If I can’t remember what I’ve written I certainly don’t expect you to remember what you have read here. In January 2016, in Democratic Principles, Michael Stiff of Stiff + Trevillion made a brief appearance. His practice flourishes; one of his recent commissions is to design Damien Hirst’s new HQ in Beak Street.
Could his name be a key to his success? Stiff or Stiffy is unusual more familiar as Stephanie Byng’s moniker. But there is a real, albeit 18th century, Stiff who was also an architect: Stiff Leadbetter. He worked as a carpenter for Eton College and when he turned to architecture many of his commissions were in that neck of the woods. One I often see is Syon House but there are others I know: Ditchley, Fulham Palace, Hatchlands and the Radcliffe Infirmary. Yesterday I visited a very grand house not far from Eton that he repaired although Robert Nasmith and James Wyatt completely rebuilt the house in the early 19th century.
Let’s not beat around the bush – Stoke Park. Its story sort of starts in 1066 when, supposedly, William Fitz-Ansculf was given the manor and it’s logged in the Domesday Book. Of course somebody was kicked out to make room for Willian F-A, namely Siret, a vassal of Saxon King Harold. May I digress to mention that the forfeited manor of a vassal is nothing to boast about which is perhaps why the Fitz-Ansculfs are either extinct or well below the radar.
Now fast forward to 1908 when Stoke Park became a “Country Club”. Sorry, let’s go back a bit. John Penn was the man who created Stoke Park, still mostly unchanged. JP is the grandson of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. If you are interested in property prices , JP sold 21 million acres of Pennsylvania for a high, wide and handsome £130,000. Unusually, Parliament acknowledged that they had ripped him off and additionally awarded him a pension of £4,000 a year.
As you can see the tables are laid for lunch – more about that another time – but you can admire my hostess and the fine enfilade. Actually you may remember that Stoke Park is the golf course in Goldfinger.