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West Ashling Park, Chichester, England
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First created in the 19th century, the park was
initially without a name. A house in the position of the present one is
shown on the Enclosure Map of 1822 where a plot owned by Admiral Stair
Douglas is described as a manor house and pleasure grounds. However, the
surrounding fields which were later to form the park, all appear to be
in agricultural use. Rear-Admiral Douglas
died in 1826 when the properties passed to his son
Stair Douglas, then aged 22, who was
training to be a priest. By the time of the Tithe Map of 1838, the
Reverend Stair Douglas is shown as owner of a number of plots to the
north and west of the centre of West Ashling but although the family
then possessed more land there is no evidence of a park. One plot shows
a house and offices at the location of the Admiral's manor house which
is also the location of the present West Ashling House; that house could
be the one which existed until the middle of the 20th century. A
fascinating feature of the map is a plot described as "New House,
Pleasure Grounds etc." and the map shows a building surrounded by an
area which fits that description. Subsequent maps do not show a house in
this position. Investigation has shown that the Admiral's widow
continued to live in the manor house and Mr. Douglas and has wife Maria
occupied the "New House" until it was pulled down in 1866 when the widow
died. That can be taken as the beginnings of the park which is clearly
visible in the 1875 Ordnance Survey Map (25 inches to the mile).
The 1875 map has some interesting features. For the first time, the
house is called West Ashling House and a significant area is given over
to parkland, dotted with trees and paths which can be clearly
distinguished from the surrounding farmland. The track leading from the
western edge through an avenue of trees and then south-east to the house
is a carriage drive which existed at least until 1887. The area close to
the house looks more like garden, being described as a "pleasure
ground", the buildings there resembling those on the Tithe Map. The
south and east boundaries of the property are roads while the northern
edge is about half way to the east/west road which is now the B2147. The
western boundary is less clear but probably included the wooded area,
pond and spring adjacent to Northbrooke Mill. After the death of Mr.
Douglas in 1874, Maria Douglas continued to live at West Ashling Park
until her death in 1886 when the estate passed to C. E. Legge who was
the eldest son of the Mr. Douglas's sister Elizabeth Louisa.
Charles Egerton Legge who owned West Ashling Park until his death in
1913 was a considerable character being known variously as "Ashling's
Squire" and "Duke of Ashling". Among his many actions recorded in the
Parish Magazine were creation of a cricket field, erection of a shooting
range and an offer of playing space at Ashling Park for the football
club. He also arranged for school treats and the annual Fête of the
Forresters to take place in the park as well as a series of days in July
when parishioners could walk in the "well kept grounds". Among the
changes made by Mr. Legge were two large fish ponds on the western edge
of the park, one fed by the spring, with a weir between them. The 1897
map also shows more clearly, the house and its immediate environs
including glass houses next to Southbrooke road. The main access now
appears to be from that road as the carriage drive has disappeared.
However, the major development of West Ashling Park, undertaken by Mr.
Legge, was an extension to the north as far as the east-west road (now
the B2146) which, at that time, passed on the north side of the
Congregational Chapel. This phase marked the greatest extent of the park
and lasted from 1898 till 1915. As might be expected, he employed at
least one gardener who gave a talk to the parish in November 1902: the
Parish Magazine reported that "Mr. H. Marshall (gardener of C.E. Legge)
says he has grown a pear (Pitmaston Duchess) 17½ ounces 11 3/4inches
round". This report suggests that Mr. Legge took considerable pride in
his estate. An earlier newspaper report in 1896 recorded that "The chief
prizes for cut flowers and table decorations went to Mr C. Egerton Legge,
of Funtington, ....".
C. E. Legge died in 1913 leaving West
Ashling park to his niece, Alice Georgina Legge who sold the estate to a
group of people including Anna Myers on 14 April 1915. Later that year,
on 19 October 1915, Mrs. Myers sold the western part of the estate
including the cricket ground which still exists. Thus, rather than
having its major axis in an east-west direction, West Ashling Park was
oriented north-south and then had more or less the same shape as today.
In 1920, by which time Mrs. Ida Scott was the owner, the Funtington and
West Stoke Fête, Flower and Vegetable Show took place on the cricket
field with dancing in the evening in the grounds of Ashling House by
kind permission of Mrs Scott. The Gardens of West Ashling House were
illuminated by fairy lights. A number of further reports in the Parish
magazine during the twenties and thirties, when events took place at
West Ashling House, refer to "Mrs Scott's beautiful grounds". This
suggests that Mrs. Scott and her daughters fulfilled a role similar to
C. E. Legge and maintained the gardens and park to the same high
standard. A glimpse of how the property looked in 1930 is to be found in
an advertisement which shows a photograph of the house and grounds. The
text mentions glass houses which can be seen on the maps before and
after 1930 as well as gardens and grounds lying on three sides of the
property and consisting of lawns, bulb and sunken gardens, walled
kitchen garden, orchard and park land. The reason for the advertisement
has not been established and Mrs. Scott and her two daughters, Kathleen
and Brida continued to live there until the house was partially
destroyed by a fire in the forties.
In 1947 Viscount and
Viscountess Portal bought West Ashling Park. Part of the old house which
had survived the fire was refurbished but a new house was designed by
Robert Lutyens, son of Edwin Lutyens, in the style of his father, and is
the house which can be seen today. Charles F. A. Portal had been Air
Marshal during World War II but following his retirement he is reported
as having taken great interest in the garden and house at West Ashling,
as well as being involved in voluntary work. To the south of the house,
the green houses and cold frames were retained along with the fruit
trees such as figs, espaliered apples and pears and the orchard. The
garden was developed to the south and west, with several climbing plants
including wisteria and rose; a notable new feature was a beech hedge
forming a semi-circular arbour which first appeared in 1949. Initially,
internal fences within the park were removed but later, much was turned
over to agricultural uses, particularly after Lord Portal's death in
1971. The final significant change to the boundary of the park occurred
in 1968 when West Sussex County Council re-aligned the B2146 at the
north of the property so that it passed to the south of the old
Congregational Church. Trees were planted along the new boundary and
along with the clump to the south of the old Congregational church, now
form a screen. On the death of Lady Portal in 1996, the property passed
to Rosemary Anne Portal, Baroness Portal of Hungerford who sold the
estate later that year. Comment: This cannot be
correct as Rosemary Anne Portal died in 1990, before her mother, Lady
Portal. The estate was sold by the trustees after Lady Portal's death.
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