Conington Castle

{{Short description|16th-century house in Huntingdonshire, England}}

File:Neale(1818) p2.158 - Connington Castle, Huntingdonshire.jpg

Conington Castle was a 16th-century house in Conington, Huntingdonshire, England, built for Sir Robert Cotton.{{cite web|url=http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/6025/history |title=Conington Castle |publisher=Parksandgardens.org |date=2008-12-22 |accessdate=2016-09-24}} It was demolished in 1956 by the then owner John Horace Broke Heathcote.{{cite web|url=http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_huntingdonshire_coningtoncastle_info_gallery.html |title=England's Lost Country Houses | Conington Castle |publisher=Lostheritage.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2016-09-24}}{{cite web|author=Hello |url=http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/environment/sale-of-massive-family-estate-finally-takes-off-1-114833 |title=Sale of massive family estate finally takes off - Peterborough Telegraph |publisher=Peterboroughtoday.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2016-09-24}}

History

Sir John Cotton (1662–1702) never lived in the house and it fell into ruin. His grandson, Sir John Cotton (1702–1731), pulled down part of it, and converted the rest into a farmhouse. The politician John Heathcote (1767–1838) restored and improved the house. His eldest son, John Moyer Heathcote, made substantial alterations in 1840.{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hunts/vol3/pp144-151 |title=Parishes: Conington | British History Online |publisher=British-history.ac.uk |date= |accessdate=2016-09-24}}

In 1941 John Norman Heathcote placed the castle at the disposal of the British Red Cross for use as a convalescent hospital. The buildings were modified and opened in October 1941 with accommodation for 80 patients. Mr Heathcote moved from the castle to the Home Farm.{{Cite news|date=25 July 1941|title=Conington Castle|work=Peterborough Standard}}

In 1955 Conington Castle was put on the property market by John Horace Broke Heathcote. It was noted that it was 'suitable for conversion or institutional use'. Accommodation comprised 3 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2 dressing rooms, and 3 bathrooms. There was also 14 secondary bedrooms and 3 bathrooms; stabling; a cottage; garages; walled gardens; and 35 acres of parkland.{{Cite news|date=18 March 1955|title=Conington Castle|work=The Times}}

In November 1955 Huntingdonshire County Council received a notice of the intention to demolish Conington Castle. The planning committee wished to preserve the castle but would therefore have to make a building preservation order, the effect of this would be for the Council to purchase the property, which was not possible. The Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government were of the opinion that the building was not of exceptional national interest.{{Cite news|date=11 November 1955|title=Conington Castle Demolition|page=6|work=Peterborough Standard}} Two wings of the castle, a stable block and butlers accommodation, were converted in 1955 to a family home thereafter called Conington House.{{Cite web|title=Conington Village|url=http://www.sawtryhistorysociety.btck.co.uk/TheVillages/Conington|url-status=live|access-date=16 March 2021|website=Sawtry History Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707230900/http://www.sawtryhistorysociety.btck.co.uk:80/TheVillages/Conington |archive-date=2016-07-07 }} The Heathcote family owned the property until 2008.

Connington House was owned by the Wardens and Assistants of Rochester Bridge between 2008 and 2012.HM Land Registry, Title Number CB372187 Conington House The house is now owned privately.

References

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Category:Buildings and structures in Huntingdonshire

Category:Houses in Cambridgeshire

Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Cambridgeshire

Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1956