Successive houses on the site seem to have changed hands several times until in 1762 the then owner, Francis Hearne (MP for Bedford), sold the estate for # 94,700 to John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute.
Successive houses on the site seem to have changed hands several times until in 1762 the then owner sold the estate for # 94,700 to John Stuart. John Stuart is 3rd Earl of Bute. Francis Hearne (MP for Bedford) is the then owner.