Earlier Houses: An earlier house was replaced by the Wren house in the 17th century.

Built / Designed For: Henry Guy

House & Family History: In the 17th century the Tring Estate was owned by Charles I; it's likely that his children stayed here with their mother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Upon the Restoration Charles II bestowed the house on Henry Guy, his groom of the bedchamber, who enclosed the 250 acres of the park. Guy took it upon himself to build a new house and engaged Sir Christopher Wren for the job, making Tring one of the very few country houses designed by Wren (only small parts of Wren's house survive in the fabric of the current house). Parliament sent Guy to the tower when William III came to the throne; William himself visited Tring in June 1690. In 1705 the house was sold to the lord mayor of London, Sir William Gore; thereafter it was sold repeatedly, with few changes made to the fabric of the house. In 1872 the firm of Chinnock, Galsworthy and Chinnock sold Tring to Baron Lionel Rothschild for £230,000 (approximately £121 million in 2016 inflation-adjusted values using the labour value commodity index), with the contents of the house sold separately. Baron Lionel greatly enlarged Tring, with Wren's original house being enclosed within the current building. King Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, visited Tring frequently, as did Gladstone and Lord Rosebery. When World War II broke out in 1939 the house became the wartime home of the Rothschild Bank.

Garden & Outbuildings: The gardens were beautifully laid out and contained a walk named Nell Gwynn's Avenue on the north side of the house. There is no evidence that "Sweet Nell" did in fact live at Tring, but local legend maintains she was resident here. Walter, 2nd Lord Rothschild, filled the park with rare animals and built the museum.

Vitruvius Britannicus: C, IVth. pls. 104, 105, 1739.

Country Life: I, 604, 1897.

House Listed: Grade II*

Park Listed: Grade II

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Henry Guy, 17th century. Sir William Gore, early 18th century. Baron Lionel Rothschild, 19th century; Rothschild family here until the 1940s.

Current Ownership Type: School

Primary Current Ownership Use: School

Ownership Details: Today Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

House Open to Public: No

Phone: 01442-824-255

Fax: 01442-891-069

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.tringpark.com

Historic Houses Member: No