Braxted Park

Braxted Park, formerly called Braxted Lodge, is a country house in the Queen Anne style set in a landscaped 2, 000 acre park near the village of Great Braxted, Essex. In the Domesday Book of 1086, Eudo Dapifer is shown as owner of the manor. All Saints' Church, originally built in about 1115 and restored in the 18th century, also lies within the park grounds. The property, recorded as a 'deer park' in 1342, was held by a series of Essex families including those by the names of Anesty, Montchensy, Valence, Hastings, Grey, Montgomery, Ayloff and Maynard. The lands were purchased by Thomas Darcy in 1650 from the estate of the then Countess of Pembroke. Braxted Lodge was built on the property in 1680 by Darcy's son. During his ownership, the property was enlarged and landscaped, with several large man-made ponds being added, including one that is now visible from the main house and is referred to as 'the lake'. In 1745, the estate was purchased from the Darcy family by Peter Du Cane, Sr. of nearby Coggeshall, a wealthy cloth merchant, trader and businessman descended from noble Huguenot ancestors by the name of 'Du Quesne'. Having moved the family to Essex, where he had become High Sheriff and Member of Parliament for Colchester, Du Cane ultimately settled the family at Braxted Park in 1751. Du Cane, a director of the Bank of England and the East India Company, reconstructed and enlarged the house around 1760, assisted by Isaac Ware, Thomas James and Robert Taylor (architect). Du Cane thoroughly landscaped and upgraded the property, more than doubling its size.

Braxted Park, formerly called Braxted Lodge, is a country house in the Queen Anne style set in a landscaped 2, 000 acre park near the village of Great Braxted, Essex. In the Domesday Book of 1086, Eudo Dapifer is shown as owner of the manor. All Saints' Church, originally built in about 1115 and restored in the 18th century, also lies within the park grounds. The property, recorded as a 'deer park' in 1342, was held by a series of Essex families including those by the names of Anesty, Montchensy, Valence, Hastings, Grey, Montgomery, Ayloff and Maynard. The lands were purchased by Thomas Darcy in 1650 from the estate of the then Countess of Pembroke. Braxted Lodge was built on the property in 1680 by Darcy's son. During his ownership, the property was enlarged and landscaped, with several large man-made ponds being added, including one that is now visible from the main house and is referred to as 'the lake'. In 1745, the estate was purchased from the Darcy family by Peter Du Cane, Sr. of nearby Coggeshall, a wealthy cloth merchant, trader and businessman descended from noble Huguenot ancestors by the name of 'Du Quesne'. Having moved the family to Essex, where he had become High Sheriff and Member of Parliament for Colchester, Du Cane ultimately settled the family at Braxted Park in 1751. Du Cane, a director of the Bank of England and the East India Company, reconstructed and enlarged the house around 1760, assisted by Isaac Ware, Thomas James and Robert Taylor (architect). Du Cane thoroughly landscaped and upgraded the property, more than doubling its size.