Wormsley Park - History

History

Originally owned by the Scrope family since the late 16th century the estate belonged to Colonel Adrian Scrope the regicide. The house and estate was passed to his grandson John Scrope a baron of the Exchequer and as Scrope died without issue, his estate of Wormsley passed to the descendants of his sister Anne (died 1720), who had married Henry Fane of Brympton. Their second son, Thomas Fane, also a Bristol merchant, succeeded his uncle as Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis, beginning the Fane family's long association with the parliamentary seat of Lyme Regis. Fane also succeeded a distant cousin and became 8th Earl of Wesmoreland in 1762.

The Fane family retained ownership of the house and estate until 1986 when they sold it to Sir Paul Getty. After he acquired the 18th century house Paul Getty spent much time on restoring the house and estate back to its former glory. Getty also had a library added to the house to accommodate his book collection, and a theatre where performances were held for invited guests. In the summer months, Garsington Opera's annual festival is held on the grounds of the park.

Wormsley Park operates as an organic farm. The area is known for its population of Red Kites. Once extinct in England and Scotland, the birds were reintroduced into England beginning in 1989. The area was never planned to be the first release site. It was originally intended to be Windsor Great Park, but at the last minute the landowner pulled out and the project nearly collapsed. Getty stepped in and offered Wormsley Park as an alternative, thus saving the project.