The name of Cottingham derives from the name of a 5th
century Anglo-Saxon tribal chief and means 'Homestead of Cotta's people'. Cotta is
derived from an Acient Briton female deity called ‘Ket’, in turn derived from
the Celtic for wood, ‘ Coed’. Cottingham Grange was built in 1802 but the
Ringrose family had lived in the area since the seventeenth century. William
Ringrose lived here in 1820, the time of his portrait painting:
By 1865 the Ringrose family owned 1200 acres in Cottingham, reduced
to just 570 acres by 1907. The Ringrose family also owned over 1000 acres and
Sarum Manor House from 1870 to 1931.
The Grange was requisitioned during WW2 for officer’s
quarters and barracks were built to the south east of the grounds. Some of the
barracks still stood until the 1980s. The WW2 Operational Base for Cottingham
North Auxiliary Unit Patrol was hidden underneath the green house, entered via
the nearby Boiler House. The entire Patrol almost died from the boiler house fumes
on one occasion but were rescued by a Unit Member (who was a GP) who had been out on patrol and discovered the unconscious group on his return.
Cottingham Grange was demolished around 1951 to make way for
a new secondary school. A school still stands on the site today.
