Old Warden

This picturesque village  lies just to the west of Shuttleworth, and is a representation of a "rustic"  village in the Swiss style popular in the Victorian age, when it was built in  the 1830's. It was the creation of Robert, the third Lord Ongley, who had  inherited Old Warden Park. Amongst his other achievements was the building of  the "Swiss Garden", reputed to be  dedicated to a former mistress. The estate  had been founded on riches largely acquired through investment in the famous  "South Sea Company", where Sir Samuel Ongley, was astute enough to sell out  before the "bubble" burst. The family was later elevated to the  peerage.

Robert's building works had  brought the family into severe financial difficulties, and in 1872, the estate  was sold to Joseph Shuttleworth, a partner in a Lincolnshire iron foundry. The  present Mansion, was built in 1876, in a neo-Jacobean style. The estate was kept  going by Dorothy C Shuttleworth, and today houses Shuttleworth College and the  Shuttleworth Collection.