Walmer Castle's
Lost Neighbour - Walmer Place
This location provides a view of the grounds which were once
called Walmer Place, the residence of the Marke Wood Family.
The land between Alexader Road (now Alexandra Road) and
Granville Road was originally woodland upon part of which a Queen
Anne House owned by Lord Warden William Pitt once stood. The land
was bought by the Dutchman Albert Ochs and Walmer Place was built
in 1901. Oochs created a luxurious manor house set in 16 acres of
land, the various flower gardens and borders were famous in their
time. Along with the beautifully maintained gardens and large pond
there was also a vast open green which contained a cricket square,
tennis courts and a bowls lawn.
Oochs sold the estate at the outbreak of the First World War to
Mr Marke Wood, he and his wife used the residence as a convenient
rest house before travelling onward to Italy to visit their
daughter, Rosamond, who after marrying a Count of the Italian court
became herself known as the Contessa Di Sant' Elia.
Contessa Di Sant' Elia's estranged marriage to her husband left
the her alone in England as the Count was always busy in the
Italian Court. Her life at Walmer Place was hindered further when
she was interned as an alien due to her marriage for the duration
of World War Two, an experience which was reported to have affected
her deeply. The Contessa had taste for the luxuries in life and
when she was not residing in the Lodge at Walmer Place (she
preferred the Lodge as it was away from the sea wind) she lived in
London in a suite in the Grosvenor Place or the Claridge's.
The site was put up for sale by the Contessa in 1958 and was
advertised as being a sumptuous residence with fifteen bed ad
dressing rooms, four bathrooms, a spacious oak panelled hall, a
reception room, a billiard room and complete offices. Walmer Lodge
was also advertised within the sale with seven bedrooms, two
bathrooms, three reception rooms and billiards or music room. The
two houses and gardens were suggested to be suitable for 'High
class preparatory school, ministerial or institutional purposes and
of special interest to estate developers'.
Sadly by 1965 the estate was sold and all main buildings and
gardens were demolished to be replaced by the apartment blocks that
stand on the site today. Walmer Place did not go easily though, it
took eight hours and eighty pound of gelignite to bring the tower
of the manor house down. The only remaining reminders of the
original estate are parts of the surrounding wall, the rectangular
pond and the garden house which can be seen from the cache
location.
Please do not remove any of the photographs and information
provided in the cache about the location.
A selection of small swaps have been included to start the cache
of including:
a 1st rubber, a nessie powerball and a clown keyring.