Hampden House - The Hampden and Hobart Families

The Hampden and Hobart Families

Also in the grounds is the parish church, containing many memorials to the Hampden family including a monument to John Hampden, the celebrated patriot, who died of wounds received at the Battle of Chalgrove during the English Civil War in 1643 fighting for the Parliamentarians. He had earlier achieved fame and notoriety by his refusal to pay the Ship Money tax, introduced by the near bankrupt Charles I. Hampden was prosecuted for refusing to pay the tax on his lands in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. He was tried and found guilty, and consequently became a public hero, known as 'The Patriot'. The spot where he refused to pay is marked by a monument in the grand avenue at Hampden House, although the exact location of the actual site is in dispute.

Like many old and aristocratic families the Hampdens, for generations closely associated with the Whig party, eventually found themselves with financial problems. These were exacerbated by one owner of the house who, while Treasurer of the Navy, invested heavily personally, and with Government funds in the South Sea Bubble the resultant crash in 1720 was devastation for the family fortune. Large parts of the estate were sold until only the house and its immediate surroundings remained in the family's hands. The family never completely regained its former position or wealth.

The true male line of the Hampden family eventually died out. In 1824 the 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire inherited Hampden House and its estates from the heirless Hampden family. His ancestor, Sir John Hobart, 3rd baronet, had married Mary Hampden, a daughter of the house circa 1655. The 5th Earl then joined the Hampden name to his own. The present head of the family is George Miles Hobart-Hampden, 10th Earl of Buckinghamshire.