THE DURDANS, EPSOM

The Durdans is a large house situated in Chalk Lane Epsom, between Woodcote and Epsom Downs. There have been a succession of houses on this site, and it is fortunate that at least three paintings exist which show predecessors to the present building.

In 1617 Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley bought a "messuage, with a dovecote, two gardens, two orchards and 12 acres of land with meadow, pasture and wood" from Sir William Mynne of Horton, which is believed to be Durdans.¹ Elizabeth's daughter Theophilia, wife of Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Coke, inherited Durdans in 1634/35. The house was not considered to be particularly distinguished. A painting by Jacob Knyff in 1673, which now hangs in Berkeley Castle, shows what this house was like. It was built on an H-shaped plan with substantial bay windows on the gabled outer wings. It also had gabled window bays each side of the entrance. On the right hand side of the house there was a classical, single storey long gallery which projected beyond the house by four tall windows, to the forecourt. Beyond the forecourt was a moat. The gallery had a flat roof with a balustrade and was a very advanced architectural style for the time. The Hearth Tax returns of 1664 and 1673 record that the house had 29 hearths.

There is evidence that the painting was not commissioned to mark the completion of the long gallery as was often the case. An agreement dated 1639 between Sir Robert Coke and Jerome Reed, a London plumber, which is also in Berkeley Castle, refers to the addition as a "great hall or new room".

The fashionable court-style gardens were laid out at the same time and can also be seen in Knyff's painting. John Harris² suggested that they might have been designed by Isaac de Kaus. There was a quadripartite parterre* with a fountain on the intersection of the cross walks and statues in the centre of each parterre. Espalier** fruit trees adorned the garden walls. The far end of the garden has a double cross terrace preceding a wooded hillside, and terminating in an architectural feature such as an arch or gateway.

After the alterations, Durdans was considered to be on a par with Nonsuch, and they were referred to as the "Palaces of Nonsuch and Durdans".

Sir Robert Coke also acquired a building on the estate known as the Dogghouse (Dagghouse), probably from John and Thomas Hewett. He fitted this as a library for any of the Ministers of the county of Surrey to use on week-days between sun-rising and sun-setting. He had inherited the books, which included some Greek and other manuscripts, from his father Sir Edward Coke. These remained at Durdans until 1682 when they were given to Sion College.³

Theophilia died childless, and her husband left the house in his will in 1652 to their nephew George, 2nd Earl of Berkeley. It is clear from George's letters that he was very close to his Uncle and Aunt and enjoyed visiting Durdans. When it became his, he entertained King Charles II and the Queen there in 1662, along with Princes Rupert and Edward and other noblemen. Charles II also dined at Durdans in 1664. Nevertheless, it seems that George wanted a more fashionable residence. Jacob Schmitt's painting of 1689 shows a very different house, in a more gracious, classical style. Building material would have been readily available for as Keeper of Nonsuch Palace, George had permission to acquire several wagon loads of stone and timber when Barbara Villiers had Nonsuch demolished in 1682. George's demolition lease expired in 1684, so it is likely that Schmitt's painting marked the completion of the house. It shows the railings along the moat and bridge to be interspersed with heraldic beasts which probably also came from Nonsuch.

Evelyn described the house in a letter to Samuel Pepys of 12 April 1689 as the "Delicious Villa Durdans" and in 1697 noted that some of the famous plaster stuccoes from Nonsuch had been transferred to Durdans. John Talman's sketch of the house dated 21 Sept 1702 shows the pale stone. It also shows the tower and cupola that can be seen in Knyff's painting. The house had been brought right forward to abut the moat. Celia Fiennes visited in 1711 and writes of a double staircase in the garden which led up into the grove.

In his will of 1698 George left the property to his son Charles, and there followed a quick succession of owners: Charles sold it to Charles Turner of Kirkleatham of Yorkshire in 1702; John, Duke of Argyll acquired it in1708, and by 1712 Francis North, Lord Guildford owned it. Bishop Willis's Visitation in 1725 referred to him as a resident of Epsom but by 1726 the house was being advertised "To Let":

"At Epsom in Surrey, a large house called Durdans belonging to a noble lord handsomely furnished with outhouses, garden, grove and kitchen garden, planted with choicest fruits and paddock stocked with deer and some pasture grounds, all in good repair. Enquiries to Thomas Perschowse, Attorney in Garden court, no.4 in the Temple." ⁴

Lord Guildford's son, Lord North and Guildford, succeeded him in 1729. He was the Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales from 1730 to 1751 and lent the house to Frederick, Prince of Wales for hunting and hawking. A later owner, Lord Rosebery, was keen to prove the Royal occupation and wrote in his notebook:

"At last I have found an authentic trace of Frederick, Prince of Wales in connection with Durdans. In his accounts of 1740, which I possess, there are payments of £100pa to the under housekeeper of Durdans and half a guinea to Joseph Spiers, watchman at Durdans".

Further evidence is to be found in the Prince's own accounts of 1742 and 1743 which list expenditures of £865 for alterations by John Lane, joiner and Andrew Jelfe, mason.

Alderman William Belchier bought the house in 1747, and set about demolishing what he regarded as "a melancholy mansion" with the intention of building a new one. He acquired the iron gates from Canons at Stanmore which bear the Chandos motto. Bourne Hall Museum believes that these may have been produced by a pupil of Tijou who produced the gates for Hampton Court. Belchier had his crest added. Sadly, before the new house was completed it caught fire on 25 Feb 1755, and after two hours only the shell remained. Instead of rebuilding on the site, Belchier sold it to Charles Dalbiac in 1764 and chose to build his own house in a nearby chalk pit, which would become Pitt Place. Dalbiac employed William Newton to rebuild the house, and Newton's work forms the core of the house that exists today.

George Blackman bought the house in 1799 and then sold it to Sir Gilbert Heathcote baronet and Member of Parliament in 1819 as a country retreat and place for his stables. Sir Gilbert became well known as a breeder and owner of race horses, including the Derby winner Amato, which gave its name to the Amato pub in Chalk Lane. In 1847 he first opened the paddock for horses to finish in and in 1866 he built a shed in the saddling paddock.

Lord Rosebery purchased The Durdans from the cousins and heirs of Sir Gilbert's son, Arthur, on 13 May 1874, although he did not spend the night there until 29 May 1876. At the time of purchase he was told that it was famous in England for its nightingales but he had to wait until 30 April 1899 to hear his first nightingale. Caveat Emptor!

As a prominent politician and Prime Minister Lord Rosebery entertained political colleagues such as William Gladstone and royalty including Queen Alexandra, King George V, Queen Mary and Princess Mary. He was also a well known horse breeder and owner of race horses. Lord Rosebery continued The Durdans equine tradition, and his Derby winners Ladas (1894), Sir Visto (1895) and Cicero (1905) are buried in the grounds.

Lord Rosebery employed John Hatchard-Smith, the London architect, to make various alterations to the house. He also moved the ornamental gates from the west entrance to the ornamental position at the end of a new lime avenue down to Chalk Lane, and added a new wing, employing George Davy to make the house grander.

It was probably during Lord Rosebery's ownership that the name became established formally as The Durdans. April 1918 he wrote " I long hesitated between Durdans and The Durdans. I think the former form is correct but the latter had been established and current so long that it would be difficult to change. When I found that in the particulars of sale when the place was put up for auction at the death of Arthur Heathcote it was called The Durdans that seemed to establish the form and it was The Durdans when I bought it. Now I definitely call it The Durdans. I must add that I have seen this nowhere else." Dirden was a surname recorded locally from the time of Richard Dirden or Diridenne in 1375. Durdans, as a house name, is not unique to Epsom.

On his death in 1929 The Durdans was inherited by his daughter Lady Sybil Grant, nee Primrose and her husband Brigadier (later General) Charles Grant. General Grant died in 1950 and Lady Sybil in 1955. The estate was then inherited by Lord Rosebery's grand-daughter Lady Ruth Irwin, and her husband Lord Charles Irwin, Lord Halifax's son. They employed Claud Phillimore to sympathetically reduce the design to Newton's original concept.

In 1973 the house and immediate gardens were sold to Mr and Mrs Bruce McAlpine. The Halifax family retained all the land, but gradually this is being sold off for housing e.g. the Paddocks and the Kitchen Garden.

Sources:
1. A history of the County of Surrey Volume 3 (1911) Parishes: Epsom pg 271-278.
2. Country Life 8 Sept 1983 SHC 728.8 DUR p
3. Account of Sion College by Rev WH Milman in Lond and Midx Archaeological Society 1880.
4. Inner Temple MSS 538, 17, fo 347.
5. Pocket book kept by Lord Rosebery at Durdans Zs277.
6. Tanners Bodleian MSS 230.
7. SHC 2673.
8. SHC 2773.