Earlier Houses: Elements of an earlier house on the site were incorporated into the current house.

Built / Designed For: John Sperling

House & Family History: Hammerwood Park began life as Hammerwood Lodge, a hunting lodge dedicated to Dionysus or Bacchus (the ancients saw this god as the life force of all green, growing things, which was appropriate for a house in the country). The architect was the British-born Benjamin Latrobe, who later emigrated to the United States, where he launched the Greek Revival style and was one of the architects who worked on the design of the United States Capitol building (his design for the senate chamber was acclaimed as "the most beautiful room in America"). In 1814 Latrobe was hired to rebuild the Capitol's interiors after they were burned by the British, who occupied Washington, DC, during the War of 1812. Considered Latrobe's first important work, Hammerwood Park was one of the earliest Greek Revival houses built in England and one of only two known British country houses designed by the architect. Latrobe’s love of Greek architecture can be found throughout Hammerwood. For the central portico he adapted the Ionic order from the Erechtheum on the Acropolis. The end pavilions were designed as small Doric temples, the capitals of which are derived from 6th century BC Greek Doric temples at Paestum, near Naples. Michael W. Fazio and Patrick A. Snadon in their book, “The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe,” said that “Latrobe’s fusion of the Paestum and Delos orders at Hammerwood proved stylistically revolutionary. Before this date, fewer than a dozen examples of the Doric Revival had appeared in England; Labtrobe was the only British architect to ever use this specific, Paestum-derived Doric order. Latrobe himself used this Paestum Doric order only once more, in the Supreme Court Chamber in the lower lover of the U.S. Capitol Building.” Hammerwood also features an unusual pair of Coade Stone sculptural plaques above the doors of the end pavilions that show scenes from the Borghese Vase, the only known examples of images from the vase in panel form. (The vase, a monumental bell-shaped krater sculpted in Athens from Pentelic marble in the 1st century BC, was acquired by the Borghese family in 1566. It has been in the collection of the Louvre since 1811. ) During World War II Hammerwood was requisitioned by the government and used as barracks for troops. The house was converted into apartments in the 1960s. In 1973 Hammerwood was purchased by the rock group Led Zeppelin, who intended to convert the house into a communal home and recording studio, which never happened. The band instead abandoned Hammerwood Park and left it to rot; by the early 1980s the house was derelict. In 1982 Hammerwood was saved from dereliction by David Pinnegar, who restored the house as a family home.

Collections: The contents of the house were auctioned in 1921.

Garden & Outbuildings: In the 13th century Hammerwood was part of the Bower Estate.

House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Grade II

Current Seat / Home of: Edward and Sophie Pinnegar; Pinnegar family here since 1982.

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Payne-Smith family, 17th century-18th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: John Sperling, 1792-1851. Oswald Augustus Smith, 1864-1901. The Rev. George Ferris Whidborne, 1901-10; Whidborne family here until 1921. Lt. Col. Stephen Hungerford Pollen, 1921-35. Kirwan-Taylor family, 1935 until 1950s. John Chattell, 1950s until 1973. David Pinnegar; 1982-2024.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home

House Open to Public: Yes

Phone: 07842-969-579

Fax: 01342-850-864

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.hammerwoodpark.co.uk/

Historic Houses Member: No