Charlton House, Wraxall

Last updated

Charlton House
The Downs School - geograph.org.uk - 132638.jpg
Location Wraxall, Somerset, England
Coordinates 51°27′37″N2°43′52″W / 51.46028°N 2.73111°W / 51.46028; -2.73111 Coordinates: 51°27′37″N2°43′52″W / 51.46028°N 2.73111°W / 51.46028; -2.73111
BuiltLate medieval
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameCharlton House
Designated13 October 1952 [1]
Reference no.1321023
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Charlton House in Somerset

Charlton House is a historic building in Wraxall, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]

The original building dates from the late mediaeval period, however it was altered in the early to mid 17th century and further extended between 1877 and 1884. [1] [2] It was the home of Antony Gibbs of Antony Gibbs & Sons a trading company, whose son William Gibbs bought the Tyntesfield estate and built up the business. [3] [4] The rendered stone three-storey building has a slate roof with a parapet. The hall fireplace dates from the early 17th century as does some of the fabric of the central block however most of the building was added in the 19th century. The fireplace has a gadrooned surround with clustered colonnettes on each side. These finish with caryatids and a moulded cornice. The large overmantel is decorated with the figures of kings and women representing Charity and Justice. [1]

Since 1927 it has housed The Downs School, a preparatory school founded in 1894 (originally in a house overlooking Clifton Down, [5] across the Clifton Suspension Bridge). The current Headteacher of the Downs School is Mrs Debbie Isaachsen. [6] The school takes pupils from its reception class until year three in pre-preparatory school and then from year four to year eight in the preparatory school. At the end of year 8, most pupils feed into other local Bristol schools, such as Clifton College and Bristol Grammar School along with Queen Elizabeth's Hospital and even schools further afield such as schools in Taunton, Millfield and Sherborne. [7] It is set in 60 acres (24 ha) of parkland. [8]

The house was part of the Tyntesfield estate; the associated Charlton Farm was sold in 2002 and is now a residential centre of Children's Hospice South West. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malvern College</span> Public school in Worcestershire, England

Malvern College is an independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school in the British sense of the term and is a member of the Rugby Group and of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Since its foundation in 1865, it has remained on the same grounds, which are located near the town centre of Great Malvern. The campus, now covering some 250 acres, is near the Malvern Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton College</span> Public school in Bristol, England

Clifton College is a public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science rather than classics in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated boarding house for Jewish boys, called Polack's House. Having linked its General Studies classes with Badminton School, it admitted girls to every year group in 1987 and was the first of the traditional, boys, public schools to become fully coeducational. Polack's House closed in 2005 but a scholarship fund open to Jewish candidates still exists. Clifton College is one of the original 26 English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Yearbook of 1889.

Baron Aldenham, of Aldenham in the county of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was created on 31 January 1896 for the businessman Hucks Gibbs. He was head of the family firm of Antony Gibbs & Sons and a director and Governor of the Bank of England. Gibbs also briefly sat as a Conservative Member of Parliament for the City of London. His fourth son Herbert Cokayne Gibbs was created Baron Hunsdon of Hunsdon in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Grammar School</span> Independent day school in Bristol, England

Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorne. The school flourished in the early 20th century under headmaster Sir Cyril Norwood (1906–1916), embodying "the ideals and experiences of a leading public school". Norwood went on to serve as the master at Marlborough College and Harrow, and as president of St John's College, Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Ashton</span> Human settlement in England

Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a population of 6,044. The parish includes the hamlet of Yanley, and the residential area of Leigh Woods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyntesfield</span> Country house in North Somerset, England

Tyntesfield is a Victorian Gothic Revival house and estate near Wraxall, North Somerset, England. The house is a Grade I listed building named after the Tynte baronets, who had owned estates in the area since about 1500. The location was formerly that of a 16th-century hunting lodge, which was used as a farmhouse until the early 19th century. In the 1830s a Georgian mansion was built on the site, which was bought by English businessman William Gibbs, whose huge fortune came from guano used as fertilizer. In the 1860s Gibbs had the house significantly expanded and remodelled; a chapel was added in the 1870s. The Gibbs family owned the house until the death of Richard Gibbs in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wraxall, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Wraxall is a village in North Somerset, England, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Bristol. Until 1811 the parish of the same name also included Nailsea and Flax Bourton. The village is now within the parish of Wraxall and Failand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilton College (South Africa)</span> All-boys private school in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Hilton College, more commonly referred to as Hilton, is a South African private boarding school for boys located near the town of Hilton in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and is situated on a 1,762 ha estate that includes a 550 ha wildlife reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton Hampden</span> Human settlement in England

Clifton Hampden is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Thames, just over 3 miles (5 km) east of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Since 1932 the civil parish has included the village of Burcot, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Clifton Hampden. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 662.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atworth</span> Human settlement in England

Atworth is a village and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. The village is on the A365 road between Melksham and Box, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Melksham and 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Bradford on Avon. The hamlet of Purlpit lies east of Atworth village, and in the south of the parish are the small village of Great Chalfield and the hamlet of Little Chalfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leckhampton</span> District in south Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England

Leckhampton is a Gloucestershire village and a district in south Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The area is in the civil parish of Leckhampton with Warden Hill and is part of the district of Cheltenham. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 4,409.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brinkworth, Wiltshire</span> Human settlement in England

Brinkworth is a village and civil parish in northern Wiltshire, England. The village lies between Royal Wootton Bassett and Malmesbury, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the M4 motorway and 9 miles (14 km) west of Swindon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Failand</span> Human settlement in England

Failand is a village in Somerset, England. It lies within the civil parish of Wraxall and Failand and the unitary authority area of North Somerset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's Hospice South West</span>

Children's Hospice South West (CHSW) is a registered charity that provides palliative, respite, end of life and bereavement care for life-limited and terminally ill children and their families from the South West England region. It oversees three of the 41 children's hospices in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Church, Wraxall</span> Church in Somerset, England

All Saints' Church is the parish church in Wraxall, Somerset, England. It has been dedicated "to all the Saints". The building is surrounded by an extensive cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Norton (architect)</span> English architect

John Norton was an English architect who designed country houses, churches and a number of commercial buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land Yeo</span> River in north Somerset, England

The Land Yeo is a small river which flows through North Somerset, England.

Antony Gibbs & Sons was a British trading company, established in London in 1802, whose interests spanned trading in cloth, guano, wine and fruit, and led to it becoming involved in banking, shipping and insurance. Having been family-owned via a partnership from its foundation, by the turn of the 20th century it was focused on banking and insurance. Floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1973, it was bought by HSBC in 1981 and formed the basis of its insurance broking arm, now part of global insurance company Marsh & McLennan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Gibbs (businessman)</span>

William Gibbs (1790–1875) was an English businessman, best known as one of three founding partners in Antony Gibbs & Sons, a religious philanthropist, and the owner who developed Tyntesfield in Wraxall, North Somerset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanche Gibbs</span> English philanthropist (1817-1887)

Blanche Gibbs also known as Matilda Blanche Gibbs or Matilda Blanche Crawley-Boevey, was an English philanthropist, and a supporter of the Oxford Movement in 19th century England. Along with her husband, William Gibbs, a businessman, she funded the establishment and restoration of many churches and religious structures. After his death, as the inheritor of his estate, she expanded her philanthropy towards social and welfare efforts including the creation of convalescent homes, hospitals, and educational institutions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Charlton House (The Downs School) (1321023)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  2. "Downs School, Wraxall, The , (also known as Charlton House), Bristol, England". Parks & Gardens UK. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. Evered, Robert J. "Wraxall". Bristol and Avon Family History Society. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  4. Wright, Peter. "Tyntesfield" (PDF). Nailsea and District Local History Society. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  5. "The History of The Downs". The Downs School. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  6. "Downs Preparatory School".
  7. "The Downs School". Independent Schools Directory. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  8. "The Downs School". Education Base. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  9. Steven, Terry. "History of the House and Family at Tyntesfield" (PDF). Kennet Valley National Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  10. "Charlton Farm - Wraxall, Bristol". Children's Hospice South West. Retrieved 29 August 2016.