave the impressive panelling in the Corinthian Room. There is nothing left to see of the Library over the Corinthian Room. It was stripped out and turned into dormitories and is now used as classrooms. The current school was established on the site in 1957 by Dr Francis Brown.
The courtyard has changed from a place for horses and ostlers to something approaching a college quadrangle. The old buildings, however, remain much the same as they were when the celebrated English novelist, diarist and playwright, Fanny Burney, visited Cokethorpe in 1773: ‘Her mud-spattered carriage clattered in on a dark October night in 1773. The house was shuttered, dark and very melancholy and appeared deserted’. Finally an old shepherd was roused who informed them that the Master and Mistress were away and Fanny returned to Witney through mud ‘three feet deep’ to spend the night.
The basic layout of the medieval courtyard is still evident. The Round House is reputed to date from the 14th Century and is variously referred to as an old granary, an ice house, dovecote and a game larder. A single fragment of a grand late medieval house remains as an elaborately moulded beam re-used inside the round house.
The grounds previously contained an ornamental maze of clipped box hedge, a large orchard bordered by a thick hedge and a ‘Ladies Garden’ complete with goldfish pond and dovecote.
The estate passed through many owners, some of whom met unpleasant ends. The Lovell family owned the estate in medieval times; Lord Francis Lovell escaped from Bosworth Field in 1485. His fate is unknown after he disappeared following the final defeat of the Yorkists at the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487. However, it is speculated that his body was that of a figure found walled up at nearby Minster Lovell Hall some years later. Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal, was beheaded in 1535; on his execution the title and estate reverted to the Crown. The lands were then granted to Henry Norreys who also lost his head after allegedly having an affair with Anne Boleyn.
Cokethorpe School was founded in 1957 as a boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18. The School became co-educational with the introduction of girls in 1992, and in 1994 the Prep School was established as the Junior Department. Boarding ended at the School in 2003 which also saw the completion of building work for the Library and additional classrooms in the Upper Quad. Cokethorpe continues to evolve with the opening of the Pavilion in 2022 marking the beginning of a decade of transformational change at the School. From a major new Science Centre, with ten spacious teaching and lab rooms, to investment in Arts, Humanities and Sports, our development plans will further enhance the Cokethorpe experience for current, and future, Cokethorpeans.
Information gathered from: Cartland, J. B. (1963) The History of Cokethorpe Sturdy, D. (1986) Cokethorpe Park, its history and architecture Upton Cheney, A. (no date) Cokethorpe 1908 an extract from an unpublished autobiography Anon (c.1976) an account of Cokethorpe School titled ‘Wilkinson’ found in the School archives
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