History

Sir Richard Hotham, a London hatter, the trade for which he is mostly remembered as ‘Hotham the Hatter.’ hence the name of the public house The Hatters in the Queensway. He moved to and developed Bognor from an insignificant hamlet into a fashionable seaside resort, having come to the area to partake of the beneficial sea air, built Hotham Park House in 1792.

In 1787 he laid the first foundation stone of this new seaside resort thereby becoming the founder of Bognor. He was only to live here for seven years before his death in 1799. The fine mansion was named The Lodge at that time and had its own private chapel. The clock tower is the only remaining part of Sir Richard’s chapel.

Sir Richard was in fact only to live here for seven years before his death in 1799, but not before he developed his dream of building a new resort, similar in nature to Brighton, whereby Royalty and the rich would visit, and his plans thus affected the area for the next 200 years or more.

The house he built is grade II* listed and is privately owned. The clock tower attached to the house contains the oldest clock (1794) in this part of Sussex, and the Park was farmland in Sir Richard’s time.

During the 1940′s there were many letters in the press about the use of this area, which of course previously had basically been the grounds of a private house, closed to members of the general public. One letter remarked that ‘Bognor has always lacked a place where, when the winds are high, residents and visitors can spend their leisure hours’ another wrote that ‘it would be deplorable to convert it into a modern park,’ finally one letter believed that part of it should be turned into a garden of remembrance. As we know these plans did not materialize. However, on 23rd May 1947 Captain Corbishley, Chairman of the Bognor Regis Council, opened the area as a Park for the benefit of all.

There were plans in 1976 to demolish the house and leave just the clock tower standing, thankfully this did not happen but to many of us it is just a clock tower, whilst in fact, the clock is the original mechanism that was placed there in 1794 and made by John Thwaites of Clerkenwell. This was hand wound until 1994 when modern technology took over. The climb to the top takes in approx. 63 steps and must have been a labor of love for the some of the staff who have undertaken this task over the years. Two such people were James McFadyen, Head Gardener, and Lee Powell, who both worked for William Fletcher. John Ballett Fletcher bought the house in 1857 and had the chapel demolished, except for its tower. In 1899 the house, then called Bersted Lodge, passed to his eldest son William Holland Ballett Fletcher (1852–1941) who renamed it Aldwick Manor in honor of the fact that he had inherited the Lordship of the Manor of Aldwick. He improved the surrounding parkland by planting trees, shrubs and exotic plants in collaboration with Kew Gardens. His only son was killed on active service in 1915 and when he himself died in 1941 the house was taken over by the Ministry of Pensions for the remainder of the Second World War. After the war, the park was purchased by Arun District Council and developed as an amenity for the people of Bognor. The house itself remained empty until 1977, finally, Abraham Singer took a great interest in the house, which he eventually purchased in 1977. He was keen on its history and restoration, both inside and outside, retaining the charm and character of the building while changing the house into a series of flats.

There are many other areas within the Park which have an interesting history, such as The Ice House.

The Ice House (Hotham Park)

The history also extends to many of the plants and shrubs within the Park. During the 1940′s a local reporter had the opportunity to walk through the Park with William Fletcher and was able to hear first-hand of some of the interesting plants that existed in his grounds. She kindly detailed over 36 varieties of exotic plants, shrubs, and trees, many of which had not been seen in the area before William Fletcher planted them.

There is also within the Park a cork oak tree, which it is alleged was planted in the 1870s when Mrs. Fletcher picked up the acorn at Goodwood, the year in which they married, it was to be their own special commemoration of that event.

Another little-known fact is that between Hotham Park House and today’s library there was an enclosed garden, which was used by the staff of the house to grow their own produce for use in the house. To assist them they also had their own refrigerator – well not exactly, it was, in fact, the Ice House, which was built in 1792 and was within the grounds of the house which today can be viewed on London Road, near the front of Edward Bryant school. During this period there were in fact over 3,000 built nationally. The construction, similar to an igloo, is 18 feet deep from the top of the door to the floor, with approximately 12 feet below ground level.

There is an unnamed report dated 12th August 1793, when Sir Richard Hotham was entertaining the Duke of St. Albans, which reports, “I mused, stalwart servants had heaved up the ice blocks and hurried them away on a cart across the woodlands of the estate to the waiting kitchen staff.” Quite a way to travel with ice, not at all similar to going to the ‘fridge in the kitchen!’

When you walk through the Park it is interesting to take the time to look around and see some of these historical features. In addition to enjoying the peace and quiet of this green space, alongside all the wonderful trees and shrubs, visitors can have fun on the miniature railway and boating lake as well as enjoying refreshments at the new café which was opened in June 2015.

Hotham Park Cafe in Bognor Regis (image from Facebook)

We are lucky that we have this award winning park close to the center of our town, however, we must continue to use it and help the Trustees who are currently working to secure its future.

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