Friar Park

Before musician George Harrison purchased Friar Park in 1970, the 19th century mansion and gardens it was occupied by many others, including Sir Percival David and Roman Catholic nuns belonging to the Salesians of Don Bosco order. The nuns ran a local school in Henley, the Sacred Heart School. The most celebrated was its original owner Sir Frank Crisp. Upon his death his family instructed Land Agents Messrs, LOFTS & WARNER and Auctioneers Messrs, SIMMONS & SONS to sell the Friar Park Estate, including all the grounds, the Boathouse on Henley-on-Thames, and three grand residential sites. The Sale by Auction took place on Saturday, August 9th, 1919, at 3 o'clock p.m. This publication is a an exact recreation of the original sales catalogue. For the benefit of showcasing particular details, many of the images have been colorized. The end of the book also includes BONUS COLORIZED PHOTOS of the beautiful house, gardens, secret caves, lakes, and extraordinary rock garden topped with a miniature version of the Matterhorn. The text in this book has not been seen in nearly 100 years, and even then it was seen by the select few who attended, or was associated with, the 1919 auction. Potential readers should be assured that we purposely design our books to be reminiscent of vintage publications. These are clearly not designed to look like shiny, glossy, coffee-table style books. They are designed to look like someone found them at the bottom of a stack of books, in a dusty old antique shop. Rather than being beautiful, the publishers chose to do something a bit more interesting and creative. This book is a must-have for any fan of Henley-on-Thames, English Country Houses, The Beatles, George Harrison, and of course Sir Frank Crisp.