The Elvetham Hotel - Domesday, Royalty and WW1

I don’t know about you, but I hadn’t really thought of hotels having a history. I’d always just taken them for what they were until that is, I encountered the Elvetham Hotel in Hartley Witney. It’s very local to me and yet it wasn’t until last year that I paid it a visit. I was surprised to learn that the location is steeped in history; a fact very proudly displayed and one visitor’s are informed about through a leaflet available at reception.  

As you approach this rather imposing building you can almost sense that this place has a rather colourful history. It dates right back to the 11^th century when Elvetham is first mentioned in the Domesday Book where it’s rent is recorded as 30 shillings a year, with enough woodland to support ten swine – or pigs to you and me! At this time the village would have continue to grow around the church and Manor House, the peasants living an agriculture lifestyle and fully dependent on the land. However in 1403, King Henry IV granted a license to make Elvetham a 300 acre enclosed park, forcing the peasants to relocate beyond the perimeter.

It is the next phase in the history of Elvetham that I found most interesting though, for in 1426 Elvetham Hall became the residence of the Seymour family – Jane Seymour of course, being one of Henry VIII’s 6 wives. During this period the Hall began to host the upper echelons of society, including at one time King Henry VIII himself who was entertained by Jane’s brother, Edward Seymour, at various points in 1535 and it’s during the course of these visits that it is believed Jane first met Henry, paving the way for their future marriage.

The links to royalty don’t stop here however, for Edward’s son also called Edward, Earl of Hertford, inherited the property. Edward was to go on to marry Catherine Grey, the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, must to the distain of Queen Elizabeth I, who when she heard of their marriage, sent both to the Tower of London in an act of fury. Both were eventually released, although not together, and returned to Elvetham, Catherine dying shortly after her release in 1567.

In 1591, in order to regain the favour of the Queen and to have his children legitimised, Edward Seymour invited Queen Elizabeth and her entourage of 500 to Elvetham and laid on lavish entertainments that lasted four days. This included the erection of large pavilions to accommodate the court and also the re-landscaping of the grounds to include a huge crescent shaped lake, around which the entertainment was centred. But even more impressive, guests to the hotel are also informed of how William Shakespeare was ‘commissioned to write poems known as the Elvetham Entertainments’ and how ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream is thought to have had its first performance here’. I mean, what a connection?! To think that this quaint little hotel just up the road has hosted royalty and possibly Shakespeare – that’s a pretty cool fact don’t you think?

Furthermore, a reminder of this fantastic event still exists thanks to Queen Elizabeth I, who planted an oak tree to commemorate her visit. Amazingly the tree still stands and is now more than 32 feet in circumference!

Unfortunately the original hall burnt down in 1840 but it was quickly replaced by Frederick, 4^th Baron Calthorpe, who bought the land and commissioned architect Samuel Sander Teulon to rebuild on the site. Teulon was heavily influenced by ecclesiastical architectural accounting for the religious feel to the property modern guests will experience, especially that evoked by the stained glass windows and ornate fire places.

There is also a church on the site, St Mary’s, which the leaflets informs us was built in 1840. This surprised me when I read it for I would have dated it much earlier, a fact I think would please the original architect for he apparently designed it to look like a 12^th century Norman church – he had me fooled! However, I did a bit of further research and there seems to be conflicting information, other sources dating it to the 13^th century – odd! In fact the majority of other sources date the church much earlier and place it as the original village church of Hartley Witney; hence it is the location of the village War memorial, which was restored in 2012. The church has since been deconsecrated and has fallen into ruin somewhat and at the time I couldn’t understand why the memorial would have been placed here. However, it makes sense if the church is in fact associated with the earlier history of the village. How odd though to have the date of a church conflicting?

I think this is just another element that makes the Hotel an interesting place to visit as a source of local history. I called my blog ispyhistory because history is all around us and we can find it in the most unlikely places and this was one of those times that I really didn’t expect to find such an interesting historical tale just a few miles up the road.