Sir John Comyns 1730–1740

Around 1726, a local and well-respected lawyer, Sir John Comyns, purchased the manor of Shaxstones in Writtle, and commissioned the construction of a new family home on the estate, suitable for a man of his standing. Completed in 1730, Hylands House was an elegant two-storey red brick building in Queen Anne style architecture. The grounds were set out in the formal geometric style fashionable at the time, with a pleasure garden and small kitchen garden to the north of the house.^[3]

John Comyns 1740–1760 & John Richard Comyns 1760–1797

Sir John Comyns died in 1740, without surviving children, and left the estate to his nephew, John Comyns of Romford. In 1759, John Comyns commissioned a monument to the life of his beloved uncle, which can be seen at the family vault in Writtle Church. John in turn left Hylands to his son, John Richard Comyns in 1760.^[3]

Cornelius Kortright 1797–1814

In 1797 Cornelius Kortright purchased Hylands House and employed the well-known landscape architect Humphry Repton, who set about redesigning the gardens. Kortright planned to add the east and west wings, a colonnaded portico and cover the whole house in white stucco. Kortright purchased an additional 150 acres of land to accommodate the scheme and by 1814 the changes made to the estate were extensive.^[3] However, despite the grand plans, Kortright did not see the House through to completion as his ever-increasing family required them to relocate to a much larger residence, in nearby Fryerning.

Pierre Cesar Labouchere 1814–1839

Pierre Cesar Labouchere, a Dutch-born merchant banker, purchased the estate in 1814 and set about completing Repton's design for expansion and improvement of the house and parkland. This resulted in the symmetrical neo-classic facade that can be seen today. Labouchere created the formal Pleasure Gardens and under the guidance of architect Williams Atkinson, the Georgian Stable Block and Coachman's Cottage. He also collected neo-classical sculptures, including works by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, replicas of which are on display in the house today.^[3]

John Attwood 1839–1858

After Labouchère's death, his son Henry Labouchere sold Hylands House and Estate to Mr John Attwood, former owner of an ironworks in Birmingham. Attwood was an ambitious entrepreneur who wanted a property to befit his new status and promote his quest for a peerage. As MP for Harwich, he decided that Hylands was insufficiently grand to reflect his position in society, and had the house considerably enlarged and fully redecorated. He purchased over 3,500 acres (14 km²) of additional land surrounding Hylands and privatised the road from Writtle to Margaretting that ran through the estate.

Attwood eventually ran into financial difficulties incurring debts of £300,000. Consequently they were forced to sell the house and estate. They later moved to France where they died a pauper.^[3]

Arthur Pryor 1858–1904

Arthur Pryor was a partner in the Truman, Hanbury and Buxton Brewery and purchased a much reduced Hylands Estate in 1858. He did little to the house other than some redecoration, although some of the exuberant decoration in the Banqueting Room is credited to him. Pryor's eldest son inherited the estate but chose to rent out rather than live there himself.^[3]

Sir Daniel Gooch 1904–1920

Having originally rented the House and land in 1904, Sir Daniel Gooch purchased Hylands in 1907, and modernised the House, with the installation of electricity and telephones. The Gooch family entertained regularly, with shooting parties and fetes, including a memorable celebration for the coronation of King George V. During World War I, Hylands House was requisitioned for use as a military hospital, and over 1,500 patients were treated there. Sir Daniel was also a keen explorer and accompanied Sir Ernest Shackleton on the first leg of his bid to reach the South Pole, but returned home early, suffering from severe frostbite.^[3]

Mr John and Christine Hanbury 1922–1962

In 1920, Hylands was sold to a syndicate of local gentlemen, but only two years later it was purchased by John Hanbury. Like Arthur Pryor, John was chairman of the brewers Truman's. However, John Hanbury died suddenly in 1923 before taking occupation of Hylands. Christine was later left alone when her son, Charles John MacKenzie (Jock) Hanbury, became one of the first pilots to die in the Second World War in a flying accident. Christine Hanbury made great changes to the grounds, including a lawn tennis court, rhododendron borders and a private area in the gardens dedicated to the memory of her husband and son. During World War II, the estate was the site for a German Prisoner of War Camp, and the house was used by the SAS as their headquarters.^[4]

Mrs Christine Hanbury died in 1962, aged 89, leaving the house and estate to her trustees, and for the final time in its history, Hylands was again offered for sale. Chelmsford Borough Council purchased the house and estate at auction in 1966 and set about opening it to the public and eventually restoring both the House and the grounds. However, the house was in a dilapidated condition at the time of the purchase and by 1971 the servants quarters had been demolished. A motion to knock down the entire house was narrowly defeated by 15 votes to 9.^[3]