Building the Fitzharry’s Estate
In 1946 the British Government created the Atomic Energy Research Establishment to explore the use of nuclear fission, and an RAF airfield at Harwell was chosen as the home of the new facility. The influx of scientists, technicians and administrators was at first accommodated in prefabs erected around the site, but plans were quickly put in place to build housing estates for staff and their families in nearby towns.
The first of these estates was constructed in Abingdon, on the site of Fitzharris Manor. The area was selected in April 1946, and in November 1948 the owner, A G Hedges, agreed after protracted negotiations to sell the property for £7,500. In the meantime however the Ministry of Supply had used wartime powers to push ahead: designs for houses were being discussed as early as May 1946, and a building contract was let to a local firm in November 1946.
The estate was to consist of 140 3- and 4-bed semi-detached houses. The designs produced by the Ministry of Works were based on those developed for married quarters on other government sites, but were very generously sized and included a number of advanced features. The 4-bed houses, which comprised half of the estate, had a larger floor area than that allowed at the time for new housing, and a special dispensation had to be obtained from the Ministry of Health. Advanced features included many built-in cupboards and a (temperamental) warm air central heating system. The layout of the estate, at a density of only 7 houses per acre, was equally generous and attractive.
Building began in later 1946, although the ferocious winter of 1946-7 and shortages of building materials initially slowed progress. The first families moved into the estate in 1947, and building works were completed in 1948.
The derelict Fitzharris Manor House in February 1950
Meanwhile the manor house was still empty, following the departure of the girls’ school which had occupied it during wartime. It was used to store materials by the building contractor during the construction of the estate, but following the completion of the works it remained closed up. Neglected and increasingly a hazardous playground for local children, the house became a local cause célèbre. Attempts were made to find a new use for the property, but these all failed to bear fruit. In 1952 the government proposed that the house be pulled down and, despite strong local opposition, questions in Parliament and letters in The Times, demolition began in March 1953.