© Worth Park Friends 2024
The Fountain Garden, Source: Country Life Illustrated, 1899 - The Mansion, Milton Mount
College, pre-WW2, and the large Pulham fountain with planters - Camellia Walk, Milton
Mount College - Camellia Walk as featured in CLI 1899 - The Lake in Milton Mount College
times - Aerial View in college times (photos 2, 3 and 5 courtesy of the Miltonian Guild,
photo 6 provided by Tom Howard-Jones)
Background Map: reproduced from a document from West Sussex Record Office, Ref. OS
1st ed 6” sheet IV 1872-79
Pulham Stamp on the stonework in the gardens - One planter from the large fountain can now be seen to the west of the croquet
grounds - the little Pulham fountain (now just a planter) in the formal gardens, from a postcard provided by Tom Howard-Jones.
Historical Overview
Worth
Park
was
part
of
the
large
forest
of
Worth
which
extended
over
the
parishes
of
Worth,
Crawley,
Balcombe,
Ardingly
and
Slaugham.
Most
or
all
of
this
forested
area
was
enclosed
as
a
deer
park,
referred
to
as
the
“Park
in
Worth”
by
John
de
Warenne
in
1279.
Since
then
the
forest
has
been
partitioned
and
changed
ownership
many
times.
The
earliest
Ordnance
Survey
maps of Sussex shows ‘Park Farm’ to the west of the Balcombe Road.
We
learn
from
an
1824
article
in
The
Times
that
Abraham
Montefiore
bought
his
Worth-park
farm
in
the
1810s.
By
1839/40,
his
son
Joseph
Mayer
Montefiore
owned
numerous
plots
of
land
in
the
area
and
we
read
now
of
a
“Worth
Park
House
and
Garden”.
After
a
fire
in
1847,
Worth-Park
House
was
rebuilt completely by 1856.
The
Worth
Park
branch
of
the
Montefiore
family
re-modelled
Worth
Park
continuously.
The
now
most
visible
re-design
of
the
grounds
took
place
from
1884-1887.
The
company
of
James
Pulham
and
Son
,
who
also
designed
features
for
the
gardens
of
Buckingham
Palace
and
Sandringham
House,
built
many
elements
for
the
gardens
of
Worth
Park.
These
have
survived
until
today.
The
Pulham
dynasty
of
garden
builders
spanned
four
generations,
starting
with
James
Pulham
(1793-1838).
Each
James
Pulham
was
succeeded
by
at
least
one
son,
also
named
James.
The
major
restoration
of
Worth
Park
in
the
later
1880s
has
been
attributed
to
James
III
(1865-98).The
Pulhams’
speciality
were
their
own
brand
of
artificial
rock
(Pulhamite)
and
their
terracotta
work
of
urns,
fountains,
balustrades
and
sundials.
Clients
of
the
Pulhams
included
the
Prince
of
Wales,
several
members
of
the
Rothschild
dynasty, Sir Bache Cunard and the Barclay family.
From
1920
to
1960,
the
house
and
large
parts
of
the
grounds
were
the
home
of
Milton
Mount
College
,
a
boarding
school
for
girls.
Crawley
Borough
Council
bought
the
school
property
in
1963.
The
Miltonian
Guild,
formed
by
former
students
and
teachers
of
the
school,
still
annually
at
Worth
Park
to
this
day.
Towards
the
end
of
2016,
the
Miltonian
Guild
published
a
book
“Schoolgirl
Days at Milton Mount College 1920 -1960”.
The
Worth
Park
History
Society
is
still
active.
For
details,
please
search
on
facebook.
Worth Park Today
The
Montefiore
Mansion
was
demolished
in
1968
and
replaced
by
Milton
Mount
Flats.
However,
Ridley’s
Court,
the
Victorian
Stable
block,
remains.
Only
the
core
parts
of
the
gardens
and
park
survived
because
substantial
areas of the park were released for development of residential housing.
