Munden, near Watford
Home of Arthur Holland-Hibbert
Drawing by F. G. Kitton from Hertfordshire County Homes
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MUNDEN, the residence of the Hon. Arthur Henry Holland - Hibbert, is situated near Bricket \Vood, and, approximately, about half way between ~ Watford and St. Albans. Although the house itself is a modern structure, the estate has an interesting history. It was originally known by the name of Meriden, and before it came to the Crown on the Dissolution it formed part of the possessions of the Abbey of St. Albans. The Eighth Harry, according to Clutterbuck, granted it on the 16th June, 1546, to Edward Waldegrove, of Sudbury, Co. Suffolk. and it was afterwards possessed by Edward, Lord Denny (son of Sir Anthony Denny), who in 1607 sold it to Thomas Ewer, of the Lea, in the parish of Watford. From Thomas Ewer it passed into the hands of the ancestors of the present owner. The estate, comprising some 1050 acres, embodies all the most charming characteristics of Hertfordshire scenery. The gently undulating park, the stately oaks, the clumps of elms, with here and there the dark foliage of the yew or the cedar, the homely farm-buildings, the winding Colne, teeming with fish and water fowl, constitute a natural picture on which the reputation of the English landscape might safely be staked. Nestling behind the seclusion afforded by ivy-clad out-buildings and thick growths of holly, Spanish laurels, and fir trees, is the Mansion, its position being such that from the windows views can be obtained of the choicest bits of scenery. Up to the time of the death of Mr. Rogers Parker (an ancestor of the Hon. A. Holland Hibbert) in 1828, the residence known as Munden was an old-fashioned farmhouse. As soon as the celebrated George Hibbert (F.R.S., and an eminent London merchant) became possessed of the estate he set about erecting the present house in the peculiar style which in the days of George IV. was commonly known as Tudor-Gothic. The old house was allowed to remain, but the windows and doors were altered and over them were placed hood mouldings of stucco. When the west wing was added, it was probably intended to build a corresponding wing on the other side, but this design has not been carried out. Although the principal part of the mansion is of comparatively modern date-as country mansions go-the mellowing hand of Time has affected its external appearance to such an extent that an ordinary observer might easily be deceived into dating its erection several centuries back. ... |
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Postcards, circa 1905 by F. Downer, Watford |
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| The Hon. Arthur Henry Holland-Hibbert, D.L., J.P., C.A. Full text from Hertfordshire Leaders à
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The noble house of Kuntsford springs from John Holland of Mobberley, Cheshire, who married Mary, the daughter of Peter Colthurst, of Little Warford. His great-grandson, Henry, one of the late Queen Victoria's Physicians in Ordinary, was created a Baronet on May 10th, 1853. He died on October 27th, 1873, leaving, with other issue by his first wife Margaret Emma, fourth daughter of James Caldwell, of Linley Wood, Staffordshire, a son, Henry Thurstan, 2nd Baronet, who was raised to the peerage on February 23rd, 1888, and advanced to a Viscountcy on August 3rd, 1895. The subject of our present sketch, the Honourable Arthur Henry HollandHibbert, of Munden, Watford, was born on March 19th, 1855, and is the second son of Viscount Knutsford, who was Assistant Under Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1810 to 1874, Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1885, Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1887 until 1892, an Ecclesiastical Commissioner for England, Vice-President of the Council on Education in 1885, 1886, and 1887, Bencher of the Society of the Inner Temple, and Member of Parliament for Midhurst from 1874 to 1885, and for Hampstead from 1885 to 1888, by his first wife, who died on April 12th, 1855, Elizabeth Margaret, daughter of Nathaniel Hibbert, Esq., of Munden House, Hertfordshire, which Mr. Arthur Holland-Hibbert subsequently inherited. On May 17th, 1876, Mr. Holland-Hibbert assumed, by Royal License, the additional surname and arms of Hibbert, in compliance with the will of his maternal grandmother, Emily Hibbert, widow of his grandfather, Nathaniel Hibbert, of Munden House, and daughter of the Reverend Sydney Smith, Canon of St. Paul's. He married on November 5th, 1884, Ellen, the daughter of the late Sir Wilfred Lawson, Bt., M.P., the famous Temperance Advocate, and has by her two sons, Thurstan anda Wilfred, and one daughter, Elsie. During his early years the sea fascinated Mr. Holland-Hibbert, and for some years he served in the Royal Navy retiring, however, in 1875, with the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant. On retiring from the Navy he went to Cambridge University, being only twenty years of age at the time of sending in his papers. Mr. Holland-Hibbert is a twin with his brother the Honourable Sydney George Holland, who is heir-apparent to the Viscountcy. Mr. Arthur Holland-Hibbert has always taken the deepest interest in the well-being of Hertfordshire and has nobly borne his share in the government of the County. He is both a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the County of which he was High Sheriff in 1890, whilst he has been a County Alderman since the commencement of the Local Government Act. |
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Arthur Henry Holland-Hibbert |
1901 Census for Munden, Leavesdon Ecclesiastical Parish, Watford Rural.
| HOLLAND-HIBBERT, Arthur H | Head | 46 | Magistrate L N W Director Living On Own Means | London |
| HOLLAND-HIBBERT, Ellen | Wife | 36 | Aspatria Parish, Cumberland | |
| HOLLAND-HIBBERT, Elsie | Daughter | 15 | Watford Parish, Hertfordshire | |
| HOLLAND-HIBBERT, Wilfred | Son | 8 | Watford Parish, Hertfordshire | |
| HARTMANN, Emmy L | Boarder | 42 | Teacher | Germany (Foreign Subject Germany) |
| BAICHE, Marie | Servant | 30 | Nurse (Domestic) | Switzerland (Foreign Subject Switzerland) |
| ORCHARD, Harriet M A | Servant | 26 | Nurse (Domestic) | Earlstow, Wiltshire |
| LEIGH, Alice | Servant | 31 | Cook (Domestic) | Hever, Kent |
| MESSIDER, Lily | Servant | 17 | Kitchenmaid (Domestic) | Tring, Hertfordshire |
| COLLINS, Daisy | Servant | 15 | Scullerymaid (Domestic) | Watford, Hertfordshire |
| PUTTOCK, Kate | Servant | 27 | Housemaid (Domestic) | Kirdford, Sussex |
| WHEELER, Emily | Servant | 21 | Housemaid (Domestic) | Warfield, Berkshire |
| FRIAND, Ernest | Servant | 20 | Footman (Domestic) | Sherfield on Loddon, Hampshire |
| RAYNER, Henry W | Servant | 15 | Hall Boy (Domestic) | Wimbledon, Surrey |
| TANDY, Ella | Servant | 30 | Lady's Maid (Domestic) | Elveston, Warwickshire |
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References to Arthur Holland-Hibbert on this Web Site |
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| He was on the Board of Managers of the London Orphan Asylum, Watford, in 1884. | London Orphan Asylum | |
| He attended a hunt of the Berkhamsted Staghounds in 1889. | The Staghounds at Cuckman's - 1889 | |
| He was the treasurer of the Old Berkley Hounds and hunted with then in 1890. | The Old Berkeley Hunt at Shendish | |
| When the First World War broke out he was appointed government horse buyer and went at once to Tring Show - where he brought the pick of the considerable number being exhibited. | Herts Yeomanry go to War | |
| The book on Hertfordshire Children includes a portrait and undoubtedly say more about his activities in the education field. | Hertfordshire Children in War and Peace, 1914-1939 |
| Page Created | March 2011 |
