Prospect Park, Reading

Prospect Park
View across the park to the Mansion House on the hill
Location within Reading
Type	Public
Location	Reading, Berkshire, UK
Coordinates	51°26′52″N 1°00′33″W / 51.44791°N 1.00911°W / 51.44791; -1.00911Coordinates: 51°26′52″N 1°00′33″W / 51.44791°N 1.00911°W / 51.44791; -1.00911

Prospect Park is a public park in the western suburbs of Reading northbound Bath road in the English county of Berkshire.

Originally the site of Dirle's Farm, the land was part of the Calcot Park estate. In the 1760s, Benjamin Child turned the farm into a mansion. Child was the widower of the famous "Berkshire Lady", Frances Kendrick, whom he had first met there some years before. He named the park after its views over Reading; it was formerly known as Prospecthill Park. The park was bought by the Reading Corporation in 1902.

The present regency style house, known as The Mansion House (and originally named Prospect House), was built by John Liebenrood in the late 18th century. It is a Grade II listed building, currently used as a restaurant.

John Engelberts Liebenrood (1754-1821) was born in Germany in 1754. His birth name was John Engelberts Ziegenbein and he immigrated to England and obtained naturalisation in 1781. He lived with his great uncle John George Liebenrood, a very wealthy merchant in Purley. When his uncle died in 1795 he inherited his fortune and in accordance with the will changed his name to Liebenrood. In the following year he married Lucy Hancock whose brother was Rear Admiral John Hancock.

Soon after his marriage John commissioned James Wright Sanderson, a pupil of James Wyatt to substantially remodel and enlarge a smaller existing building. The newspapers show that he and his wife Lucy were living in their new home by 1797. John became High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1806. Lucy was known to be a benefactor of the poor. He died in 1821 and Lucy continued to live at Prospect House until her death in 1829. They are both buried in St Mary’s Church Purley.

Their son George and daughter Lucy inherited the property but they did not live there. Instead it was rented for many years to William Stephens (1783-1856) who at one time was the Mayor of Reading. He died in 1856 and it was then rented by William Banbury (1813-1893) who was a banker in the firm Fuller Banbury and Co of London. He was also an art collector and when he moved from Prospect Park in 1880 a sale of some of his paintings was held by Christie's at the House.