Laverstoke House, Whitchurch, Hampshire, taken from the south in August 1965 Jane Austen's neighbours, the Holders lived here. In the early eighteenth century Henri Portal, the son of a refugee Hugenot family, established a paper-making mill at Laverstoke. In 1727 he secured a contract to manufacture The Bank of England's pound notes. This was mainly due to the beautifully clear chalk-stream waters of the River Test being uniquely suited to making crisp notes. Laverstoke House was designed by Joseph Bonomi and was built for the Portal family in 1780. Now situated in a Grade II listed park of approximately 275 rolling acres which include the upper reaches of the River Test. The original estate comprised in excess of 12,000 acres. However, much of the acreage was sold off in the last century and by 1996 only 500 acres remained with the house. 固opFoto