DiCamillo Companion
England

Ardenrun Place

Blindley Heath, Godstone, near Reigate

Surrey

England

Circa Date: 1908-09

Status: Destroyed

Burned 1933

House Open to Public: No

Country House: Yes

An architectural rendering of the entrance facade that was published in an architectural journal in 1910

Ardrossan, Villanova, Pennsylvania, which was almost certainly influenced in its design by Ardenrun.

Castle Hill, Ipswich, Massachusetts, which was probably influenced in its design by Ardenrun.

Belton House, Lincolnshire, which may have influenced the design of Ardenrun.

Old Westbury Gardens, Old Westbury, New York, which shares design elements with Ardenrun.

  • Built / Designed For: Hans Henry Konig

    House & Family History: Ardenrun Place was an early 20th century house that, in spite of its short life, left behind an important architectural legacy. The English Baroque style Ardenrun, probably inspired by places like Belton House (Lincolnshire, 1685-88), directly influenced Horace Trumbauer's 1911-13 Ardrossan, one of the most important surviving houses on Philadelphia's Main Line. Ardenrun also shares design styles with two other important early 20th century American houses: Castle Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts (designed by David Adler and built 1926-28), and Old Westbury Gardens on New York's Long Island (designed by George A. Crawley and built 1903-06)—see "Images" section for photos of all these houses. In the basement of the house was the Ardenrun Arms, a faux Tudor pub.

  • Garden & Outbuildings: The house was set in an estate of 1,000 acres that included a working farm, a private golf course, and formal gardens. In the 1920s, when Ardenrun was owned by British race car driver Woolf Barnato (one of "the Bentley Boys"), Etorre Bugatti, founder of Bugatti Automobiles, brought his cars here and raced them up and down the estate's roads.

  • Architect: Ernest Newton

    Date: 1908
    Designed: House for Hans Henry Konig

    View all houses

  • Country Life: XXIX, 90 plan, 1911.

  • Title: England's Lost Houses From the Archives of Country Life
    Author: Worsley, Giles
    Year Published: 2002
    Reference: pg. 8
    Publisher: London: Aurum Press
    ISBN: 1854108204
    Book Type: Hardback

  • House Listed: Demolished

    Park Listed: Not Listed

  • Past Seat / Home of: Hans Henry Konig, 1909-21. Woolf Barnato, 1921-33.

    Current Ownership Type: Demolished

    Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished

  • House Open to Public: No

    Historic Houses Member: No

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