Revesby Estate History

The Estate has a wealth of history spanning back to the Neolithic Period.

The romans were particularly active over the entire estate. After the Romans came the Norman Conquest which resulted in the land around Revesby village being given to the Cistercian monks of Rivea. In 1143 a monastery was built on the site. The monk's influence on the local area came to a swift end with the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Not much is known about the way the Estate was run before 1715, just one Estate Cottage precedes this date. In 1715 the Estate was purchased by Joseph Banks, at which time it covered 11000 acres and cost £14000. The Banks family had the Estate for four generations spanning 106 years. In this time the family created the present parkland and three woodland plantations.

The most influential owner was the naturalist Sir Joseph Banks (4th Joseph Banks of Revesby) who accompanied and financed Captain James Cook on his epic round the world voyage between 1768 and 1771. Sir Joseph Banks brought many species of plants (and kangaroos) back to the Estate. He also worked very closely with Dutch experts to improve agricultural land in the county. He was a keen botanist and carried out extensive tree plantings.

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