Oakmere House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oakmere House is a public house and restaurant in Potters Bar, England, and a grade II listed building with Historic England.[1] The pub is under the management of the Harvester company. The rear of the building faces onto Oakmere Park. The L31 German Zeppelin fell on an old oak tree in the entrance of Wulstan Park after being shot down by Lieutenant Wulstan Tempest on 1 October 1916. His small plane was slightly damaged on landing back at his base, and he suffered a few injuries. He went next day to Oakmere Park, Potters Bar, see what he had done the night before! This famous zeppelin was captained by the German hero of the time, Heinrich Mathy. He and his 18-man crew were all killed, and buried in the Potters Bar cemetery until their bodies were transferred to Cannock Chase many years later. The Potters Bar Museum has a section devoted to this important incident in the aerial battles over England. After the death of Mathy, zeppelin raids decreased.
Oakmere House was built in 1840 and at this time it was owned by William and Amelia Carpenter. Amelia Chauncy had received the land as a gift from her uncle at the time of her wedding[2] in 1825 to Lieutenant Colonel William Leonard Carpenter. She was the daughter of Charles Snell Chauncy of Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire a wealthy landowner.
Lieutenant Colonel William Leonard Carpenter (1792–1861) was in the British Indian Army in the Bombay Establishment.[3] He served there for about 18 years and in 1821 he retired. After he married Amelia Chauncy in 1825 the couple went to live at Potters Bar and later built Oakmere House. They had one daughter Margaret Amelia Carpenter (1826–1916). In 1844 she married Horatio Kemble[4] and when William died in 1861 the property was inherited by her and thus passed into the Kemble family.
