page_title: Spring Hill, East Cowes
section_title: Sir George Shedden (1877 – 1937)
hierarchical_section_title: Spring Hill, East Cowes / History / Sir George Shedden (1877 – 1937)
caption_attribution_description: English: A plaque to commemorate the opening of the Shedden Esplanade.
context_page_description: Spring Hill, East Cowes is an estate on the Isle of Wight, England, the centre-piece of which is the large landmark manor house of the same name. It was to become the family home of the Shedden family. The estate is ideally placed, having sweeping views over The Solent. It currently occupies 22 acres, although in years gone by, it was much bigger, probably amounting to around 100 acres. However, even today, it still encompasses Spring Hill House, a farmhouse, farm cottage, a gatehouse, one other large residence and around half a dozen fields. From the 1800s, East Cowes contained four prominent estates, with Spring Hill being amongst the first of them to be built. Spring Hill lay between East Cowes Castle and Norris Castle, with Osborne House, the country estate of Queen Victoria, close by.
  Spring Hill estate was purchased in 1794 by the wealthy William Goodrich, partner in a Bristol shipping business with his brother-in-law, Robert Shedden. The business traded in tobacco and sugar and at the time, East Cowes was the main customs post for importing tobacco and rice into Great Britain from America, making the Isle of Wight a useful base for him.
context_section_description: In 1881, following the death of Roscow Cole Shedden's wife, the executors of her will instructed an auction to be held at Spring Hill. Among the lots to be sold were nine dairy cows in calf, two heifers, one bull, one cart horse, three young calves, six pigs, 100 head of poultry, 60 tons of hay, a landau and numerous pieces of farming equipment.
  Educated at Cambridge, Sir George was called to the Bar in 1883 as a member of the Inner Temple. He was captain of the Isle of Wight Rifles from 1889 to 1894, commanding the Cowes detachment.
  By 1889, Sir George had moved out of Spring Hill into the neighbouring Millfield. Spring hill was by then occupied by Hugo Harpur Crewe, brother of Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe, 10th Baronet and Lady Harpur Crewe. By 1902, Sir George had returned to Spring Hill.
  George Shedden also inherited the estate in Paulerspury Park, as well as that of Spring Hill. However, Paulerspury Park was now much diminished, being of only 590 acres. George sold the farm in 1920 to its sitting tenant.
  The large hillside estate of Spring Hill originally ran right down to the shoreline. However, in 1924, George Shedden donated many acres of the shore and its esplanade to the people of East Cowes. It was reported that the long-desired scheme was largely brought about by the extremely generous and public-spirited action of Alderman George Shedden J.P., who munificently gave a valuable portion of his Spring Hill estate, abutting the foreshore. This also had the effect of supporting the Council in their effort to find work for around 200 unemployed men, suffering from the slackness in the shipbuilding industry, following the ending of the Great War. Shedden said that it was a very happy day in his life and that he was thankful to have lived to see what a splendid promenade the District Council had made.
  George Shedden also gave to the town a scout hut, which used to be located between St Thomas’s and Old Road. The esplanade road, which was opened in 1927 and named ‘The Shedden Espalanade’, is now an invaluable part of daily East Cowes life.
  George Shedden was knighted in 1926. He became Deputy Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight and he also acted as the Honorary Treasurer of the Frank James Hospital, in East Cowes, for which Princess Henry of Battenberg was President. He was also Chairman of the Isle of Wight County Justices, a County Alderman, President of the Isle of Wight Conservative Association and a lay Canon of Portsmouth Cathedral. He died at the age of 81 on 14 February 1937, leaving a considerable amount of money in his will. However, it was reported that following his death, Spring Hill House was left abandoned. It is not yet known why his son, Bishop Roscow Shedden, did not inherit the estate, although he spent a lot of time abroad, as the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau. He was also Lord of the Manor of Hardmead, Buckinghamshire, which would seem to have been passed down the Shedden line, from the original George Shedden.
  One of George Shedden’s grandsons, George Powell-Shedden went on to become a decorated war-hero in the RAF and was also an Olympic bobsledder.
caption: Shedden Plaque
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