- Sopwell House
Sopwell House is an historic country house, now a 128 room luxury hotel, situated just south of
St Albans ,Hertfordshire ,England . It has gained fame as the gathering place for theEngland national football team before international football events.Though mention of buildings on the site goes back to
1604 it was not developed as a country house until the master masonEdward Strong built his home here in the eighteenth century. Strong's career included work onSt Paul's Cathedral andBlenheim Palace .During the mid nineteenth century Sopwell House known then as New Barnes (or New Barns) was the seat of the philanthropist Mrs. Isabella Worley. Amongst the many donations to St Albans from this benefactor were Christ Church on Verulam Road and the Wooden Room in Lattimore Road.
The house was extended in Victorian times and in 1900 was leased to
Prince Louis of Battenberg , anAdmiral of theRoyal Navy who made it his family home. His 4 children grew up here, Alice Mountbatten,Louise Mountbatten , George Mountbatten and Louis Mountbatten. They all had notable lives.The young Louis, like his father, had a distinguished Royal Navy career and was to become the last British
Viceroy of India asLouis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma . Alice marriedPrince Andrew of Greece and their son isPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . The proposal of marriage was made in the ground of the house. Louise Mountbatten went on to marry and become Queen of Sweden.The home passed to the Verulam family after the Second World War and sold to become a hotel in
1969 .It should not be confused with the an earlier sixteenth century Sopwell House, the ruins of which remain today along Cottonmill Lane near the centre of St Albans. This was built on the site of
Sopwell Priory following the dissolution of the monasteries.Bus Connections
Uno buses route S4 linksSt Albans to Sopwell House - alight at Cottonmill Lane.ources
The hotel has a brief history of itself in its visitors' guide.
External links
* [http://www.sopwellhouse.co.uk/sopwell/index.htm The Sopwell House Hotel website]
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