Afternoon visit to Temple Dinsley

Saturday 26 April 2025

Temple Dinsley is a c1714 country house, substantially remodelled and enlarged from 1908 by Sir Edwin Lutyens alongside contemporary redevelopment of the formal gardens to the west and north, potentially with input from Gertrude Jekyll. This formal core is set within an early 18th Century landscape park that was further embellished from the mid-18th Century and as part of early 20th Century investment by the estate’s owners. From 1935, it became a private girls’ school, Princess Helena College, which closed in 2021.This is a rare opportunity to see the house in its entirety before being converted into flats with new housing built in the grounds. 43 apartments will be created in the main building and a further 24 homes will be built in the grounds but with removal of unusable school building there will be no net gain of floor area.

The estate of Dinsley was given to the Knights Templar in the twelfth century AD. The Knights built a preceptory – Temple Dinsley. There is a local story of Knights Templar treasure hidden on the site. In 1542, the manor was granted to Sir Ralph Sadleir – a servant of Henry VIII, then into the hands of several owners .  In 1714 a handsome Baroque house was built adjoining the Elizabethan/Jacobean original mansion. Subsequently the earlier house was demolished and the 1714 house reduced in size by having wings cut off each end. In the late 19^th century. when the estate was for sale again, it became ‘nearly the entire village (of Preston) …about forty cottages and The Chequers Inn public house’. The estate occupied 560 acres of ‘very fertile land’. The house was described as a ‘fine, old mansion’. It had a spacious hall, drawing room, billiard room, dining room, morning room, study and gun room on the ground floor with seven bedrooms, three dressing rooms, a bathroom and two toilets above with attics  Its agricultural potential was not promoted – the selling point was the opportunity for field sports such as the hunting and shooting of foxes, pheasants, partridges, rabbits and hares.

In 1908-09, Edwin Lutyens was commissioned by the then owner, Herbert Fenwick, to remodel and enlarge the house and then add further extensions in 1911. The challenge was to ‘maintain with pious care the ancient fabric’ and not dominate the old house with the extensive alterations. This work was largely financed by Herbert’s wife, Violet.

Sold by the Fenwicks in 1918, Douglas Vickers and the Countess of Carnarvon subsequently owned the estate. Moving from Ealing in 1935, Princess Helena College purchased the property and turned the house into a school. The upstairs was converted into dormitories, kitchen and dining rooms were installed and in the following year the west wing roof was cranked up to provide still more accommodation.

Important information

The closing date for bookings and payment is 5 April

The house is not accessible for wheelchair users as we will be visiting all floors.

Please use the main entrance on School Lane. There is ample parking available on site and security will advise.

There will be no refreshments served during the visit.

Location

Temple Dinsley, Preston, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 7RT