Pennsylvania Castle
Pennsylvania Castle is a Gothic Revival mansion of late 18th origin in the southern region of Wakeham and overlooking Church Ope Cove. Built in 1797-1800 for John Penn, Governor of Portland and grandson of William Penn, the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the castle (and its attached walls) has been a Grade II listed building since January 1951. After being used as a private residence for over a century, Pennsylvania Castle later became a hotel in 1950 and returned to use as a private residence at the end of the 20th century. It is now available as a holiday let and is also hired out for functions and events.
The former gatehouse and lodges to the castle have also been Grade II listed since January 1951, although they are now under separate ownership from the castle. The castle's grounds, which were originally much larger than they are today, once incorporated St Andrew's Church and Rufus Castle, along with the Cove Holiday Park, which is located south of the castle.
History
Construction of castle and use by John Penn (1797-1834)
Pennsylvania Castle was built in 1797-1800 to designs by renowned architect James Wyatt for John Penn, a politician and writer who was also the grandson of William Penn, the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania. Penn, whose mother, Juliana Fermor, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, first discovered Church Ope Cove on one of his trips with King George III to Weymouth and Portland. The King suggested the site's suitability for a marine residence and soon granted Penn the Crown-owned land on the cliff above, known as Church Knaps. Upon completion, Penn had spent £20,000 on the castle and its grounds, and an official opening took place that year by King George III's daughter Princess Elizabeth. Later during the same year, King George III and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, visited the mansion on their wedding anniversary, where a celebration was held.
In 1805, Penn was appointed as governor of the Isle of Portland, a position which he would be the last to hold the title of. Around this period, Penn decided to expand his grounds and he was successful in having Southwell Road diverted, while a number of surrounding stone cottages were purchased and demolished. One of the residents, Shadrack Stone, refused to give up his cottage until Penn exchanged it for another Portland property he owned at Wakeham, known as Girt House. One of the purchased cottages was retained and transformed into a castellated lodge.
The same period saw Penn incorporate the surrounding undercliff land into his grounds, including St Andrew's Church and Rufus Castle, which sparked outcry from local residents. The local governing Court Leet protested against Penn's decision for a number of years and the legal battle was not settled until 1822 when it was agreed that Penn could keep the land enclosed in return for the annual payment of five shillings. Penn would have a round-arched bridge added to Rufus Castle during this time, while the two historical buildings remained part of the castle's grounds into the 20th century. With sea bathing having become incredibly popular, Penn had a bath built below the gardens of his castle, known as John Penn's Bath in 1805. However, when the Court Leet demanded an annual rent for its use as it was built on Common Land, Penn refused to pay and the bath was abandoned.
Throughout his use of Pennsylvania Castle, Penn regularly held lavish dinners, déjeuners, parties and other entertainment events for a variety of prestigious guests. He also continued to develop the grounds up until his death in June 1834. In 1831, the Morning Post had reported how Penn was "actively engaged in adding to the natural and picturesque beauties of Pennsylvania Castle by planting an immense quantity of trees and perennial shrubs."
Pennsylvania Castle's subsequent owners (1834-1950)
Following Penn's death, the castle was bequeathed to his sister, Mrs. Stuart, who briefly stayed at the castle in May 1835. From the 1840s, the castle was being let out to tenants, the first of which was Mr. Thomas Heath who used it as a summer residence. After his tenancy, it was made available to let again in 1851 by the land agents Messrs Daniel Smith and Son, and was occupied by Mr. Edward Tyrrell Smith later that decade.
In 1863, the castle was listed for sale by auction, where Messrs Daniel Smith and Son described it as the "most distinguished private residence on the island" with twenty-four acres of land attached to it. Despite many advertisements in the press, the castle failed to find a buyer during the auction, where it had a reserve price of £8,000, and it was then made available to let again in 1866. The owner of the castle at the time, Mr. Granville John Penn, nephew of John Penn, died in 1867 and the property was given to his first cousin, Major Stewart Forbes. Upon his death in 1887, the property was sold, thereby receiving its first owner not to be associated with the Penn family, Mr. John Merrick Head, a retired solicitor from Reigate. During this period, the castle was give a prominent role as "Sylvania Castle" in Hardy's 1892 novel The Well-Beloved. In the plot, the protagonist Jocelyn Pierston becomes the tenant of the castle.
Mr. Head, who had the castle enlarged in 1900, died in 1915, leaving his wife as owner of the castle and its estate, which was sold on 21 June 1916 by the Dorchester land agents Messrs Henry Duke & Son. The castle and its grounds of thirteen acres, along with the undercliff land, were sold to Mr. Thomas J. Templeman of Weymouth for £5,950, while two other plots of land were sold to other buyers; the ruins of the Vicar's House were sold to Mr. Henry Sansom, and the other plot of land, listed as suitable quarrying land, was sold to Mr. W. Pearce. Many of the relics of the Penn family, which had remained the castle, were sold at the London auction house Christie's a month later in July, while Messrs Henry Duke & Son auctioned off remaining furniture in August.
Not long after the castle had been sold to Mr. Templeman, it was sold on to Mr. Sansom, who had been Templeman's main competitor at the auction. Sansom died in 1930 and the castle was passed to his son, Mr. Henry John Sansom, who in turn passed the castle onto Walter John Sansom following his death in 1945.
Use as the Pennsylvania Castle Hotel (1950-93)
In October 1950, Walter John Sansom sold the property by auction through Messrs Fox & Sons of Bournemouth. The castle was described as being of "considerable historic interest" and set "in [a] beautifully wooded setting overlooking the English Channel". With walled grounds of approximately 10 acres, the castle was listed as having six bedrooms, three staff bedrooms, a dressing room, bathroom, three reception rooms, billiards room, kitchen and offices. Outside there were two garages, a coach house, a two-stall stable and loose box with living accommodation over, as well as a four-bedroom gardener's cottage.
The new owners, the Leggs, converted the castle into the Pennsylvania Castle Hotel, which had an adjoining caravan camp. Continuing to operate until the early 1990s, the last proprietors, Paul and Indu Fransham, purchased the the twelve-bedroom hotel in 1990 for £675,000. In 1970, the hotel had the following five restaurant, bar and lounge facilities (all of which were also available to hire for private functions):
Closure of hotel and use of castle in recent years (1993-)
In 1993, the castle was sold to the local businessman John Hanna, who received planning permission in August of that year to convert the hotel back into a private residence. In 1997, it was sold to Stephen Curtis, a solicitor with business interests in Russia, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2004. Curtis' widow sold the castle in late 2010 for £4 million to Colonial Leisure Limited.
In June 2011, planning permission was given to the new owners to convert the castle into a holiday let and function venue, catering for weddings, private and corporate functions and other events. Since then, the castle has attracted many prestigious guests from Hollywood stars to British TV personalities. It was used as a backdrop to an episode of Made in Chelsea in 2012, a reality TV show following the lives of several young affluent socialites. The castle is also the main setting of the 2018 film Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Neil Maskell. Today, the castle is managed as part of the Penn Castle Estate, which includes the Penn (Pennsylvania Castle), Cove Park (holiday homes and chalets), Cove Lodge and Little Lodge (luxury accommodation), Clifftops (five luxury accommodation lodges) and the Hayloft Café.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Churches, Buildings and Views - St Andrews Church - Paul Benyon - website page
2) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Year Book 1905 - Castles & Old Buildings etc. - Paul Benyon - website page
3) BBC News Dorset - Pennsylvania Castle in Portland sold for £4m - January 2011 - website page
4) Dorset Echo - Made in Chelsea cast visit Portland for hit show - Samantha Harman - November 2012 - website page
5) Dorset Echo - Portland castle sells for £3.5 million - Miriam Phillips - January 2011 - website page
6) Exploring Portland - Church Ope Cove and the Pennsylvania Castle Area - Geoff Kirby - website page
7) Google Books - Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club - Volume 37 - 1916 - website page
8) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Gatehouse and Lodges to Pennsylvania Castle - website page
9) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Pennsylvania Castle Hotel with Attached Walls - website page
10) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Rufus Castle with Bridge - website page
11) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1962 - page 19 - book
12) Pastscape - Pennsylvania Castle - website page
13) Pennsylvania Castle (The Penn) - Official Website - History - website page
14) Pennsylvania Castle Hotel, Isle of Portland, Dorsetshire, England - c. 1970 - brochure
15) Portland: A Topographical and Historical Gazetteer - Roy Mackenzie - 1999 - page 27 - book
16) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
17) Web Archive: Dorset for You - members.multimania.co.uk - John Penn - Archived from the original in 2011 - website page
The former gatehouse and lodges to the castle have also been Grade II listed since January 1951, although they are now under separate ownership from the castle. The castle's grounds, which were originally much larger than they are today, once incorporated St Andrew's Church and Rufus Castle, along with the Cove Holiday Park, which is located south of the castle.
History
Construction of castle and use by John Penn (1797-1834)
Pennsylvania Castle was built in 1797-1800 to designs by renowned architect James Wyatt for John Penn, a politician and writer who was also the grandson of William Penn, the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania. Penn, whose mother, Juliana Fermor, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, first discovered Church Ope Cove on one of his trips with King George III to Weymouth and Portland. The King suggested the site's suitability for a marine residence and soon granted Penn the Crown-owned land on the cliff above, known as Church Knaps. Upon completion, Penn had spent £20,000 on the castle and its grounds, and an official opening took place that year by King George III's daughter Princess Elizabeth. Later during the same year, King George III and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, visited the mansion on their wedding anniversary, where a celebration was held.
In 1805, Penn was appointed as governor of the Isle of Portland, a position which he would be the last to hold the title of. Around this period, Penn decided to expand his grounds and he was successful in having Southwell Road diverted, while a number of surrounding stone cottages were purchased and demolished. One of the residents, Shadrack Stone, refused to give up his cottage until Penn exchanged it for another Portland property he owned at Wakeham, known as Girt House. One of the purchased cottages was retained and transformed into a castellated lodge.
The same period saw Penn incorporate the surrounding undercliff land into his grounds, including St Andrew's Church and Rufus Castle, which sparked outcry from local residents. The local governing Court Leet protested against Penn's decision for a number of years and the legal battle was not settled until 1822 when it was agreed that Penn could keep the land enclosed in return for the annual payment of five shillings. Penn would have a round-arched bridge added to Rufus Castle during this time, while the two historical buildings remained part of the castle's grounds into the 20th century. With sea bathing having become incredibly popular, Penn had a bath built below the gardens of his castle, known as John Penn's Bath in 1805. However, when the Court Leet demanded an annual rent for its use as it was built on Common Land, Penn refused to pay and the bath was abandoned.
Throughout his use of Pennsylvania Castle, Penn regularly held lavish dinners, déjeuners, parties and other entertainment events for a variety of prestigious guests. He also continued to develop the grounds up until his death in June 1834. In 1831, the Morning Post had reported how Penn was "actively engaged in adding to the natural and picturesque beauties of Pennsylvania Castle by planting an immense quantity of trees and perennial shrubs."
Pennsylvania Castle's subsequent owners (1834-1950)
Following Penn's death, the castle was bequeathed to his sister, Mrs. Stuart, who briefly stayed at the castle in May 1835. From the 1840s, the castle was being let out to tenants, the first of which was Mr. Thomas Heath who used it as a summer residence. After his tenancy, it was made available to let again in 1851 by the land agents Messrs Daniel Smith and Son, and was occupied by Mr. Edward Tyrrell Smith later that decade.
In 1863, the castle was listed for sale by auction, where Messrs Daniel Smith and Son described it as the "most distinguished private residence on the island" with twenty-four acres of land attached to it. Despite many advertisements in the press, the castle failed to find a buyer during the auction, where it had a reserve price of £8,000, and it was then made available to let again in 1866. The owner of the castle at the time, Mr. Granville John Penn, nephew of John Penn, died in 1867 and the property was given to his first cousin, Major Stewart Forbes. Upon his death in 1887, the property was sold, thereby receiving its first owner not to be associated with the Penn family, Mr. John Merrick Head, a retired solicitor from Reigate. During this period, the castle was give a prominent role as "Sylvania Castle" in Hardy's 1892 novel The Well-Beloved. In the plot, the protagonist Jocelyn Pierston becomes the tenant of the castle.
Mr. Head, who had the castle enlarged in 1900, died in 1915, leaving his wife as owner of the castle and its estate, which was sold on 21 June 1916 by the Dorchester land agents Messrs Henry Duke & Son. The castle and its grounds of thirteen acres, along with the undercliff land, were sold to Mr. Thomas J. Templeman of Weymouth for £5,950, while two other plots of land were sold to other buyers; the ruins of the Vicar's House were sold to Mr. Henry Sansom, and the other plot of land, listed as suitable quarrying land, was sold to Mr. W. Pearce. Many of the relics of the Penn family, which had remained the castle, were sold at the London auction house Christie's a month later in July, while Messrs Henry Duke & Son auctioned off remaining furniture in August.
Not long after the castle had been sold to Mr. Templeman, it was sold on to Mr. Sansom, who had been Templeman's main competitor at the auction. Sansom died in 1930 and the castle was passed to his son, Mr. Henry John Sansom, who in turn passed the castle onto Walter John Sansom following his death in 1945.
Use as the Pennsylvania Castle Hotel (1950-93)
In October 1950, Walter John Sansom sold the property by auction through Messrs Fox & Sons of Bournemouth. The castle was described as being of "considerable historic interest" and set "in [a] beautifully wooded setting overlooking the English Channel". With walled grounds of approximately 10 acres, the castle was listed as having six bedrooms, three staff bedrooms, a dressing room, bathroom, three reception rooms, billiards room, kitchen and offices. Outside there were two garages, a coach house, a two-stall stable and loose box with living accommodation over, as well as a four-bedroom gardener's cottage.
The new owners, the Leggs, converted the castle into the Pennsylvania Castle Hotel, which had an adjoining caravan camp. Continuing to operate until the early 1990s, the last proprietors, Paul and Indu Fransham, purchased the the twelve-bedroom hotel in 1990 for £675,000. In 1970, the hotel had the following five restaurant, bar and lounge facilities (all of which were also available to hire for private functions):
- The Delaware Bar - on the ground floor of the round tower room, used for pre-lunch and dinner drinks
- The Penn Restaurant - providing an à la carte lunch and dinner menu
- The Thomas Hardy Room - used as a banqueting room and second lounge for pre-lunch and dinner drinks
- The James Wyatt Lounge - on the first floor of the round tower room, available to hire for private functions
- The Orangery - sun lounge for drinks and light meals, opened in 1970
Closure of hotel and use of castle in recent years (1993-)
In 1993, the castle was sold to the local businessman John Hanna, who received planning permission in August of that year to convert the hotel back into a private residence. In 1997, it was sold to Stephen Curtis, a solicitor with business interests in Russia, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2004. Curtis' widow sold the castle in late 2010 for £4 million to Colonial Leisure Limited.
In June 2011, planning permission was given to the new owners to convert the castle into a holiday let and function venue, catering for weddings, private and corporate functions and other events. Since then, the castle has attracted many prestigious guests from Hollywood stars to British TV personalities. It was used as a backdrop to an episode of Made in Chelsea in 2012, a reality TV show following the lives of several young affluent socialites. The castle is also the main setting of the 2018 film Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Neil Maskell. Today, the castle is managed as part of the Penn Castle Estate, which includes the Penn (Pennsylvania Castle), Cove Park (holiday homes and chalets), Cove Lodge and Little Lodge (luxury accommodation), Clifftops (five luxury accommodation lodges) and the Hayloft Café.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Churches, Buildings and Views - St Andrews Church - Paul Benyon - website page
2) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Year Book 1905 - Castles & Old Buildings etc. - Paul Benyon - website page
3) BBC News Dorset - Pennsylvania Castle in Portland sold for £4m - January 2011 - website page
4) Dorset Echo - Made in Chelsea cast visit Portland for hit show - Samantha Harman - November 2012 - website page
5) Dorset Echo - Portland castle sells for £3.5 million - Miriam Phillips - January 2011 - website page
6) Exploring Portland - Church Ope Cove and the Pennsylvania Castle Area - Geoff Kirby - website page
7) Google Books - Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club - Volume 37 - 1916 - website page
8) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Gatehouse and Lodges to Pennsylvania Castle - website page
9) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Pennsylvania Castle Hotel with Attached Walls - website page
10) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Rufus Castle with Bridge - website page
11) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1962 - page 19 - book
12) Pastscape - Pennsylvania Castle - website page
13) Pennsylvania Castle (The Penn) - Official Website - History - website page
14) Pennsylvania Castle Hotel, Isle of Portland, Dorsetshire, England - c. 1970 - brochure
15) Portland: A Topographical and Historical Gazetteer - Roy Mackenzie - 1999 - page 27 - book
16) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
17) Web Archive: Dorset for You - members.multimania.co.uk - John Penn - Archived from the original in 2011 - website page
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