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Knole Road, The Knole.

Built c 1873, in red brick, with Bath Stone dressings, to the designs of Mr. John Dando Sedding, F.R.I.B.A. for Mr Edmund Christie. Christie a wealthy, artistic bachelor (1827-1902) came from an old Aberdeen family and was a friend of Sedding. Christie had put £30,000 towards the completion of Saint Clement’s church, vicarage and school, just further along Knole Road from his own home, which buildings were completed the same year. Christy left Bournemouth soon after Saint Clement’s was consecrated in 1873, moving to London, then Painswick, Gloucestershire. He continued to be a benefactor to Saint Clement’s until his death at the home of some relations in Little Ness, Shropshire.

Above: The Knole, when its grounds extended to Knyveton Road.

Both The Knole and the Saint Clement’s complex were built on land acquired from the Sloman family of Wick, John Sloman reportedly having arrived in the area from Islington in 1792.

The gardens of The Knole, fronting Knyveton Road appear to have been acquired over the period 1888-1892 from the Meyrick estate by Mr Shepherd, who succeeded Christie as owner of The Knole. Shepherd reportedly leased it to a variety of tenants, including ‘the Australian Ambassador, Lord Davy and the Earl and Countess of Harewood’. The Fourth Earl of Harewood, Henry Lascelles was a nephew by marriage of Lord Portman, himself a nephew by marriage of Lewis Tregonwell, Bournemouth’s founder. In 1894 The Knole was the home of Lady Miller, it’s address was Knyveton Road.

In 1903 the property was offered for sale, by Messrs. Parker and Thomas of London. It was described as a south facing freehold Tudor mansion, set on an elevated position in 5 ½ acres of well-timbered grounds. The grounds contained an avenue of Wellingtonias, pines, rhododendrons and Italian gardens. The grounds contained stables and a coach house, accessed from Moorland Road.

Above: The Knyveton Road frontage to The Knole

The ground floor comprised a hall, with open fireplace, a dining room with adjacent serving room, a north drawing room, with adjacent study, an oratory, with religious stained glass windows, a breakfast room, a south drawing room/billiard room with adjacent conservatory. There were also a w.c. and a lavatory. The north porch was the carriage entrance (the drive curving round from behind the house to the main entrance in Knyveton Road, whilst to the south was the garden entrance.

Left: The oak staircase to the first floor

The first floor, reached by a handsome oak staircase, comprised 8 bedrooms and a bathroom with hot and cold water. There were also 2 w.c.s The top floor contained five large servants’ bedrooms, connected via a secondary staircase to the basement.

The basement contained the ‘domestic offices’ comprising the kitchen, scullery, butler’s pantry, large servant’s hall, housekeeper’s room, larder, 2 men-servants sleeping apartments, wine and beer cellars, stores and boot room and a w.c.

Lady Page Croft purchased the Knole for £7,500 in 1910. A local directory for 1914, shows that The Knole at 46 Knyveton Road was home to ‘Mrs. Croft’.

The family bought an additional piece of land, containing stables and a coach house in Moorland Road in 1924. By 1926, local directories show that the owner was Brigadier General Sir Henry Page Croft, bart. C.M.G., T.D., D.L., J.P., M.P. and his wife, the Honourable Lady Croft. They remained at this address until about 1940.

The electoral registers of the time shows that in 1934 the occupants were Sir Henry, his wife The Honourable Lady Nancy Beatrice Croft, their daughter Nancy Diana Joyce Croft and the housekeeper Mabel Mary Bond. In the cottage attached to the property were John Connor, with Ellen and Peggy Connor. Nancy Croft seems to have left home by 1935, but there were a number of other people registered at the address, these being William Henry Billington, Henrietta Billington, Lady Ann Brocket (Sir Henry’s sister), Albert William Faces, Lilian Powis, and Charles Cyril White. These additional people had vanished the following year and for the remainder of their occupancy, Sir Henry and Lady Nancy Croft lived at the Knole with just Mabel Bond and the Connor family.

The Knole’s most famous resident Lord Croft, formerly Sir Henry Page Croft, (1881- 1947) was the first MP for Bournemouth 1918-1940. He was born in Hertfordshire, the son of Lieutenant Richard Benyon Croft, R.N., J.P., D.L. of Ware, Hertfordshire and the great grandson of Sir Richard Croft, sixth baronet of

Croft Castle, Hereford.

Croft was educated at Eton and Trinity Hall in Cambridge, where he became a life-long friend of Lord Lyle of Westbourne (the sugar magnate) who said that they saw practically eye to eye on all the main political issues. On their last day at university, Croft said to his friend ‘Leo, I am going off to join Joseph Chamberlain’ and he remained an active Conservative for his whole political life. He had been a keen sportsman, twice winning the Thames Cup at the Henley Regatta and was known as one of the best oarsman in the House of Commons.

In 1907 he married The Honourable Nancy Beatrice Borwick, daughter of 1st Baron Borwick of Berkeley Square, London. The family moved to Bournemouth, in 1907, where they had one son and three daughters, eventually making their home at The Knole. Croft became a friend of the Earl of Malmesbury, who encouraged him to stand for election – Croft became Conservative Member of Parliament for Christchurch (1910-1918). Malmesbury felt that some of Croft’s fine qualities went unused in the political arena.

Croft was in the volunteers and territorials for 17 years, then he served in Great War 1914-1916 fighting at Ypres and on the Somme. He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the 1914 Star and awarded the C. M. G. in 1915. He also became an Honorary Brigadier-General in the Hertfordshire Regiment.

During his political life, Croft became Chairman of the Organisation Committee of the Tariff Reform League, Chairman of the Empire Industries Association, Chancellor of the Primrose League, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for War (1940-1945), and Vice President of the Army Council. He championed the causes he believed in, regardless of whether or not they were popular ones, even when the leaders of his party had decided to compromise. He was a great friend and political ally of Bournemouth’s longest serving Mayor, Sir Charles Cartwright, and took an interest in municipal affairs in Bournemouth.

He was Managing Director Henry Page & Co. Ltd. The owners of coffee plantations in Kenya and was known to be interested in the Empire above any other concerns. He wanted Britain to expand trade within, and maintain close links with the colonies and dominions of, the Empire. His Cambridge friend Lord Lyle said ‘He preached the gospel of Empire in season and out of season.’ He lived to see one of his aims fulfilled: the adoption of the policy of Imperial Preference.

His published works included ‘The Path of Empire’ 1912; ‘Twentytwo Months Under Fire’ 1917; ‘My Life of Strife’ 1948. He became a baronet in 1924 and was made 1st Baron Croft in 1940.

Croft died in London aged 66, on December 8th 1947. Remembered in his will were his agent Frederick W Allday (who said ‘. . . under a greater man I could never wish to serve.’) and former house-keeper Mabel Bond. His onituaries described him as having been charming, doughty, single-minded, warm, patriotic, purposeful, outstandingly honest and unselfish.

Attending his private funeral at Saint Michael’s Church, Croft Castle were:- The Marquise of Salisbury, Earl Fortesque, Lord Lyle of Westbourne and Drummond Wolff. Family members included:- Mr Basil Henderson (uncle), Lady Anne Brocket (sister), Lady Penison (sister), Lord Borwick (brother-in-law), Mrs Darmer (sister-in-law), The Honourable Michael Henry Glendower Page Croft (son), The Honourable Mrs. Robert H. Bayford (daughter), Mrs. M. Ulham (daughter), Mr. H. B. Poole (son-in-law), Captain Beird (nephew), Major-General Hoare (nephew), Miss Dorothy Cain (niece), Christopher Henderson (great nephew), Brigadier-General Croft (cousin), Major Owen (cousin), John Russell (cousin), Mr. & Mrs. Richard Croft and The Honourable Mrs. Whitman.

During the early years of the Second World War, The Knole was used as the headquarters of the 11th Infantry Brigade. In 1942 Lady Croft allowed the Red Cross and Saint John’s to organise it as a nursery for children under 5 evacuated from London and Portsmouth.

By 1945 the occupants of the property were Mabel Bond, Elizabeth Brain, Eunice M. Gunne, Edith E. Smith and Ena H. M. Wormell. In 1946 Lord Croft reportedly asked Fox and Sons to sell the property for him, at an auction in Saint Peter’s Hall, Hinton Road. The reserve price was not reached at the time, but a coupole of months later, Mr C. Wright, a retired pattern maker of 59 Grove road bought the property for £16,000. He set aside the grounds for development and leased the house to a hotelier.

By 1950 the property was being run as a private hotel by Mrs. A. R. Collis; Mr. J. W. Harrison was the proprietor from 1952-55. Mrs Pettitt bought the land for development, which was later sold to Mr. H. Clark, who began the development of Knole Gardens in 1955.

Bournemouth’s Freemasons, who had been planning to build a new temple in Parsonage Road, bought the Knole in 1956 and in 1956/7 the property was converted for use as a Freemasons’ Hall and given a new entrance into Knole Road, which was originally the trade entrance; its Knyveton Road frontage being redeveloped with Knole Gardens and a row of bungalows. The Freemasons disposed of their Parsonage Road property and have used The Knole ever since.

The additions in 1957 largely comprised a three storey east wing. This had kitchens on the lower ground floor, with the basement of the original building becoming a club room with a bar; the ground floor of the old building and the extension was largely given over to dining rooms, whilst the first floor contained the large and small temples. At present the building is undergoing works to improve it’s compliance with fire regulations and to maintain its fabric, at a cost of £280,000.

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