Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedfordshire
A vertical aerial photograph of the Wrest Park estate in 1973. Wrest Park was the country estate of the De Gray family. The house was designed and built by Thomas Philip 2nd Earl de Grey in 1834- 39 just to the north of an earlier house. It can be seen immediately above the formal gardens laid out with 2 striking curled borders, To the left is the walled garden and to the right outbuildings including the stables. The De Gray family sold the house in 1917. During the Second World War it was acquired by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works. In 1947-8 they leased it to the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, later the Silsoe Research Institute. They remained there until 2006 when it passed into the care of English Heritage. The unusual shaped track may have been for testing tractors.
