Stoke Place

File:Patrick Lamb Cook Book 1710.jpg

Patrick Lamb built Stoke Place in 1690.{{cite web |url=http://www.stokepogesparishcouncil.gov.uk/stoke-poges-history/historic-buildings/stoke-place/ |title=Stoke Place |publisher=Stoke Poges Parish Council |accessdate=14 July 2014}} For about 50 years he was Master Cook to several monarchs, including King Charles II, King James II, King William, Queen Mary and Queen Anne.Mennell, Stephen, 1996, All Manners of Food, p. 93. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wdRnNPb8z3sC&dq=%22patrick+lamb%22+%22master+cook%22&pg=PA93 Online reference]

He was born in 1650 in the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. His father was Patrick Lamb (1613–1683), the sole merchant of wine, spirits and tobacco in the Whitehall area. His mother was Martha Russell.S. M. Pennell, "Lamb, Patrick (c. 1650–1708/9)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Lamb started his career at an early age as pastry assistant and rose rapidly in the kitchen hierarchy. He became very prosperous and wrote a well-known, still extant book, Royal Cookery, whose front page is shown. In 1685 he prepared King James II's Coronation Feast,Walker, H. 2009 Food in the Arts, p. 129. [https://books.google.com/books?id=H0iEWo-WJ40C&dq=%22patrick+Lamb%22+%22master+cook%22+coronation&pg=PA129 Online reference] which was described in detail by Francis Sandiford in his book.Reed, Marcia 2015 The Edible Monument: The Art of Food for Festivals, p. 55. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XmqmCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22patrick+lamb%22+1708&pg=PA55 Online reference] The King was so pleased with his work that he gave him a large number of gold coins.Old Cook Books website. [http://www.oldcooksbooks.com/master_book_by_let_search.php?passed_book_id=11025 Online reference]

After Patrick had built Stoke Place in 1690, he continued to work as Master Cook for Queen Anne. When he died in 1708, the property appears to have been inherited by his son, William Lamb.National Archive website. [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10426366 Online reference] In 1764 Field Marshal Sir George Howard bought the estate, which became his family's home for 200 years.

Field Marshal Sir George Howard lived at Stoke Place from 1764 until 1796. He was born in 1718 into a military family. His father was Lieutenant General Thomas Howard. He had a very distinguished military career and in 1763 was appointed Colonel of the 7th (the Queens Own) Regiment of Dragoons. The following year he bought Stoke Place. Howard commissioned Stiff Leadbetter to add two wings to the house over the next few years. Capability Brown the famous landscape architect, recorded in his account book that from 1765 until 1767 he constructed a lake with islands for which he charged 800 pounds.Brown, Jane 2012 “Lancelot 'Capability' Brown: The Omnipotent Magician, 1716-1783”, p. 161. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SligUwfuZl0C&dq=%22stoke+place%22+%22general+howard%22&pg=PA161 Online reference]{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42564|title=Parishes: Stoke Poges, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3 (1925) |pages= 302–313|accessdate=14 July 2014}}

In 1747 he married Lady Lucy Wentworth and had one daughter Ann Howard. Unfortunately his wife died in 1771 and he married Elizabeth Beckford. While he lived at Stoke Place the King and Queen made numerous visits to the house which were reported in the newspapers of that time.Kentish Gazette - Wednesday 17 September 1777, p. 4; Stamford Mercury - Friday 20 March 1789, p. 2; Stamford Mercury - Friday 19 June 1789, p. 2. In 1780 his daughter Ann married General Richard Vyse and the couple had one daughter Georgiana and one son Richard William Howard Vyse.A Survey of Staffordshire” 1844, p. 121. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yaRCAAAAYAAJ&dq=georgiana+ann+vyse&pg=PA121 Online reference] Sadly Ann died while giving birth to this child in 1784. Subsequent generations adopted the surname Howard-Vyse. When Sir George Howard died in 1796 he left Stoke Place to this grandson. Richard William Howard Vyse (1784-1853) was only 12 when his grandfather died so his inheritance was placed in trust until he came of age. In 1812 he took the additional name of Howard so that his and his heirs from then on had the surname of Howard-Vyse. When he died in 1853 Richard Henry Howard-Vyse (1813-1872) inherited the property. After his death Howard Henry Howard-Vyse (1858-1927) his eldest son became the owner. Following Howard Henry Howard-Vyse's death in 1927,The Times - May 30, 1927, Issue 44594, p.1 his eldest son Richard Granville Hylton Howard-Vyse inherited the house.Historic England website. [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1436431 Online reference.]

Richard Granville Hylton Howard-Vyse was born in 1883. He was educated at Eton and gained a post in the Royal Horse Guards in 1902. He was rapidly promoted and in the First World War he led several important battles. After the war he was awarded the D.S.O and the C.M.G.The Times (London, England), Friday, 7 December 1962; pg. 15

Richard and his wife lived at Stoke Place until his death in 1962. After this it was sold to South Bucks District Council. It operated as a hotel and conference centre, under lease from the Council and under the management of Novtej and Sarina Dhillon until January 2016 when it was acquired by Cairn Hotel Group.{{cite web|url=https://www.thecaterer.com/articles/364501/stoke-place-sold-to-cairn-hotel-group|title=Stoke Place sold to Cairn Hotel Group|date=7 January 2016|publisher=The Caterer|accessdate=18 March 2016}}

File:Sir George Howard 1770.jpg|right|Field Marshal Sir George Howard

File:Lady Elizabeth Howard.jpg|left|Lady Elizabeth Howard née Beckford, wife of Sir George Howard

File:Brigadier General Howard Vyse 1918.jpg|Brigadier General Richard Granville Hylton Howard Vyse

{{reflist}}

{{commons category-inline|Stoke Place}}

• [https://www.stokeplace.co.uk/ Stoke Place Hotel website]

{{coord|51.53083|N|0.58501|W|region:GB-BKM_type:landmark|display=title}}

Category:Country houses in Buckinghamshire

Category:Gardens by Capability Brown