Braxted Park

Braxted Park was first recorded as a Deer Park in 1342 when it belonged to the Countess of Pembroke. Some three centuries later, Thomas Darcy II, abandoned the old house situated close to Braxted church, and built Braxted Lodge on the site of the present house in 1680. Peter Du Cane, a cloth merchant and entrepreneur subsequently lived at Braxted Lodge until 1803 when his son inherited the park carrying out extensive alterations to both the house and grounds. In 1841 the estate was passed on to a cousin, Charles Du Cane, who maintained it until, following his his death in 1889, the estate went into a gradual decline.

Braxted Park was eventually sold by the Du Cane family to William Boulton in 1919, who then sold it to The Plessey Company in 1947. The house was occupied by Sir Allen Clark, chairman of the company and subsequently by his son, Michael Clark. In 1955, 45 acres in the north-west of the old park was developed as a private golf course and this continues to flourish today. The estate is now owned and managed by Sir Allen Clark's grandson, Duncan Clark who, along with his wife Nicky, devote all their energies full-time to making Braxted a thriving and self-sufficient diversified rural business.