The lodge from a 1909 postcard
Built / Designed For: Sir John Harrison
House & Family History: From 1947 until 1980 the house served as the Balls Park Teacher Training College; from 1980 until 2002 Balls Park was the Hertford campus of the University of Hertfordshire. In the summer of 2003 the university announced that Balls Park had been sold to property developers, who planned to convert the house into flats and build 132 new homes in the grounds. The developers, City & Country, demolished the 1960s college buildings and, between 2008 and 2010, created 40 flats in the house, the Coach House, and the stables. Balls has traditionally been cited as one of the houses that may have inspired Jane Austen when she was writing "Pride and Prejudice."
Garden & Outbuildings: The grounds today comprise 64 acres and include the Balls Park Cricket Ground (first match played in 1865), home of the Hertford Cricket Club.
Architect: Nicholas Stone
Date: 1638-42Architect: Robert Stodart Lorimer
Date: 1920sArchitect: Rowland William Backhouse
Date: 1786Country Life: XXXI, 578 plan, 1912.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pgs. 86, 991
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Grade I
Park Listed: Grade II
Past Seat / Home of: Sir John Harrison, 1640-69; Richard Harrison, 1669-1726; Edward Harrison, 1726-32; George Harrison, 1732-59. Etheldreda, Viscountess Townshend, 1759-88; Lord John Townshend, early 19th century. Sir George Faudel Faudel-Phillips, 1st Bt., until 1922; Sir Benjamin Faudel-Phillips, 2nd Bt., 1922-27; Faudel-Phillips family here from the late 19th century until 1946.
Current Ownership Type: Flat Owners Company / Condo Association
Primary Current Ownership Use: Flats / Multi Family
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No