 Swallowfield Park was the home of the Backhouse family from the late 16th century, who had lived in a now demolished Tudor mansion.The most famous member of this family was of William Backhouse, the Rosicrucian philosopher.The present house at Swallowfield Park was erected in 1689 by Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, when he acquired the estate on his marriage to William Backhouse's daughter Flower.