Greys Court

On a recent trip to an overnight stay in Reading we made use of our National Trust membership and visited Greys Court. It isn't somewhere I'd heard of and I still don't fully understand its history but it was a beautiful place.

It was recorded in the 1086 Domesday book as Redrefeld, an area that covers Greys Court and Rotherfield Greys, the nearby village.

There's lots of history linking the area to the Court of kings over many decades but the original fortification and Tower were constructed in the 1300s, part of which are evident today. 

From the early 1400s the house passed through many families and generations starting with the Lovells. Although they repaired much of the property the family estate was seized by King Henry VII and eventually passed to tge Knollys family in the 1500s as Sir Francis Knollys held a senior position in Queen Elizabth I's court.

It was Sir Francis who developed and extended the house, it was passed to his nephew Robert and subsequently damaged in the Civil War as he died with King Charles I.

Through marriage the house then passed to the Stapleton family who made their fortune in the Caribbean owning several sugar plantations which were worked by slaves.

Sir William Stapleton, 4th Baronet, resided at Greys Court but despite his mother giving him money from her Caribbean estates and inheriting money from his father he amounted many debts and did little to upkeep the house.

His son, and later grandson, did work on the house, adding the Dairy, bow windows and internal plaster decorations.

In 1934 the house was bought by Evelyn Fleming who renovated much of the house. Her children, one of her sons was Ian Femming who wrote the James Bond novels, did not like the house and so it was sold to the Brunner family and the house became a family home. 

The house and estate were given to the National Trust in 1969 but the family lived there until their deaths, Felix in 1982 and Elizabeth in 2003.  

All the rooms had familiar furniture and decor, reminding us both of our grandparents and things they had. There was nothing overly old or special inside the house but it was very interesting to look around.

The gardens were lovely, many different areas that each had a focus. The estate is over 75 hectares with two marked walks but a too hot day for us to go walking. 

Just outside the house overlooking the beautiful lawn was a very striking tree with cocoa coloured branches and bright leaves. I have never seen this tree before and have discovered it is a hybrid strawberry tree (Arbutus andrachnoides). It is known for its peeling bark and strawberry-like fruit although we didn't see any fruit.

The gardens were beautiful if showing signs of the heatwave, I imagine they have suffered more as the high temperatures have continued. One garden lead to another, each with a different feature plant. The gardens have developed over the life of the estate with some dating back to the Lovells.

Greys Court was a lovely place to visit and a great stop over if traveling south. It has a good cafe, National Trust shop and a good picnic area by the car park. We had a lovely time exploring the house and walking through the beautiful gardens.