Built about 1800 to replace an earlier house by the river, Purley Park and its estate dominated the landscape in Purley until its sale from 1920 onwards. The talk will cover the changing and sometimes turbulent history of the estate from the 1500s to present day. Also, some of the families associated with it. We will look at some of its lost buildings including its thatched lodge gates, gardener’s cottage and boathouse and the parkland which was gradually replaced with housing during the twentieth century. However, it is the families associated with the house who provide the most interesting and sometimes controversial stories. The gambler who “lost” the house over a card game at White’s Club, the book and print collector who donated his vast collection to Eton College, and the irrascible Major Storer who mistakenly threw his wife’s china tea service into the Thames. 

This is the second of three talks in the Houses and Estates Talks Series. The other talks take place on the 16th July and the 17th September. You may book tickets for any talk individually or for all three in the series for a reduced price.  

About the venue and how to book

Please note the Centre’s face-to-face talks are now being held at a new venue – Reading’s Abbey Baptist Church. The full address of the church is given to the right. The venue has disabled access and a disabled toilet. The talk begins at the slightly later time than previously of 2.30pm. 

Tea/coffee and biscuits will be available (included in the price). Pre-booking is preferred, but you can pay on the door, if there are spaces available.  

Image above: Purley Park circa 1912 with Ivy Fullerton in the foreground, courtesy of Project Purley Local History Society.

Location image: Abbey Church – Gazamp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

To book, scroll down.