Pampisford Hall, Cambridge, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest: 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Pampisford Hall and park occupy an area which was entirely under arable cultivation until the early 19th century. The principal manor in Pampisford was acquired by the Parker family in the early 18th century. On the death of William Parker in 1776 the estate was divided for a time between his sisters, Grace and Elizabeth. Grace died in 1781 and her portion passed to Elizabeth, who married William Hamond. On her death in 1789 the whole estate passed to her son William Parker Hamond I who, in 1812, was succeeded by his son William Parker Hamond II. It was he who was responsible for erecting the hall and laying out the grounds. Following the Enclosure Act of 1799, William Parker Hamond I received 535 acres (about 223 hectares) of enclosed fields and commons and his son used about 244 acres (about 101 hectares) of this for the new hall and its surroundings which were developed between 1820 and 1831. R Marnock (presumably Robert Marnock, the notable landscape designer) was commissioned to advise on the design of the grounds whilst the owner continued to indulge his passion for tree-planting by adding to the increasingly important arboricultural collection he had started in 1820 (Inspector's report 1988).

During the 1860s the architectural partnership of Messrs Goldie and Child was commissioned to extend the Hall and in 1873, following his father's death, William Parker Hamond III continued to develop and extend the pleasure grounds and arboretum for a further twenty years until his death in 1893. His successor, Colonel R T Hamond (a cousin) sold most of the estate, including the park and Hall, to James Binney. He further extended the Hall, adding a new wing and a loggia along the south-west front. Cecil Binney succeeded upon the death of his father in 1935 and remained at Pampisford, caring for and developing the arboretum until his death in 1966, when the estate passed to his younger brother Hector Binney. In 1969 Roy Lancaster visited the site to record the extent of the collection at that time. The site then entered a period of decline. In 1986 Hector Binney was succeeded by his daughter Arabella Killander who received advice on the renovation and replanting of the grounds from Alan Mitchell following damage sustained during the storms of 1987 and 1990. The site remains (2000) in private ownership.