Red Rice is a hamlet and country house in the civil parish of Upper Clatford, south-west of Andover in the English county of Hampshire.
Etymology The name originates from: The word 'rice', meaning shrubby twigs or withies (such as wild dogwood, which is abundant locally, and whose branches turn bright red in winter).Unpublished research by Veronica Stokes in 1961. The Anglo-Saxon term 'Rede Ric', meaning a council chamber.Harry Dexter White papers, Box 7, Princeton University Library. The brick colour of clay loam, chalk and iron oxide from Sidbury.The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Published 1861
Red Rice House and park Red Rice has a house built in an early Georgian park probably built around 1740. The outside is faced with Clipsham stone. It has a slate roof and arched windows. There are 13 bays and a porte cochere of 4 Tuscan columns. The stables areas include a clock tower and an arch of rubbed bricks. The park was extended by the diversion of a local road and the building has been extended. William Burn re-modelled the house in the mid 19th century. More buildings were added when the site became a school in 1961. The gate lodge and gatepiers are designated English Heritage Listed Building Designation Grade II. Buildings of England; Hants and I.O.W., (Pevsner and Lloyd), p. 51
Historical significance Red Rice was home of the family, associated with the Prince of Wales (later King George IV), in a secret and illegal marriage to the Roman Catholic mistress, Maria Anne Fitzherbert. The building was used during World War II by American forces and used for various secret and high-level planning. This included the reserve headquarters of the D-Day Landings, should the primary location become unserviceable.
Early history The current House was built around 1740 with red brick. A water-supply system was installed during the period, but it is not clear where the supply originated. The parts examined in 1960 by Mr Wilfred Carpenter Turner, an expert on older buildings, were found to be still operating and in very good condition. 986. The lands were owned by the Abbey of Wherwell, when it was founded by Queen Aelfrida, the widow of King Edgar. 1086. The area is recorded in the Domesday book. c. 1534. Around the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the Abbey's lands were granted to Thomas West, Lord De La Warr of Delaware. 1710. The origin of the house is unclear. Abbotts Ann was the property of Thomas Pitt who purchased Little Ann in 1710, and probably acquired the neighbouring manor about the same date. 1726. Governor Pitt dies. 1730. It is believed a map of about 1730 shows the 'Rice Field' and that no house appears on maps until 1760. 1740. The house may have been built by General John Richmond Webb, a subordinate of the Duke of Marlborough, in about 1740. It is claimed that the trees in the park surrounding the house represent the troop line-up at the battle of Malplaquet in 1709.A handbook for Travellers in Surrey, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. By R J King. 1865. Page 306. There is no evidence the park's trees showed battle lines, other than the row of beeches from St John's cross along the Fullerton towards Red Rice; which could have appeared like two rows of soldiers. 1760. The House appears in maps of 1760 and suggests it still belonged to the Pitt family, along with lands in Abbotts Ann
Errington family 1730. Mr John Errington lives at Red Rice, married to Maria Levery. They have a daughter called 'Mary' (born about 1730) and a son named Henry Errington (birth date not known). 1731. The estate of Upper Clatford (including Red Rice) was the property of George Tarrant.The Early History of Redrice. By Richard Arnold-Jones. Redrice School magazine 1966. 1733. The Upper Clatford estate was sold by George Tarrant to William Evans in 1733. 1746. John Errington dies, and his widow Maria remarries the same year. 1755. The late John Errington's daughter marries 'Walter Smyth', the 2nd son of Sir John Smythe. 1756. Henry Errington becomes the Uncle of Maria Anne Smythe (later to become Maria Fitzherbert). The Smythe family move closer geographically to the Errington family. 1759. Appears on Isaac Taylor's survey of Hampshire. The 1759 maps suggests a rectangular area and the existence of a single 'red' building at the northern edge of a wooden parkland with ornamental pathways. The main road passes along the north border, and the eastern edge has a footpath marked. 1763. Leases describe Redrice House as a:'genteel, modern built house with large and pleasant gardens or walks, all in thorough repair at present, it is very well adapted for the reception of any nobleman or gentleman of fortune with a small family as a hunting seat, as it stands in fine healthy and sporting country, but it is not fit for a large family, nor a constant residence, there not being a foot of land belonging to it but yards and gardens. It is at present well tenanted but as the lease expires within a year, it is not certain that a good tenant can readily be got for it, and if it happens to be untenanted it will be attended with the expense of keeping servants there to take care of both house and gardens which, if once suffered to run out of order will cost money to repair these circumstances reducing the value of it greatly as it is not for everybody's money. It may be long on hand before a purchaser can be found for it.' Mansion and grounds. 49 acres, 14p. Garden. 2 acres, 2r, 16p. Paddock pasture. 1 acre, 3r, 34p. (occupier: J. Parsons). Rents: Pasture and Wood. Arable land 6 UKP 10 shillings and 6 pence. Gardens - walled gardens, Cottage and gardens. 1 UKP 17 shillings and 6 pence. 1763. Sir Brian Broughton Delves of Broughton, Staffordshire, bought various estates in Hampshire, including the Abbotts Ann property, which he contracted to purchase from 'the Honourable Thomas Pitt, esquire,' great-grandson of Governor Pitt and afterwards first Lord Camelford. He may also have purchased the manor of Upper Clatford and lands in Upper Clatford for 10,000 UKP, from the heirs-at-law of Maynard Guerin and of Sir Thomas Gatehouse. 1766. Sir Brian Broughton-Delves, 5th Baronet (1740–1766), dies childless. His younger brother (Thomas) became the 6th Baronet, but Brian left all his real estate in Hampshire to his wife Mary (Lady Delves). 1769. Henry Errington marries Sir Brian's widow and lives at Red Rice. 1774. At Henry Errington's house, Red Rice, Maria Smythe, his niece, met a future husband, Mr. Edward Weld (aged 45, with no children) who died three months later (1775) by accident or illness. Henry was more or less Maria's guardian, since her father had become an invalid. It is likely that Maria often visited and stayed at Red Rice. 1785. Henry Errington is heavily involved with his niece's attachment to the Prince of Wales. The secret and illegal marriage did not take place at Red Rice; the wedding occurred in the drawing room of Mrs Maria Fitzherbert's house in Park Street on the evening of 15 December. Her uncle, Henry Errington, gave her away. 1791. Referenced in map. The map shows the single building (appearing in a changed position since the 1759 map). No ornamental pathways are shown, and the land appears to be separated between a wooded, and less wooded area. The eastern corner of the land appears truncated; suggesting that some land was no longer part of the estate. The southern path is not shown, and appears to have been replaced by a new road on the western boundary. 1794. Henry Errington is visited by Mrs Fitzherbert at Red Rice, then travels to Kempshott, expecting a tête-à-tête dinner with the Prince of Wales to discuss the terms of their reconciliation.Book. Mrs Firzherbert and George IV 1905 1801. Map shows Red Rice at the western edge of the Hundreds of Wherwell [wherwell] 1812. Henry Errington's wife (Lady Delves) dies. 1817. Appears in Ordnance Survey map The eastern boundary appears increased. A possible walled area is shown at the northern edge. The main building(s) are shown; and a second set of buildings appear on the southern side. There is also a small square area; possibly containing a set of buildings with a T-shaped courtyard. 1819. Henry Errington died and the property came to his nephews, the Hon. William and the Rev. the Hon. Richard Hill, afterwards Noel-Hill, who succeeded in turn as third and fourth Lords Berwick. Henry Errington's character appears in a 1947 film named "Mrs. Fitzherbert".
Lords Berwick At times before 1913, the external walls were rendered with cement. Creepers were planted. There were Flemish gables and sashes of cavernous plate-glass. The road at the front was diverted. A stable block (with a mounting block) and archway were built of red brick. A wide variety of trees were planted. It is not clear who was living in the House after 1819. It probably remained to be owned by Thomas, the childless 2nd Baron Berwick. Thomas died in 1832, leaving his estate to his brother, the new Baron. 1820. The Salisbury and Winchester Journal reports that the family make their (usual) donation of a good fat ox and two fat sheep to the poor of the parishes of Abbotts Ann and Clatford. 1826. Appears in map. 1827. 8 December, authority is given authorising the diversion of part of the Abbotts Ann to Titcomb Bridge and the Winchester Highway for 4 furlongs and 97 yards, of medium breadth of 40 feet. It was signed by Lord Berwick. 1840. The Tithe map shows the old road discontinued and the route marked by an avenue of trees. A track is shown arriving from the lodge gates to the stables. After the enclosure and diversion of the Fullerton road the grounds probably had two entrances. The main one where the North and South Lodges now stand, another on the Fullerton Road about three-quarters of a mile beyond the crossroads outside the school gates. Here a lodge still remains. 1842. William Noel Hill, 3rd Lord Berwick dies at Red Rice, aged 68, unmarried and intestate. His estate was administered in June 1843.
Best family Three generations of Thomas Best lived there. Rev Thomas Best (1796-1880) purchased it in late 1845 or early 1846. He was a Magistrate, a Clerk in Holy Orders and Lord of the Manor. His son Thomas Best, Magistrate (1828-1886) was the second generation, and his son Captain Thomas George Best of the Royal Horse Artillery (1861-1926), the third generation, became the new Lord of the Manor; and then sold it. In 1844, they planned to divert the road that ran in front of the park (to make a more imposing drive leading to the house), build stables, start an arboretum, create pleasure grounds and develop a large, productive kitchen garden. The legacy of those early trees provided sequoias, mighty green and copper beeches, cedars, a rare weeping beech (outside Errington House) and innumerable elms. At the back of the house a great variety of trees were planted in such a way that a large number of different species of tree could be seen individually from the house. 1841/2. The Manor was purchased from the 3rd Lord Berwick by the Rev. Thomas Best. Thomas's wife, Sophia (Hardwick) came from a wealthy family. 1844. Plans were drawn by architect William Burn to remodel the house to become a mansion. 1845/46. In 1846 a red-brick stable block was built with archway (described as 'delightful, if architecturally uncouth'). The date of 1846 was still visible in the drain pipe heads 120 years later. 1846. The building works were delayed. The newspapers, Hampshire Advertiser and Worcestershire Chronicle report on a shooting at Red Rice. On 7 March, Thomas Mullard Shurmur, a foreman overseeing restorations at Red Rice, shot (almost mortally) Thomas Brealey (a 'time-keeper'). On 22 July at Winchester assizes, Shurmur was found guilty of 'Shooting with intent', and was sentenced to 14 years' transportation.