Avington Park is a very pretty place both inside and out. Unfortunately, I can't show you the inside as they don't allow photography indoors.
The park was originally granted to St Swithun's Priory in Winchester in 961CE and may have been the site of a granery.
After the Dissolution, Henry VIII granted it to one of his clerks, Edmund Clerke, who built a banqueting hall. This is now the Orangery.
In 1670 the then owner, George Brydges MP, added two wings so that King Charles II and Nell Gwynne could stay there while the King's house in Winchester was under construction. He also added the magnificent Doric portico designed by John James (an assistant of Christopher Wren).
In 1751 George Brydges' son, also named George, died in the lake rescuing his pet dog, and the park passed to a cousin James Brydges, Marquess of Carnarvon, who later became 3rd Duke of Chandos. He carried out many alterations, and also built the parish church.
In 1847 it was sold to Sir John Shelley, brother of the poet, and in 1951 it was bought by Lt Col and Mrs Hickson. It still owned by their family trust.
During the summer, the house is open to the public on Sundays and some Mondays. Please see the official site for details.
External Links and References
External Links
Avington Park
The official site. Opening times but no admission prices. http://www.avingtonpark.co.uk/
Avington Park
Historic Houses Association handbook entry. Now only open for weddings https://www.historichouses.org/house/avington-park/weddings/
Avington, Hampshire
Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avington,_Hampshire
Set in the perimeter wall of the park, St Mary's Church, Avington is accessible from the park via the North Door, or from the village along a path made up of old tombstones, via the South Door.
The unrestored red-bricked Georgian church was built between 1768-71 for the Marchioness of Carnarvon who unfortunately did not live to see it completed. She died in 1768 aged just 34 years old.
The Spanish mahogany for the great box pews, the reredos and the pulpit is said to come from a ship captured in the Armada by the "Duke of Effingham".
Presumably this is a reference to Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham and 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham, the Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I. He was a cousin of Anne Boleyn.
It is now one of the four Itchen Valley Churches, grouped with Easton (St Mary's), Itchen Abbas (St John the Baptist), and Martyr Worthy (St Swithun's). For details of services, please see the parish web site.
External Links and References
External Links
St Mary's Church Avington
More on the church from the Hampshire History web site. https://www.hampshire-history.com/st-marys-church-avington/
St. Mary's, Avington
The official parish web site, with a history and details of services. https://itchenvalleychurches.org/churches/st-marys-avington/
Home