The history of Hughenden

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The story begins with 'Huchedene'

Hughenden takes its name from its setting. In Old English it means the dene, or long valley, of a man called Huhha. Formerly part of Queen Edith's lands, at the Norman Conquest it was granted to the King’s powerful half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. The Domesday Book of 1086 records a farm dwelling on the site of ‘Huchedene’.

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Sir Robert Dormer

In 1538 the estate passed to Sir Robert Dormer, who came from one of the leading Catholic families in Buckinghamshire. Early in the 17th century the Dormers built a set of almshouses beside the church. Hughenden remained part of the Dormers’ estate until 1737.

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A Georgian country house

Charles Savage, a wealthy London merchant, acquired the estate in 1738 and converted the Tudor farmhouse on the hill into a gentleman’s residence. The new manor was a fashionably symmetrical Georgian building with a white stucco finish, surrounded by naturalistic landscaping typical of the period. A sundial on the flint walls of the entrance to the walled garden is dated 1749, with the inscription 'Hora passus': time passes.

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The Norris Family

In 1771, Hughenden passed to Savage’s relatives the Norris family. When distinguished scholar and antiquary John Norris inherited the house in 1816, he set about Gothicising the interior to reflect the fashion of the time, with elaborate mouldings, arched doorways and panelled ceilings. The manor's exterior remained a typical example of simple Georgian classicism and was described as the ‘prettiest place in the county’. In the 1820s, Norris established the parkland, planting limes, chestnuts, walnuts and sycamores.

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Benjamin Disraeli buys Hughenden

Following the death of Norris, the 750-acre estate came on the market in 1846 at a price of £35,000, significantly beyond Disraeli’s means. In September 1848, borrowing heavily to do so, Disraeli purchased the manor. The newly elected Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire now had all the necessary attributes to become a leading political figure.

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A Gothic revival

Mary Anne Disraeli took the lead in the transformation of Hughenden and in 1862 consulted controversial Gothic revivalist architect Edward Buckton-Lamb, who set about turning the white stucco house into a red brick manor. He added chimneys, parapets with battlements and pinnacles, and elaborate window surrounds. The grounds were redesigned at the same time and Mary Anne established an Italianate style garden with a parterre, statuary and terraces. Benjamin Disraeli enjoyed walking in the garden and feeding his peacocks, as befitted a gentleman at home in his country estate.

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Coningsby Disraeli inherits

After the death of Benjamin Disraeli, the estate passed to his nephew Coningsby Disraeli. Just 14 years old at the time, Coningsby came into his inheritance in 1893 and began making alterations to the house in the early 20th century. He installed modern plumbing and electricity, and in 1904 a new west wing was built. Coningsby died in 1936 and the following year the manor, with its contents and 189 acres, were sold to W.H Abbey.

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The Disraelian Society’s Museum

W.H Abbey was a fan of Benjamin Disraeli, and so he entrusted the manor to the Disraelian Society. It was opened to visitors as a museum for the first time in 1937.

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Hughenden requisitioned

During the Second World War, Hughenden was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and became a top-secret map-making base, codenamed ‘Hillside’. This operation was so secret it only came to light 60 years later after a chance encounter one of Hughenden’s house volunteers had with a visitor. 

From 1941-45 over 100 men and women, both military and civilian, were based at Hillside producing target maps for the RAF at nearby Bomber Command HQ. Disraeli’s belongings were packed away. Only his study remained untouched and was locked for the duration of the war.

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The National Trust is gifted the estate

The Abbey family and Disraelian Society passed Hughenden to the National Trust in 1947. When we began caring for the manor, there was no sign of its wartime role, and the garden was little more than a hay meadow. 

After decades of little change, the Trust began a careful campaign of restoration in 1983. With the use of old photographs, inventories and written descriptions, the manor’s interiors were returned to their Victorian glory and the gardens re-established in a 19th-century ‘gardenesque’ style with a formal parterre and pleasure grounds.