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Centrum rozleglych niegdys dobrFawley Court stanm-vi zabytko­wy XVII-wieczny palac, otoczo­

ny parkiem, usytuowanym nad brze­giem Tamizy, na granicy hrabstwOxfordshire i Buckingamshire.

Historia posiadlosci sit(ga polowy XIwieku. Za panowania Edwarda Wy­znawcy (ok. 1003-1066) obronny dworz dobrami FaHey otrzymal Tostig, synGodwina, mianowany przez wladct(hrabiq Northumbrii, zas WilhelmI Zdobywca (1028-1087) podarowal goszwagrowi, Walterowi Giffordowi hra­biemu Buckingham. Przez blisko 400lat majqtek pozostawal w posiadaniurodziny de Sackville, potem jego kolej­nym wlascicielem zostal Thomas Ra­kes, szeryf Buckinghamshire za cza­sow Edwarda IV (1442-1483). W 1616roku przeszedl w rt(ce rodziny White­lock6w. W czasach wojny domowej1642-1646 Fawley znalazlo sit( na liniiwalk mir,;dzy rojalistami a wojskami

The Centre of the once vast hold­ings of Fawley Court is that of thehistoric 17th-century house and

surrounding gardens stretching alongthe Thames, on the border of Oxford­shire and Bllckinghamshire counties.

The history of Fawley Court reachesback to the mid-11th century. Duringthe reign of Edward the Confessor (c.1003-1066) a fortified manor with landsknown as 'FaHey' (from the plenitude offallow deer) came to be held by Tostig,the son of Earl Godwin, when the kingnamed him Earl of Northumberland.

After the Norman conquest, William I(c. 1028-1087) awarded it to his bro­ther-in-law, Walter Gifford, Earl ofBuckingham. Having passed to SirWilliam de Sackville in 1079, FawleyCourt remained with his descendentsfor the next four centuries. Thereafter it

came into the possession of ThomasRakes, the sheriff of Buckinghamshireduring the reign of Edward IV (1442-

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Cromwella. S~dzia Bulstrode White­lock byl zwolennikiem parlamentu, ro­jalisci zniszczyli wi~c Fawley Courtniemal doszcz~tnie. Nast~pny wlasci­ciel posiacUosci, pik William Freemanrozpoczql w 1684 r. budow~ nowej,wspaniaIej siedziby wecUug projektusir Christophera Wrena (1632-1723)krolewskiego architekta i matematyka.Si~gajqce konca XI wieku pozostalosciufortyfikowanego dworu zostaly wIq­czone w nowq bry1~. Pa1ac byl pozniejkilkakrotnie przebudovvywany: oko1o1787 r. prosta elewacja glowna otrzy­mala jonskq kolumnad~, zas w 1884 r.dodano do budynku jedno z dwuzaprojektowanych przez Williama D.Mackenzie skrzydel.

W latach 30. XVIII w. owczesny wfa­sciciel Fawley Court, architekt amatorJohn Freeman zaprojektowal otaczajq­ce dom zewn~trzne tarasy i ogrodw stylu nawiqzujqcym do projektowWilliama Kenta (1685-1748) ze znaj­dujqcymi si~ w nim pawilonami - na­strojowq swiqtyniQ, trojosiowQ bramqwodnq zdobionq rustykq i pokrytym

1483). In 1616 Fawley Court passed tothe Whitelock family. During the firstphase of the English Civil Wars (1642­1646) Fawley found itself caught in thecrossfire be1:\veen the Royalists and thearmies of Cromwell. As Judge BulstrodeWhitelock was a supporter of Parlia­ment, the Royalist forces destroyedFawley Court almost entirely. In 1684the next owner, Colonel William Free­man, began the construction of a newand marvellous residence designed bySir Christopher Wren (1632-1723),crown architect and mathematician.

The surviving elements of the 11th-cen­tury fortified manor were integratedinto the new structure. The House hassince been remodelled several times. For

instance, in 1787 its simple elevationreceived an ionic colonnade, and in1884 one of 1:\vo wings designed byWilliam D. Mackenzie was added.

In the 1730s Fawley Court's owner,amateur architect John Freeman,designed outdoor terraces surroundingthe house and a garden whose style wasreflective of designs by William Kent

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przed 1732 r. ruina swiqtyni stanowiprzyldad angielskiej neogotyckiejarchitektury ogrodowej. Byly w niejeksponowane antyczne rzeiby ze slyn­nej kolekcji hrabiego Arundel, m.in.Gigant z oltarza pergamonskiego.Rzeiby te zostaly sprzedane w 1986 r.

IN latach 70. XVIII w. pracowalw Fawley Court, projektujqc nowy wy­stroj wn~trz, wybitny architekt JamesWyatt, uczen Roberta Adama. Z tegookresu zachowal si~ wystroj dwumniejszych salonow palacu, z sufitamiz 1771 roku w stylu Adamow orazneoklasycznymi kominkami autor­stwa Wyatta oraz Johna FrancisaMoore'a z lat 1767-1771. Wystroj bi­blioteki z roku 1804 zostal wykonanywedlug projektu cenionej rzeibiarkiAnny Darner Seymour.

Okolo 1770 roku Sambrook Freeman

zlecil przeprojektowanie parku Lance­lotowi "Capability" Brownowi. Zam­kni~ciem wyznaczonej przez slynnegoogrodnika glownej osi widokowej bylaneoklasyczna swiqtynia usytuowana

The sham millS ofatemple ill the pari?

(1685-1748). It included various pavil­ions - such as the evocative temple ­and the watergate in rustic style and thebridge covered in flint. The sham ruinsof a temple built in 1732 is the earliestexample of neo-gothic garden architec­ture in England. It housed Greek andRoman sculptures from the famous col­lection of Count Arundel, including theGreat Altar of Pergamon. In 1986 these'Arundel Marbles' were all sold.

In the 1770s the renowned architect

J ames Wyatt, a student of Robert Adam,designed new interiors for FawleyCourt. Two of the resultant parlourshave survived, along with the ceilingsdone in 1771 in the Adams' style andthe neo-classical fireplaces designed byWyatt and John Francis Moore. The1804 library interiors were executedaccording to the design of the talentedsculptress Anne Darner Seymour.

In about 1770, Fawley Court's subse­quent owner, Sambrooke Freeman,commissioned the famous landscapearchitect Lancelot "Capability" Brownto redesign the parkland. Brown laid

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na wysepce Temple Island na Tamizie.Zaprojektowana przez Jamesa Wyattaw latach 1769-1771 jest najwczesniej­SZq zachowanq do dzis udokumento­wanq jego praCq, a wnt(trze stanowiprzyklad kr6tkotrwalej mody na deko­racjt( w stylu etruskim. Budowla ta pel­ni rolt( punktu orientacyjnego w co­rocznych Henley Royal Regatta, kt6­rych zainicjowanie w 1839 roku przy­pisuje sit( jednemu z Freeman6w.W 1853 r. palac w Fawley Court zna­lazl sit( na 100 lat w rt(kach rodzinyMackenzie. W tym okresie WilliamMackenzie zaprojektowal malowniczykanallqczqcy palac Z Tamizq.

Palac Fawley Court w ciqgu wiekowbyl celem wizyt czlonk6w rodziny pa­nujacej: w 1688 r. w palacu zatrzymalsit( 'Wilhelm III Oranski z zonq Mariqw drodze na koronacjt(, w okresie re­gencji obaj kr61mvie J erzy IIIi J erzy IV czt(sto odwiedzali palac.Rowniez Wilhelm IV, przyjaciel PeeraFreemana Williamsa z czasow wsp61­nej sluzby w Kr61ewskiej Marynarce

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Wa tCl:c;a tc }/"OIII the 1730"alld the brl{(c;e overthi' [{lIwl

out a vista that culminated with a neo­

classical temple built upon a holm in theThames. Designed by James Wyatt in1769-1771, it represents the oldest sur­viving example of his work. Moreover,the temple's interiors are the earliestEnglish example of the short-lived fash­ion for Etruscan style. To this day itserves as a point of reference in theannual Henley Royal Regatta, initiatedin 1839 by one of the Freemans. In 1853the house at Fawley Court passed to theMackenzie family for \-vhat was to be100 years. It was then that WilliamMackenzie designed the picturesquecanal that joins the house with theThames.

Down through the centuries FawleyCourt has been visited by members ofthe Royal family. In 1688 on their wayto the coronation ceremony, William ofOrange and his wife Mary stopped atFawley Court, as later both George IIIand George IV did on numerous occa­sions. William IV, a friend of PeerFreeman Williams from the time of

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Kaplier,:Swiee

Wojennej, odwiedzal Fawley Courtprzy roznych okazjach.

Dopiero druga wojna swiatowai zmiana sytuacji spoleczno-ekono­micznej spowodowaly koniec swietno­sci rezydencji. Na aukcji w 1952 rokuwyprzedano caly ruchomy majqtekFawley Court, a trudny do utrzymaniaw nowych warunkach palac przezna­czono do rozbiorki. Nabycie palacuw 1953 r. przez Zgromadzenie Ksi~zyMarianow zmienilo sytuacj~. Nowiwlasciciele przeznaczyli budynek napolskq szkol~ - Kolegium Bozego Milo­sierdzia, przy niej zas ks. J ozef Jarz((­bowski utworzyl Muzeum i bibliotek((.Szkola dzialala do 1986 roku, Muzeumnadal sluzy publicznosci.

Muzeum Ksiyzy Marianow w Faw­ley Court powstalo przy polskiej szko­Ie zalozonej w 1953 r. przez o. JozefaJ arz~bowskiego. Podstawowq cz~sc

5

11 th-eel1tw'JJNorman portaldecorating theCalldle Chapel

their service in the Royal Navy, also vis­ited Fawley Court several times.

Events related to World War II and

Britain's socia-economic changes speltthe end of the estate's splendour. At anauction in 1952 Fawley Court's entiremovable property was sold off, and itwas determined that the House itself

would be demolished. The 1953 pur­chase of the palace by the Congregationof Marian Fathers rescued it from that

fate. The new owners designated theHouse as a Polish school - the Divine

Mercy College - alongside which FatherJozefJarzybowski founded the Museumand library. The school operated until1986, and the Museum continues toserve the public to this day.

The Marian Fathers' Museum at

Fawley Court arose alongside the Polishschool founded in 1953 by Fr. J6zefJarzybowski. The Museum's core mate-

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zbiorow stanowiq eksponaty z dziala­jqcego w okresie mitidzywojennymmuzeum przy Gimnazjum Zgromadze­nia Ksitizy Marian6w na Bielanachw Warszawie. Ocalale z wojny zbioryzacztito zwozic do Anglii w koncu latpiticdziesiqtych XX w. Byly to g16wniezabytki zwiqzane z powstaniem stycz­niowym 1863 roku, w tym pamiqtkipo Romualdzie Trauguttcie, dokumen­ty kr6l6w, wodz6w i bohater6w naro­dovvych, autografy literackie orazksiqzki i druki ulotne.

Okres najprtizniejszej dzialalnoscii powitikszania zbiorow przypadl nalata 50. i 60. XX w. Liczni goscie od­wiedzali muzealne wystavvy, biblio­teka sluzyla szkole. W odpowiedzina apel skierowany do Polonii w Wiel­kiej Brytanii ofiarowano rodzinnepamiqtki, ksitigozbiory i dokumen­ty, powstalo Towarzystwo Przyjaci61Fawley Court wspierajqce finanso­wo szkolti i Muzeum. Zbiory powitik­szaly siti rowniez przez zakupy odkolekcjonerow i antykwariuszy w An-

rials are comprised of exhibits takenfrom the museum that during the inter­war period operated alongside theMiddle School run by the Congregationof Marian Fathers in Warsaw's Bielanydistrict. The collections that had sur­

vived the War began to be transferred toEngland in the 1950s. They mostlyincluded historic artefacts pertaining tothe January Uprising of 1863 (notably,the memoirs of Romuald Traugutt, theUprising's final leader), along withpapers of Polish kings, statesmen andnational heroes, as well as original liter­ary manuscripts, books and brochures.

The most intensive efforts to increasethe size of the Museum's collections

were expended in the 1950s and 60s.Numerous guests then visited theMuseum's exhibitions, and the libraryserved the school. In response to anappeal addressed to the Polish commu­nity in Great Britain, family papers,book collections and documents wereoffered to the Museum. Moreover, the

Society of Friends of Fawley Court,

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Tile spectacles of

ROlllzwld Trallglltt(1826-1864), the

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T~arist rule of Po lCllIII

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d,ljlaatora pO!£Istalliast.lJclliOJul/jo 1863 I:

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glii, Francji, Wloszech, Polsce i Niem­czech.

Dzi~ki staraniom kolejnych przelo­ionych Zgromadzenia, przede wszyst­kim ks. Pawla J asinskiego, zbiorywzbogacily si~ 0 kilkadziesiqt pl6cieno tematyce religijnej i zabytkowe me­ble. Obrazy nabywano m. in. w domuaukcyjnym Christie's, cz~s6 to daryprzyjaci61. W 1965 roku do Muzeumtrafily pamiqtki po gen. J 6zefie Halle­rze. W 1966 roku Witold Buchowski

podarowal kolekcj~ polskiej historycz­nej broni bialej, a w 1985 roku Zyg­munt Stanislaw Ipohorski-Lenkiewiczofiarowal zbi6r bialej broni, obejmujq­cy eksponaty z calego swiata.

Zbiory Muzeum powi~kszajq si~ na­dal dzi~ki darom Polonii. Najcz~sciejsq to przedwojenne pamiqtki rodzinneoraz swiadectwa walki Polak6w na

frontach II wojny swiatowej i martyro­logii pod okupacja niemieckq czy so­wieckq: mundury, odznaczenia ele­menty uzbrojenia, oftarze polowe r6i­nych formacji, materialy archiwalnezwiqzane z dzialalnosciq wladz woj­skowych czy cywilnych na vvychodi­stwie. Sq to takie dziela artyst6w dzia-

which then had come into being, active­ly lent financial assistance to the schooland Museum. The collections also

increased through purchases made fromcollectors and second-hand book deal­

ers in England, France, Italy, Polandand Germany.

Owing to the endeavours of succes­sive superiors of the Congregation, inparticular those of Fr. Pawel Jasinski,the collections were enriched with seve­

ral dozen religious paintings and withantique furniture. Some paintings werepurchased at Christie's, others came asgifts from patrons. In 1965 the Museumreceived the memoirs of General J 6zefHaller (1873-1960). In 1966 WitoldBuchowski presented the Museum witha Polish sword collection, and in 1985Zygmunt Stanislaw Ipohorski-Lenkie­wicz presented yet another, this timeone made up of swords from the worldover.

The Museum's collections continue to

grow thanks to gifts offered by Britain'sPolish community. Said gifts most ofteninclude the pre-war papers of Polishfamilies, as well as documents regardingthe armed struggle of Poles on World

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The PcrsiallsH'ord collectioll

lajqcych na emigracji, m.in. p16tnai akwarele Kazimierza Pacewicza

(1895-1974) .W 1979 r. Muzeum zostalo jednym

z czlonk6w-zalozycieli Stalej Konfe­rencji Muze6w, Biblioteki i Archiw6wPolskich na Zachodzie. W 1982 roku,po wpisaniu do rejestr6w, otwartoFawley Court dla publicznosci. Obec­nie do zwiedzania udostypniona jestcZysc pokoi na parterze i na pierw­szym piytrze palacu z zachowanymzabytkowym charakterem wnytrz i za­aranzowanymi w nich stalymi ekspo­zycjami malarstwa, broni, grafiki,rysunku i dawnej ksiqzki oraz ekspo­zycjq. historycznq. w Sali "Drogi doNiepodleglosci".

War Two's various fronts and the war

crimes committed then by Germans andSoviets against the Polish population,Other donations include military uni­forms, medals, weapons, field altars andarchival materials concerning the activ­ities of Poland's civil and militaryauthorities in exile. Also to be found are

the works of emigre artists, if only tomention those of the painter KazimierzPacewicz (1895-1974), In 1979 theMuseum was a founding member of thePermanent Conference of Polish Mu­

seums, Libraries and Archives in theWest. In 1982, fo11owing its legal reg­istry, Fawley Court was opened to thepublic. Presently guests may visit anumber of the rooms on the groundfloor and the first floor that have pre­served the historical character of their

interiors. Moreover, the rooms that maybe seen boast permanent exhibitions ofpaintings, weapons, graphic prints,drawings and early books. There is alsoa historical exhibition in one of the

large rooms entitled 'Poland's Road toIndependence'.

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Historic Houseand Museum

H enley-on- ThamesOxon RG9 3AE

Fawley Court by Sir Christopher Wren (1684)

CON EGATIOOF MARIAN FATHERS

THE SECOND EDITION

Since the first edition of this brochure there have been some changes andfurther development of the museum.

The museum at Fawley Court originally intended to serve the school, whichexisted here from 1953 to 1986, has long gone beyond this limited role, havingbecome an important istitution and for years now has shown Poles and otherssome of Poland's history and her part in Western European culture.

During the forty years of Fawley Court and the museum cared for by thecongregation of Marian Fathers, a number of people worked hard in maintainingthis historic house and its many collections, however one cannot fail to mentionthe founder, Fr. Joseph and one of hi~.successors, Fr. Paul, todays Director of thismuseum. Due to their enthusiasm and appreciation of fine arts and historicalobjects they devotedly gathered -and encouraged others to collect any valuablesand documents of national importance to present and future generations ofPoles.

1

b~',Apart from many such exhibits, about six years ago the museum received a

marvellous collection of historic sabres and other hand weapons, dating from16th to 19th century, from a notable Polish collector, Mr. Z. Ipohorski~Lenkiewicz.

During the last two years it ha.sbeen possible to recreate the room in whichthe late Father Joseph worked and wrote a number of historical books.

Nowadays, we are happy to be able to share these Polish mementos with ourvisitors and friends.

Museum Curator

Watergate over thestream to the designof John Freeman in

18th century.

2

Fawlev Court. View from the south.

A HISTORY OF FAWLEY COURT

The handsome building of Fawley Court stands on a site that has beenoccupied for over a thousand years. The name "Fawley" comes from the OldEnglish word for fallow deer, great herds of which once roamed this countryside.In Saxon times, records show that Tostig, son of Earl Godwin, held the manor of"Falley" when was created Earl of Northumberland by Edward the Confessor.

After the Norman conquest, Fawley manor was a reward from William I tohis brother-in-law, Walter Gifford, one of the leading compilers of the Doomsdaybook. The Normans policed their new country by putting reliable and powerfulmen in the manors of England, and Sir William de Sakeville was "one Knight'sfee in Fawley" from 1079. The Sackvflles built a fortified manor house in the 12thcentury and today part of this exists in the fine stone arches springing fromcentral pillars in the basement. The family held Fawley for nearly 400 years untilthe 1470's when the manor passed in marriage to Thomas Rokes, created Sheriffof Buckinghamshire by Henry IV.

3

"Folly" atFawley Court parkerected by Freemans.

In 1616 Fawley was sold do Sir James Whitelock, a noted judge who shortlyafterwards bought Phyllis Court and Henley Park to round out his estate. His son,Sir Bulstrode Whitelock was also famous as a judge and parliamentarian, thechairman of the committee who sentenced Strafford to death and the only one ofthe judges who, Strafford said, "used him like a gentleman". In lighter momentshe presented a Masque before King Charles at Whitehall.

4

The Hall- looking towards the Library

When the Civil War broke out, Fawley was caught in the crossfire betweenRoyalist troops under Prince Rupert and the Roundheads. Because Sir Bulstrodewas a wellknown supporter of Parliament, Royalist soldiers took Fawley Courtapart, destroying all they could lay their hands on, and finally went off with thecoach and all the horses. Extensive damage was done to the building by shellingin various engagements, and when Sir Bulstrode was appointed Governor byCromwell, he had to live at Phyllis Court.

Sir Bulstrode did well under Cromwell, ending up as Ambassador toSweden, but had to face swingeing fines when Charles II was restored to thethrone - £ 90,000 for his activities in the Civil War. He managed to keep the estateintact to hand on to his son, but the second Sir James was forced to sell to Col.William Freeman, who began the work of rebuilding. He asked his friend thefamous Sir Christopher Wren to design a fine family residence and Fawely Courtwas completed in 1684. Five years later, William of Orange on his march fromTorbay to London called in at Fawley Court with his wife Mary on their way totheir coronation. In 1690 - the date is quite clear - the famous woodcarver andsculptor, Grinling Gibbons was responsible for the design of the outstandingceiling in the Drawing Room, one of only three ceilings of this kind in the country.

5