Prehistory
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Other Interesting Medieval Houses and Buildings in Wiltshire By Michael Ford This section attempts to select the best medieval buildings in Wiltshire which fall outside the Manor House banner as well as being easily seen. Barton Farm OS.173 (ST824604) In BRADFORD-ON-AVON to the South. This was a Grange of Shaftesbury Abbey. The house presumably originates from the 14c/15c but generally its structure is a mixture of times. It has a good porch and an attached gatehouse. There is fine 14c tithe barn
which may be visited at any time as it is owned
by English Heritage. This is a stone building
with a slate roof having a wood beamed interior.
It is 168ft long. Near it is a 15c, two storied,
Granary of particular note. Brook House OS.183 (ST851535)
The building range in front of
the 17c farmhouse is an early 16c lodging,
‘Brook Hall’, of two storeys and built
of stone. It was used to accommodate guests and
retainers and had stabling below with chambers
above. This is Wiltshire’s best example of a
medieval lodging. It will hopefully be repaired
and preserved in the near future now that the
Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust has taken over
it’s management. They are looking for a
partner to purchase the building, after
completion of the work, for one of a variety of
possible uses. King John’s1 Hunting Lodge OS.173 (ST917686) Between CHIPPENHAM and MELKSHAM in Lacock near the Church. The 14c building is now a
tearoom thus allowing access. Inside there is a
heavy wooden doorway of note. This would have
been a house of high status. Little Clarendon OS.184 (SU015315) West of SALISBURY and WILTON in the village of Dinton. The house was built of stone in the late 15c and must have been the home of a well to do local family. It is gabled and has a two storeyed porch. The property is owned by the National Trust and the ground floor is open for viewing. Henry Hayter was the owner from
1697 and his family stayed there for around one
hundred years. The lease was then sold to a John
Barnes and remained with this family and their
descendants, the Alexanders, until 1882. When the
house was bought by the Rev. George Engleheart in
1901 the house was in a ‘dreadful
state’. He set about its restoration with
his wife and they moved in a year later. Today it
is exactly as it was then. Place Farm OS.184 (ST951299)
The whole is a superb group of picturesque buildings from the 14c and 15c, the survival of a Grange of Shaftesbury Nunnery. All can be admired from the road with an excellent view. There is a fine outer gatehouse
through which can be seen an inner gatehouse and
the farmhouse. To the side is the largest barn in
England, nearly 200ft long. A thatched roof
replaces the original stone one. The walls are of
stone. Porch House OS.173 (ST995581)
This is one of the best 15c timber framed houses in England. The framing is of the close vertical type. The hall, roof, the overall roofing and the windows, some with stained glass, are all original. The house is magnificent and can be considered to be a high status house. The house was restored for George Richmond, the painter, in 1876. Excavations in the grounds in 1962 found traces of a timber building which is thought to be the remains of a wooden church from Anglo-Saxon times. If so it has no precedent in England. There is another good timber
framed house next door. Talboys OS.173 (ST919580)
The house is timber framed of the early 15c and was lived in by the gentry. The inside shows a mass of wood beaming with fine carving on oak bosses. This is a hall house and its roof and gallery are original. Talboys is currently for sale. Notes 1. The term ‘King John’s House etc.’ generally bears no connection with King John himself, it is just a name given to any ancient structure where little is known of its history. Medieval
Manor Houses in Wiltshire A-M |
Between
TROWBRIDGE and WESTBURY near Southwick and
Heywood at the end of a minor road which goes
right up to the buildings, through a shallow
ford.
North East of
SHAFTESBURY in Tisbury to the West.
South West of
DEVIZES in the centre of the village of Potterne.
It borders straight onto the main street
unfortunately close to the traffic.
Between
TROWBRIDGE and DEVIZES in the village of Keevil
to the West side and can be seen from the
roadside.