| Date | 6 July 2012 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0032 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
Stately surroundings
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NOT many people realise that Slough had its own stately home – Baylis House.
The country house, which was built in the late 17th century, stood a little way from the village originally known as ‘Slow’ (later Slough).
Over the years it has been owned by Dukes, run as a Roman Catholic school, used as a military headquarters and, more recently, operated as a management training and conference centre.
Baylis House originally formed the nucleus for the Manor of ‘Bailis’ which can be traced back to the late 15th century.
The house there today, in Stoke Poges Lane, Slough, was built in 1696 by Dr Gregory Hascard, Dean of Windsor. After his death in 1708 it was bought by Dr Henry Godolphin who became Provost of Eton College in 1695. It later became the property of the Dukes of Leeds.
The house was built in the plain Dutch style which was popular in Restoration England and went through a succession of alterations.
In 1726 Thomas Rowland, the Clerk of Works to Windsor Castle, added a third storey to the building. Other alterations were carried out between 1733-5 by John James of Greenwich.
During the ownership of the Dukes of Leeds, the house was rented to a number of tenants including Mary Palmer, later Marchioness of Thomond, the niece of artist Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In 1830, the house became the St James Roman Catholic School, run by the Butt family. The school farmed about 100 acres and ran its own dairy, bakery and brewery. It closed in 1907 due to bankruptcy.
Baylis House was sold by the 10th Duke of Leeds and became a Food Reform Establishment and later a hotel between 1924 and 1936.
To save Baylis House from property speculators, Slough Borough Council bought it and 16 acres of surrounding land in 1939. World War II prevented the council from developing their new property and it became the headquarters of the ARP, which was visited by the Duchess of Kent in 1941.
The house was gutted by fire in 1954, and the upper storey was removed.
In 1958 it became the Unwick Orr Centre for Management Training and was sold by Slough Borough Council in 1990 and is now run as a hotel and conference centre.
AS IT WAS: Baylis House in 1910, with the third storey which has since been removed.
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