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Thame Park 
TAME
Thame, Oxfordshire, England
Circa Date: 18th century w/14th and 16th century core
Status: Fully Extant
TAME
Thame, Oxfordshire, England
Circa Date: 18th century w/14th and 16th century core
Status: Fully Extant
Special Info / Location/ Date
Special Info
Phonetic Pronunciation of House Name
TAME
Location
Country
England
District Today
Oxfordshire
Historic County
City / Town / Village
Thame
Latitude
51.746681
Longitude
-0.97064
Date
Start Date
Completion Date
Circa Date
18th century w/14th and 16th century core
Images
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Images From The V&A Images courtesy of and copyright by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London  Watercolour; signed. View of the golf course in Sudbrook Park; the clubhouse, an 18th-century mansion, can be glimpsed through the trees. |
Architects
| Designed | Restored Thame Church |
| Date | 1843-45 |
| Designed | Restored The Prebendal House in the Park for Charles Stone |
| Date | 1837 |
| Designed | Rebuilt House for 6th Viscount Wenman |
| Date | circa 1745 |
| Attribution of this work is uncertain. |
| Designed | Reconstructed Chapel for Baroness Wenman |
| Date | 1836 |
Extant / Listed / References
Extant
Extant Type
Fully Extant
Extant Details
Listed
House Listed As
Grade I
Gardens Listed As
Grade II
On SAVE Britain's Heritage's List of Buildings at Risk
No
Country House: Yes
References
Vitruvius Britannicus
Vitruvius Scoticus
J.B. Burke (Burke's Visitation of Seats)
Country Life
XXVI, 90, 1909. CXXII, 1092 plan, 1148, 1957.
J.P. Neale (Neale's Views of Seats)
Access / Ownership / Seat
Access
Open to Public Please note: Houses listed as being open "By Appointment" are usually country house hotels or B&Bs.
No
Historic Houses Association Member
Phone Number If calling from the U.S., delete the first "0" in British numbers.
Fax Number
Email
Website
Awards
Current Ownership
Current Ownership Type
Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use
Private Home
Current Ownership Use / Details
Seat ("Seat" is loosely defined
as any family that occupied the house for a period of 2 years or more)
Today Seat of
Paul Matthews
A Past Seat(s) of
6th Viscount Wenman, 18th century. Baroness Wenman, 19th century. Bowden family (Baronets), 20th century-1983;
Possible (Unsure) Seat of
History / Gardens & Park / Movies
History
Earlier House(s) / Building(s)
House Replaced By
Built / Designed For
House & Family History
Thame is built on the site of an important Cistercian abbey, founded in 1138 by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln. The current house includes the early 16th century abbot's lodgings (to the south) and a small 13th-14th century range on the north, and incorporates arched cloisters. In the mid-18th century these various pieces were linked by a new house built on the west, probably on the site of other monastic buildings. The result is a house with 25,000 square feet of interior space sporting a west front that's Georgian and a late Gothic south front, complete with crenellated turrets and mullioned windows. The 16th century interiors are some of the earliest examples of the Italian Renaissance style in England. In 1984 Sir Frank Bowden, whose family made their fortune founding the Raleigh Bicycle Company, sold Thame Park to a Japanese family. The new owners intended to turn Thame into a country house hotel and started work on refurbishing the interiors; however, in 1992 all work came to a stop and in 2000 Thame was put up for sale for £8 million. The Estate sold for £6 million in 2002, the outlying farmland was sold off and the House restored and converted back into a private home.
Collections
This field lists art objects that are currently or were previously in the collection of the house.
For information on the history of British currency, click here. To use a chart that allows you to compare the purchasing power of money In Great Britain from 1264 to any other year, including the present, click here. To use a currency conversion to see the current value of the British pound, click here.
For information on the history of British currency, click here. To use a chart that allows you to compare the purchasing power of money In Great Britain from 1264 to any other year, including the present, click here. To use a currency conversion to see the current value of the British pound, click here.
Comments
Gardens & Park
Garden, Park, Follies and Outbuildings
Thame has 450 acres of parkland, with 30 acres of gardens that are listed Grade II, complete with a seven-acre lake and a sunken Rose Garden, all set within a 1,200 acre Estate. The Stables are also Grade II-listed. In the early 21st century new greenhouses and potting sheds were built.
Chapel & Church
There is a fine Grade II-listed Chapel in the Park.
Movies
Location for Movies / TV
"Lady Chatterley" (1993). "The Madness of King George" (1994). "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" (1996). "Emma" (1997 - TV mini series). "Midsomer Murders" (1997 - TV series, hunt scenes in the episode "Death of a Stranger"). "The Governess" (1998). "Saving Private Ryan" (1998 - in the following scenes: storming the machine nest, all the shots of large fields, and the half-track ambush). "Midsomer Murders" (1999 - TV series, as Tye House in the episode "Death's Shadow"). "The Wyvern Mystery" (2000 - TV mini series, as Carwell Grange).
Bibliography
| Author | Sayer, Michael |
| Year Published | 1993 |
| Reference |
| Author | Colvin, Howard |
| Year Published | 1995 |
| Reference | pgs. 48, 518, 903 |
| Author | Adams, Mark |
| Year Published | 2000 |
| Reference |
| Author | Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus |
| Year Published | 1974 |
| Reference | pg. 809 |
Related Resources
There are no documents associated with this house.
