Chippenham Park is a charming and unique Country House in East Cambridgeshire. The house is a private residence not open to the public except by arrangement, the lovely gardens are however open to the public and are a "must see" for any garden lover. Beautifully preserved and very much part of the village of Chippenham it is well worth a visit.
To a casual visitor Chippenham Park might appear to be just a minor Country House hidden behind the wall the runs around the outside of the Park. What you might be thinking would Chippenham Park have to do with a famous Sea Battle, a plot to depose the King of England, and the love affairs of one of his descendants?
Chippenham Park has a long and distinguished history taking in Kings, famous Admirals and some of the better known architects and garden designers of the 17th to 19th centuries. The sea battle and plot was the battle of La Hogue in 1692 where the Royal Navy and Dutch defeated the French who planned to put the exiled Catholic James II back on the throne of England. The British fleet was commanded by Edward Russell who later took up residence at Chippenham Park. His victory is commemorated locally by La Hogue farm and two lines of lime trees in the park are said to have been planted to represent
the positions of the French and Anglo-Dutch fleets at the battle.
Chippenham Park was popular in the 19th Century with the Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII. He frequently visited Newmarket to go racing. His relationship with his mistress Lillie Langtry and general reputation as a "ladies man" has remained his main contribution to British history.