Full of historical interest and characteristic features, the history of Cossington Park over its 400 years is evident throughout the house and grounds.
The house has been home to explorers, adventurers, sailors, politicians and philanthropists.
The family originally lived in the neighbouring manor house, but in 1901 the Reverend Allan Douglas Graham, who founded the children’s communication charity ICAN, sold Cossington House to help finance the 100 disadvantaged children he looked after.
He extended, refurbished and moved into the neighbouring pair of medieval cottages to create the Cossington Park that you see today. A beautiful sculpture, celebrating the charity, was created three years ago by local artist Karen Roberts and can be found in the White Garden. Karen also painted the ‘trompe l’oeil’ of the former view to Cossington House which can be seen in the walled games garden.
Guests who are interested in the history of Cossington Park will enjoy the traces and clues that can be found throughout the house, in the pictures, family portraits, furniture, artefacts, the collection of 5,000 books dating back to the 17th Century and the many photograph albums and family papers.
The large brass dolphins in the dining room fireplace were taken from the Devonshire, one of the ships under the command of Graham Wason’s rear-admiral grandfather; while an oil painting of a beautiful lake-side house in Scotland depicts the home of his great great grandfather, Peter Rigby Wason MP, a promoter of the 1832 Reform Bill and co-founder of The Reform Club in London.
In the garden you will find the exotic Chinese Zelkova elm tree, brought back by an ancestor from China 200 years ago, and further afield, Cossington Church contains many memorials to generations of the family.
Visit our blog section where you will be able to read more about Cossington’s history …