Ickwell Bury
Bedfordshire
| Location | Ickwell Bury | |
| Year demolished | 1937 | |
| Reason | Fire and then replaced by a new house |
<< back to the complete list of demolished English country houses
History
Ickwell Bury, a Queen Anne period house built in 1683 by John Harvey, was located at the heart of the Ickwell Bury. The property, which included the house, grounds, gardens, parklands, and woodlands, covered around 108 acres.The house was of brick construction with yellow stone dressings and a tiled roof, surrounded by an undulating, finely-timbered park. Inside, there was a grand staircase, reception rooms, library, study, drawing room, dining room, and a justice room (as befits the local manor house). The estate also included a stable block with an ornamental clock tower dated 1683, a garage, barns, and a range of domestic offices.
The pleasure grounds featured lawns, tennis courts, an ornamental sheet of water (as it was described in the 1924 sales particulars), and a walled vegetable garden with an orchard.
After it was largely destroyed by fire in 1937, it was rebuilt on a much smaller scale by Colonel George Hayward Wells and later used by Bedford School as a study centre and by the Yoga for Health Foundation. The grounds continue to be used for conservation and educational purposes.
A further image and more information is available from Bedford Borough Council: Ickwell Bury