"After
reading this book, I am proud to say that I was born in the same
town as Wilfred, a man who was skillful enough to have a successful
career in professional football, but also knew where his duty lay
when called upon."
Graham Taylor OBE, former England National Football
Team Manager
This account appears
courtesy of Gillian Kempster
A House called Bartropps
Once
upon a time there was a lovely house called Bartropps. Well, to be fair,
the house wasn’t so lovely – but the garden was stunning.
Bartropp
House in 1955 just prior to demolition, courtesy of Sandra Hawes
It
was developed at The Heath, Weybridge, on land originally owned by a man
called Robert Bartrop. Robert
appears to have bought the land in the 1811 enclosure awards. He died in
1839 and his son Robert Fox Bartrop of Kingston upon Thames sold it to
someone called Easthope who sold it on to William Harrison who built a
house called Bartropps on it (no-one is quite sure how the extra ‘p’
crept in).
Harrison’s
brother in law George Wilson had a summer home nearby called Gishurst
Cottage developed a beautiful garden for both - and both gardens became
quite famous. Bartropps’s garden was in the English Woodland style. It
consisted of 13 acres of mostly pines and rhododendrons, but also many
rare plants and trees, two large greenhouses and a hothouse.
Such
was his enthusiasm for horticulture that George Wilson joined the Royal
Horticulture Society (RHS) in which he came to hold many positions
including treasurer and vice-president. In 1870 George presented a plan
of his garden to the RHS and suggested that they might like to purchase
it as a replacement for their unsuitable premises at Chiswick, but they
refused.
Later George Wilson bought a plot of land at
Wisley, Surrey, called Oakwood
and built another garden. On his death Oakwood was bought and donated to
the RHS and was the genesis of the widely known Wisley RHS Gardens
Sir Philip and Lady
Pilditch of Bartropps in Weybridge
Returning to Bartropps, the house and gardens were bought in 1901 by Sir Philip
Pilditch, and his family lived there for over 50 years. In 1955, exactly
a hundred years after it was built, Bartropps was sold and demolished
for housing. The coach house remains, and the lodge – now called Clare
Cottage because Gilbert O’Sullivan was living there when he had his
big hit of that name.
Further Reading -
‘The Houses on the Heath’ by Paul and Shirley Martin - a history of
the development of Weybridge Heath, the houses and their residents.
The booklet is available from Weybridge Museum
for around £5
