In 2009, Eastington park was converted from a retirement home to a wedding venue. After nearly 60 years as a retirement home, there was a lot to do, and the Georgian house underwent a tremendous amount of renovation and restoration, aimed at returning it to its days as one of the most important residences in the parish.
Throughout its lifetime as a residence, only four families lived there. All of them achieved their wealthy lifestyles largely through industry and commerce, as opposed to via the privilege and patronage that tended to accompany those with their roots in the landed gentry. Two families were influential in the local woollen cloth making trade, one was engaged in brewing, and the fourth had a long background of trade and commerce in Bristol.
Of these families, the one that had the most profound influence on Eastington was the Hicks family. Between 1800 and the 1830s, the head of the household, Henry Hicks, was largely responsible for developing and expanding the woollen cloth trade in and around the parish. He bought and rebuilt the two existing village mills and added a third one, in the process, guaranteeing employment for several generations of the local population not engaged in agriculture. Henry Hicks was also responsible for the building of Eastington Park, an important visual reminder of his success. The family lived there until after his death in 1836.
The owners that followed Hicks maintained the traditions of their respective times. All appear to have maintained a paternalistic attitude towards the parish, and to have supported various village institutions and organisations. These families, like many country families of the time, remained engaged in a variety of spheres such as farming, politics, and the military. And like so many others, family members went to fight in the Boer War and both World Wars. Two families lost sons and husbands as a result.
Some individuals were well connected in circles outside their immediate locale or sphere of commercial activities. For instance, Henry Hicks was a personal friend of Dr Jenner, famous for introducing inoculation as a safeguard against smallpox. Similarly, members of the de Lisle Bush family were great friends with the fabled cricketer, W G Grace. The focus for these four families remained Eastington Park, long described as one of the ‘principal residences’ in the village.
