Place name
Named after Humphry Repton (April 21, 1752 – March 24, 1818), the English landscape designer, who advised on designs for the parkland associated with the 18thCentury Claybury estate when in 1786 James Hatch rebuilt the mansion and expanded the estate. Often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown, Repton produced designs for the grounds of many of the foremost country houses in the UK. Known ownership of the Claybury estate dates back to the 12thCentury when it was a free tenement held by Barking Abbey. It was partially cleared after 1219 but appears to have been wooded prior to that. By 1847 the estate included 178 hectares and included Claybury Woods as well as a number of properties. In 1887 it was sold and Claybury Asylum was built by 1893, the first mental hospital built by the new London County Council. In 1997 the Hospital estate for sold for a private housing development, renamed Repton Park but part of the estate was siphoned off for the creation of Claybury Park.
