Northwood House is a country manor house in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. The current building dates back to 1799 and was built for the London businessman George Ward, remaining in his family for five generations. It is a Grade II listed building, said to have a ground floor area of around 15,000 square feet.
In 1929, Northwood House and its 26-acre "pleasure park", known as Northwood Park, were gifted by the Wards to Cowes Urban District Council. The gift was conditional upon the house being used as municipal offices and the grounds 'as pleasure gardens for the people of Cowes'.
In 2010, after 81 years of operating as council offices, the council withdrew and handed the house and estate over to a charitable trust to administer. Today this Georgian manor house is looked after and run by the Northwood House Charitable Trust Co. Ltd. Their aim is to preserve the building and its grounds for the enjoyment of future generations. Its grounds are open to the public and its buildings are available to hire or to let by the general public as an events centre. This is typically for weddings, parties and conferences.
Current usage There are currently seven main rooms in the house which are available for hire for events, conferences and special occasions. These are the ball room, the dining room, the drawing room, the morning room, the library, the rotunda and the house bar. Wedding ceremonies can be held in the first six of these rooms, with the ball room being able to seat 120 people.
There are other smaller rooms available in the house to hire or to let for longer periods. There is also a converted stable block in the grounds, which is now known as The Community Hall. As well as being available for private functions, the 26-acre estate also hosts a number of public events each year and still has its original tennis courts and bowling green.
The original icehouse still remains, half buried in the grounds of Northwood House. There are thought to be about fifteen icehouses remaining on the Isle of Wight. There is also a war memorial in the grounds, dedicated to those who lost their lives in the First World War. It was originally located at the junction of the High Street and Market Hill, but was itself damaged in an air raid during the Second World War. The remains were relocated to Northwood Park and it now stands as a memorial to both wars.
Surrounding the original entrance-way into the house, the tarmac area has now been converted into a pay short-stay car park, for public use.
History The Ward family held the estate through six generations from 1793 until 1929. The road which runs in front of the house is named Ward Avenue in their honour. However, they also owned a huge amount of land across the Isle of Wight and also resided at Weston Manor in Freshwater. The successive owners of the estate are as follows:
The Ward family
George Ward (1793–1829) In 1793, George Ward esq, a highly successful merchant banker from Broad Street in the city of London, bought at auction the Cowes estate of Bellevue, which consisted of Belle Vue House and seventeen acres of land. The house was described as a 'modern brick dwelling house', with four rooms on each floor and an excellent wine cellar.Salisbury and Winchester Journal dated 17 October 1768, Page 1
In 1799, he largely demolished Belle Vue House and built Northwood House on its site, with the grounds being renamed to Northwood Park. The only part of Belle Vue which still exists are the large cellars underneath Northwood House, said to have been originally built to hide smuggled goods. By this time, Ward had also acquired more land in Cowes, including Debourne Farm, bringing the estate up to 217 acres. The driveway, leading up to the house, was by that time almost a mile long. The changes to the house were designed by John Nash, the famous London architect. Nash also designed Buckingham Palace as well as many other island properties, including East Cowes Castle, the IW County Club and St Mildred's Church, Whippingham.
The walls surrounding the estate were built from Bembridge limestone, taken from Brading Harbour.
Ward's wealth originated from his Grandfather, John Ward and his father, who was also called John Ward. Both of whom were highly successful businessmen. However, aside from this, in 1783, his father also won a half-share of a £20,000 state-run lottery win. This is worth over a million pounds today.King Ward and his huge Isle of Wight estate, by George Chastney George Ward was also the older brother of Robert Plumer Ward, the barrister, politician and novelist who was MP for Cockermouth between 1802 and 1806.Gloucester Citizen dated 28 August 1902, Page 1
Amongst other things, George Ward made his own fortune by lending money to the government during the Napoleonic Wars at highly beneficial rates of interest. He used his money to buy more and more land on the Isle of Wight, eventually amassing around 20,000 acres, said to be one fifth of the island's area. Due to the enormous amounts of land that he owned by this time, his nickname was 'King Ward'. Ward was also a director of the East India Docks in London.King Ward and his huge Isle of Wight estate, by George Chastney, 2011
In 1798, George Ward was nominated as a new sheriff in the Court of ExchequerOxford Journal dated 17 November 1798, Page 1
In 1803, his wife Mary had a baby daughter, born at the house.Hampshire Chronicle dated 15 August 1803, Page 4 However, in 1813, she died of a paralytic stroke.Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser dated 19 November 1813, Page 3
In 1813, George Ward started the first paddle steamer service between Cowes and Southampton. The Isle of Wight Royal Mail Steam Packet Company would eventually become the company now known as Red Funnel.
In 1817, a duel took place at Northwood House between Major Orlando Lockyer and Lieutenant John Sutton, after Lockyer took offense to a comment made by Sutton, whilst both were drinking one night. In the morning, at the agreed duelling place, it was said that Sutton apologised and informed Lockyer that he would not return fire against him. Lockyer still asked for the signal to fire and when the handkerchief was dropped, shot Sutton through the heart without Sutton even unstopping his pistol. Before dying, Sutton staggered forward and held out his hand, which Lockyer took. Lockyer and his seconds then fled the scene.Cambridge Chronicle and Journal dated 13 March 1818, Page 2 At the Coroner's inquest, the jury returned a verdict of 'Wilful Murder' against Lockyer and his two seconds, who at that time had still not been apprehended.Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal dated 23 December 1817, Page 4 In their subsequent trial at the Winchester Assizes, they were charged with murder. Lockyer said that he had been under the most gross provocation and that he had asked for Sutton to make a concession which would make the duel unnecessary, but that Sutton refused and was obstinate to the last. The defendants were found guilty of manslaughter and given three months' imprisonment each.Salisbury and Winchester Journal dated 9 March 1818, Page 4 John Sutton is buried in the next door St Mary's Church graveyard.
In 1821, to celebrate the coronation of George IV, a grand celebration for the poor people of Northwood and Cowes was held at Northwood House. A feast for 2,000 people was prepared and it was seen as an opportunity for them to testify their loyalty and joy to the new king. As well as giving use of his estate, Ward donated 50 guineas towards the total cost of 200 guineas, for the food and the entertainment.Salisbury and Winchester Journal dated 16 July 1821, Page 4
In 1823, Ward was commended for his 'munificent' generosity in distributing six bullocks and ten chaldrons of coals amongst the 'poor and deserving objects' of Cowes.Hampshire Chronicle dated 27 January 1823, Page 4
George had a famous and talented son, the cricketer William Ward. Following in the family footsteps, William was also a noted financier. But as a cricketer, he scored the first-ever first-class double-century and his score of 278 for the MCC v Norfolk in 1820, remained the highest ever first-class score for 56 years, until it was finally beaten by W. G. Grace in 1876, with a score of 344. The ball that Ward played with is held in the MCC Museum and is thought to be the oldest in existence.
William Ward can also be thanked for saving the famous Lord's cricket ground from being sold to a housing developer in 1825. He stepped in and bought the lease, to prevent this from happening. In 1817, William was elected as a director of the Bank of England and was an expert on foreign exchanges. In 1826, William Ward became MP for the City of London. William Ward missed out on inheriting the estate by just three months, dying just before his older brother, George Henry Ward. However, his son inherited the estate in his place.
George Ward died at the age of 78 in 1829, leaving an estate said to be worth upwards of £700,000 at the time.Morning Advertiser dated 27 February 1829, Page 2
George Henry Ward (1829–1849) In 1829, following the death of George Ward, his first-born son George Henry Ward inherited the estate. In 1837, he vastly renovated the house, incorporating a new western wing, entrance pavilion and classical side wall. As well as inheriting the estate, he also inherited his father's nickname, 'King Ward'.
In 1835, Ward contested the election for member of parliament of the Isle of Wight, but was ultimately defeated by Sir Richard Simeon, both being important Isle of Wight land-owners. Sir Richard Simeon had directed his tenants to vote for whoever they liked. However, it was said that you couldn't find one person on George Ward's estate that would dare to vote against him. It was a very acrimonious campaign, with some violent outbreaks. During the official nomination, events got very heated and another fight broke out. One elector asked Ward if it was true that he had promised a local family that he would arrange for the release from prison of several members of their family in return for them voting for him. Ward replied by saying that he wouldn't answer that question.Morning Chronicle dated 14 January 1835, Page 3
Ward was described as a man of 'retired habits who seldom took part in the affairs of Cowes'. He was in fact also a County Magistrate, although he refused to act in that capacity.Hampshire Advertiser dated 29 September 1849, Page 5
In 1845, Northwood House received a visit by Prince Albert and Sir Edward Bowater, who spent two hours viewing the house and its grounds. G H Ward had recently spent £20,000 on 'embellishments by foreign artists' and had spared no expense in laying out the grounds. It was considered that they contained the finest collection of evergreens in England.Belfast News-Letter dated 16 December 1845, Page 1 In 1846, he entertained Sir George Hamilton Seymour, the Minister at Brussels. Sir George was the son of Lord George Seymour, who owned the nearby Norris Castle.Hampshire Advertiser dated 29 August 1846, Page 5
George Henry Ward married Mary Saunders, daughter of Mr Richard Saunders esq. However, she died in 1938, having had no children, leaving George Henry Ward with no immediate heir. The next in line to the estate was William George Ward, the son of George Henry Ward's younger brother, the famous cricketer, William Ward. William Ward only just missed out on inheriting the estate himself, as he died on 30 June 1849, just three months before his older brother George Henry Ward, who died on 29 September 1849. This did not prevent his son from inheriting the estate, as still the next in line.
William George Ward (1849–1882)