Ilmer House
The history of Ilmer House
Born in September 1873 to parents David and Elizabeth, Albert Goodchild was the 7th of 9 children. An elder brother had died in infancy. At the 1871 census, his parents were living in Longwick, but by the time of Albert's birth, they had moved to the Old Vicarage in Ilmer.
Tragedy struck in December 1885 when Elizabeth died of "fatty degeneration of the heart". Albert was 12. His younger brother Owen was 9 and youngest brother Ernest was 7. Just a year later, their father David had a heart attack and died.
Their older brother Thomas, who had been lodging at Horsenden Cottage near Longwick at the 1881 census moved to the Old Vicarage with his young family by the 1888 Electoral Register and was looking after Albert, Owen and Ernest. Thomas, a poultry farmer, along with another brother John were executors of David's will when Thomas was 22.
By the time of the 1891 census, Albert then aged 17 was living in Wycombe in a property just north of the railway station called Townfield Terrace. He was working as a gardener. In 1894 he married Elizabeth Mason in Bromley, London and by 1901 he is recorded in Kelly's directory as a nurseryman in Ravenscroft Road, Beckenham, London.
Meanwhile, in 1892, his youngest brother Ernest aged 13 departed Liverpool bound for Quebec and arrived at the Children's Aid Society Reception Home in Winnipeg. He returned to Ilmer/Longwick at least once as an adult but lived the rest of his life in Canada with his wife and children.
By 1907, Albert was further recorded in Kelly's as a wholesaler at the foreign flower market of Covent Garden. An advert in a Guernsey newspaper seeking flower growers indicates his import business.
In 1905, Ilmer Farm, also known as Upper Farm was put up for sale. It had previously been owned by the joint owners of the manor - the Raper family. Sarah Maria Clotilda Raper had died in 1881. Richard Belgrove, father of Charles Belgrove, the "Ilmer Hermit", was tenant farmer. Albert must have made sufficient money from his Covent Garden business to puchase the farm in 1909. He then set about demolishing the farmhouse and building the grand Ilmer House in its place.
Despite having property on Ravenscroft Road in Beckenham London, Albert also had bought a very large property at 132 Tulse Hill, London. Ilmer church minutes showed he would spend part of the year in Ilmer and the rest in London. He later renamed the property Ilmergrove. A postcard showing the property is on the left. In 1924, Albert sold this property and for a short period it became the Ilmergrove Hotel. It ceased being a hotel in 1936, being converted into private flats before being razed to the ground on 16th July 1943 by a V1 bomb.
Albert sold his nursery business in Beckenham in 1916 and purchased the Old Vicarage in 1927. He re-routed the public footpath that originally ran between the Old Vicarage and the eastern chancel of the church, leading past Ilmer House. From 1925, the footpath was diverted the other side of the farm barns. In 1928, he offered to supply electricity to Ilmer Church from the Ilmer House generator. But in 1931, Albert died aged 57 leaving widow Elizabeth and children including his youngest child (Robert) Douglas. It was Douglas who would go on to start building the nursery and glasshouses in the centre of the village on what is now Ilmer Meadows. Douglas lived at the Old Vicarage.
Springtime at Ilmer House. Unknown Date. Source: Flickr - ewart white, john field
Elizabeth married their long-standing solicitor Charles Keene in 1933 and moved to live with him at 67 Devon Road, Cheam, London. In 1932, Ilmer House was put up for auction (see photo at top of page) and by 1935, William White was living there.
It was described in the Bucks Herald's May 27 1932 issue as:
275 feet up, with S.E. and S.W. aspects, Vestibule and Hall, 3 Reception Rooms, Billiard Room, Study, 10 Bed and Dressing Rooms, 2 Bathrooms, Offices, Own Electric Light and Water, Central Heating, Modern Drainage, Lavatory Basins in Bedrooms, Garage, Two Cottages, excellent Farm Buildings. Deligtful[sic] Gardens with Tennis and Croquet Lawns in all about 116 acres with Vacant Posession of House, Farm Buildings, 1 Cottage and Garden. Hunting with the South Oxfordshire, Old Berkeley, Bicester etc
William White didn't stay long as by 1936 he sold his Ilmer estate. Ilmer House was then purchased by (Robert) Harold Attenborough, a member of the Attenborough family of pawnbrokers and money brokers, previously based in Bushey near Watford. There is no evidence of any link to the acting dynasty. During the war, Ilmer House was used as a nursing home for children evacuated during the war. They employed Anne Elizabeth "Betty" Wheelwright as a children's nurse. She went on to marry Harold's son (Robert) Meric who for many years lived at Close End Cottage and farmed Manor Farm. In a letter of October 1945, the Tithe Redemption Commission wrote to R H Attenborough, then owner of Ilmer House. It describes tithe area 67 (Church Close), referred to as Ilmer Close Fund, with an annuity of 1s·10d, to be paid by R H Attenborough. In the 1950's Mrs Attenborough invited members of the Darby and Joan club for tea and farm visits. They were given eggs and flowers to take away. In 1958, Harold's daughter (Annie) Mavis married (Stanley) Frank Head who was a Commander in the Navy. Harold gave them the land known as Old Orchard as a wedding gift, on which they built the present house.
Elizabeth Goodchild sold the Old Vicarage in 1946, after her son Douglas had been declared bankrupt due to his failed nursery enterprise.
Even though Harold Attenborough had failing eyesight, he still helped out on his son's farm putting tops on the bottles of milk. He died in 1968 aged 88. Within 6 months, Ilmer House had been sold to William Greaves Underwood and his then-wife Susan. Susan's parents Alan Philip Lloyd Cogswell, known as Coggie and (Audrey) Sylvia Cogswell also lived at Ilmer House with their son-in-law and daughter. Alan was an anaesthetist and lawyer, whilst Sylvia was an expert and author in orthoptics under her maiden name of Jackson. During this time, Ilmer House also had a flat which for a period was the home of the Spittles family - Charlie Spittles worked on the Demonstration Farm. In the 1970s, the Village Fete was held at Ilmer House with parking at the Shellstar offices. This stopped when the fete became too successful with around 1,500 visitors following a mention on a BBC Radio 2 show.
In 1985, Ilmer House was put up for sale and purchased by the present owner. William Greaves Underwood moved to Brill and died in 2023 and former wife Susan died in 2025.