Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedfordshire
This oblique aerial photograph shows the Wrest Park estate in the foreground and the village of Silsoe beyond. The entrance driveway to the house can be seen running in a straight line into the centre of the village. It passes 2 entrance lodges on the edge of the village. The A6 trunk road can be seen running between the village and the house and goes under a bridge just in front of the entrance lodges. The road used to run straight through the village until this bypass was built. The village and the house had a close relationship. Many people who lived in the village were employed in the house and local craftsmen were employed in building the present house in the 1830s. The De Gray family, who owned Wrest Park until 1917, endowed the village school and built the church and almshouses. Wrest Park passed into the care of English Heritage in 2006.
