Stoke Brunswick School, Ashurst Wood,
(Tel:
01342-828200)
An Invitation to the
Members of
the Hammerwood Park
Society
to attend:
"Dutton-Homestall,
1350 - 1955"
(An
illustrated lecture on the history of the house and its colourful owners).
Friday June 29th.,
2007
7pm for 7.30pm
(Carriages 9.15pm)
The history of Dutton-Homestall, tucked away
just outside Ashurst Wood, is a fascinating story, commencing with John of
Gaunt in the middle ages and ending in 1955 when the building was sold by order
of the trustees of the late John Arthur Dewar.
Originally a hunting box, the house has been extended and remodelled a
number of times. It has been used as a
weekend country house, a wing of the Queen Victoria Cottage Hospital and a rest
home for exhausted RAF aircrew during WWII.
Visitors have included VIPs, stars of the screen and the literary
world.
The Homestall was purchased by Lord Tommy
Dewar (1864-1930) younger brother of John Alexander Dewar (Lord Forteviot,
1856-1929). This is where Lord Dewar had
his horse racing stables and his stud, where the 1931 2,000 Guineas and Derby
winner, Cameronian, was breed. Great
victories but ones that Tommy Dewar did not live to witness. His nephew, John Arthur Dewar (1891-1954),
inherited the estate in 1930 and soon gained the nickname of ‘Lucky’. Not only was he bequeathed a whisky fortune
but both winning racehorses and greyhounds. In 1932 he married Kathleen McNeill
and together they set about enlarging their country house. Monday to Friday it was a suite at
Claridges. By the middle to late 1930’s
it was ‘Gosford Park’ entertaining at Dutton-Homestall during the weekends.
1939 saw a change in use. John and Kathleen Dewar, already major
benefactors of the Queen Victoria Cottage Hospital, immediately opened the
doors of their home and invited the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation to
make use of the facilities. Known for most of WWII as “Dutton-Hall Convalescent
Hospital”, it was also the temporary home to a number of members of the guinea
pig club.
The evening will commence with a short reception. After the lecture a number of the historic
rooms will be open for inspection. The
cost for the evening is £ 7.50. To
reserve your seat(s) please contact one
of the two members of staff below.
Please contact:
Richard Sawyer (Bursar)
email:
bursar at stokebrunswick.co.uk
or
Jan Pearson
(Registrar)