Clearwell | |
---|---|
Location within Gloucestershire | |
OS grid reference | SO571080 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Police | Gloucestershire |
Fire | Gloucestershire |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Clearwell (anciently "Clower-Wall" etc.) is a village and former ancient manor in the Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England. A recent[ when? ] survey indicated that the population of Clearwell is approximately 350. [1]
There are mines locally that date back over 7,000 years to the mining of ochre and are known as Clearwell Caves. [2] Later, the Romans mined iron at Clearwell Meend. Iron production expanded in medieval times and peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries, leaving a legacy of fine stone built buildings.
Clearwell Castle, a 'mock' castle of Gothic architecture built in 1728, is located in Clearwell.
The village of Clearwell began as a group of hamlets which coalesced to form the village. It formed around three roads which run down shallow valleys to a central junction. [3] The hamlets on the three roads were Clearwell, Peak, and Platwell, with a fourth hamlet, Wainlete, to the north-west of Clearwell. [3] Clearwell and Platwell had dwellings by around 1300. In 1462 fourteen houses were mentioned at Clearwell and Wainlete, thirteen at Platwell, and sixteen at Peak. [3] Most of the houses that formed Clearwell village were replaced by stone cottages in the late 18th century and the 19th, although several older buildings survive, including the Wyndham Arms which is a substantial 17th-century house. [3]
In 1830 a chapel was built for Clearwell village at the east end, on the road leading to the Forest. It was replaced in 1866 by a new church built by the countess of Dunraven, owner of the Clearwell estate. [3] The countess also built a village school in 1859 and opened a cottage hospital in 1869. [3]
There were several iron ore mines at Clearwell Meend in the 19th century. These included Old Sling, New Dun, and Old Ham. [4] From the late 1960s Old Ham ore mine was developed, under the name Clearwell Caves, as a mining museum. [4]
The first manor house at Clearwell was probably built by Robert Greyndour (d.1443), and probably consisted of a great hall, chapel and 12 chambers. [5] Robert died without male issue and his daughter Elizabeth Greyndour (d.1452) became his heiress. [6] His widow and Elizabeth's mother Johanna Rigge (d.1485) (or Rugge), daughter of Thomas Rigge of Charlcombe, Somerset by Katherine de Bitton, daughter and heiress of Sir John de Bitton of Bitton, Glos., under customary usage, retained until her death 1/3 of his lands as her dower, and married secondly Sir John Barre. She founded a chantry in nearby Newland Church called the "Chantry of Robert Greyndour" and left many charitable bequests in her will. She was buried with her first husband in the chantry chapel she had founded in Newland Church. Elizabeth had earlier married Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr (d.1450/1),Leaving a daughter Mary West. She married secondly, as his first wife, John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, KG, (d.1470), whom she predeceased giving birth to a son, who did not survive one day. [6]
The manor thereupon passed to the descendants of Robert Greyndour's sister Johanna, who had married as her first husband William Walwyn. [7] Their son was William Walwyn, whose daughter and sole heiress was Alice Walwyn (d. 1518), the second wife of Thomas Baynham (d. 1500), Constable of St Briavel's Castle.
Alice survived her first husband, by whom she had a son Sir Christopher Baynham (d.1557), and married secondly, as his fourth wife, Sir Walter Denys (d.1505) of Alveston, Glos., Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1481 and 1492, who apparently came to live at Clearwell as his will was dated at Newland. [8] Christopher's son was Sir George Baynham (d.1546), who married as his second wife Cecilia Gage, daughter of Sir John Gage. Sir George dated his will at Clearwell, 9 June 1546, and was buried at Newland.
Clearwell was held by the Baynham family until the death of Thomas Baynham in 1611. His daughter Cicely, by his wife Mary Winter, daughter of Sir William Winter of Lydney, had married Sir William Throckmorton, 1st Baronet, (d.1628), of Tortworth, Gloucestershire, and Clearwell descended to their son Sir Baynham Throckmorton, 2nd Baronet (1606–1664), who married Margaret Hopton (d.1635), one of the daughters of Robert Hopton of Witham and sister of Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton, possibly through which connection the manor was purchased by a member of the Wyndham family.
In 1684 the manor was purchased by Francis Wyndham (d.1716) of Uffords Manor, Norfolk. [9] [10] Francis's grandfather Sir George Wyndham (6th son of Sir John Wyndham (d.1645) of Orchard Wyndham, Williton, Somerset) was an adherent to the Commonwealth during the Civil War and had served as a commissioner for raising the assessment under Thomas Fairfax, in 1644. Sir John's eldest surviving son had married Catherine Hopton, one of the daughters of Robert Hopton of Witham, and the sister of the wife of Sir Baynham Throckmorton, 2nd Baronet. George married after 1631 Ann, the widow of James Underwood (d.1631) of Uffords Manor (alias Egmers), Cromer, Norfolk, from whom he inherited Uffords. He married secondly Frances Davy. His son by Anne was Francis Wyndham, whose son by his wife Frances Davell was Francis Wyndham (d.1716). [11] Clearwell passed to Francis's eldest son John (d.1725), then to John's brother Thomas Wyndham (d.1752). Thomas Wyndham demolished the house depicted in 1712 by Johannes Kip and built in its place the present neo-Gothic mock-castle, Clearwell Castle, designed by Roger Morris (d.1749). In the mid-19th century, the interior of the Court was refurbished by Caroline, Countess of Dunraven (d. 1870), wife of Windham Quin, 2nd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (d. 1850) and daughter of another Thomas Wyndham, who held Clearwell from 1814 to her death in 1870, to the designs of John Middleton. The terracing of the gardens was probably also carried out at this time. [3]
In 1893 Clearwell was sold to Henry Collins, whose mortgagees sold it in 1907 to its then tenant Col. Alan Gardner. In 1908 the house was renamed Clearwell Castle. In 1911, it was sold to Charles Vereker (d.1947) (later Colonel), under whose ownership it suffered a major fire in 1929 but was restored. Following Col. Vereker's death in 1947, the property was purchased by Gloucestershire County Council which sold it on to a demolition contractor who removed the lead roof, floors and fittings. [12] The Castle was destined for demolition when in about 1952 it was bought by Frank Yeates, the son of a former gardener on the estate, who restored it. The Castle was again sold in the early 1980s and was turned into a hotel. From about 2000 it has returned to private ownership. [9]
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG, was an English nobleman and scholar who served as Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Constable of England and Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was known as "the Butcher of England" to his Tudor detractors.
Freeminer is an ancient title given to coal or iron miners in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, who have earned the right to mine personal plots, known as gales.
Newland is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. situated on the east side of the River Wye, 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Monmouth. It is notable for its parish church of All Saints, known as the 'Cathedral of the Forest'. It was the centre of a large parish with complex boundaries and scattered settlements.
Windham Henry Quin, 2nd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl was an Irish Peer.
Flaxley Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in England, now a Grade I listed manor and private residence, near the village of Flaxley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. It is the former seat of the Crawley-Boevey Baronets.
There have been two baronetcies created for different branches of the Throckmorton family, 6th cousins, both descended from Sir John Throckmorton, Under-Treasurer of England temp. King Henry VI (1422–1461). Both titles, which were in the Baronetage of England, are now extinct. The Throckmortons, originally of Throckmorton near Pershore, Worcestershire, trace their history back to the 12th century. In 1409 Sir John de Throckmorton, Under-Treasurer of England, married Eleanor Spinney, daughter and heiress of Guy Spinney of Coughton, Warwickshire, where the senior branch of the family, which bore the junior baronetcy, became established. The Coughton estate included in 1968 a dower house named "Spiney House, Coughton", named after that family. The senior Throckmorton Baronetcy, of Tortworth in the County of Gloucester, was created in the Baronetage of England on 29 June 1611 for William Throckmorton, of Coss Court, Tortworth, Gloucestershire, sixth in descent from John Throckmorton, younger son of Sir John Throckmorton, Under-Treasurer of England. The third Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire and Wotton Basset. The title became extinct on the death of the fourth Baronet in a duel in 1682.
Sir William Kingston, KG was an English courtier, soldier and administrator. He was the Constable of the Tower of London during much of the reign of Henry VIII. Among the notable prisoners he was responsible for was Queen Anne Boleyn, as well as the men accused of adultery with her. He was MP for Gloucestershire in 1529 and 1539.
Clearwell Castle in Clearwell, the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, is a Gothic Revival house constructed from 1727. Built by Thomas Wyndham to the designs of Roger Morris, it is the earliest Georgian Gothic Revival castle in England predating better-known examples such as Strawberry Hill House by over twenty years. A home of the Wyndham family for some 150 years, the first half of the twentieth century saw a disastrous fire, and subsequent asset-stripping, which brought the castle close to ruination. Slowly restored from 1954, in the 1970s the castle housed a recording studio used by, among other major bands, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Bad Company, Queen and Sweet. Now operating as a wedding venue, the castle is a Grade II* listed building.
Dunraven Castle was a mansion on the South Wales coast near Southerndown. The existing manor house was rebuilt as a castellated hunting lodge in the early 19th century and was extensively remodelled later in the century. The surviving parts of the house are a Grade II listed building and its gardens and park are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Sir Baynham Throckmorton, 3rd Baronet of Clearwell, Gloucestershire was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1656 and 1679.
St Briavels was an ancient hundred of Gloucestershire, England. It comprised the extra-parochial area of the Forest of Dean, and the ancient parishes of
Sir Baynham Throckmorton, 2nd Baronet, of Clearwell, Gloucestershire, supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War and was a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire from 1661 until his death on 28 May 1664.
Sir Edward Wynter or Wintour was an English mariner and landowner who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1587 and 1601. He developed the iron workings around the family estates at Lydney in the Forest of Dean, which in his son's time were of importance to the Royalist cause. His marriage to Lady Anne Somerset produced a strongly Roman Catholic allegiance among his children.
Thomas Baynham (1536-1611) was Lord of the Manor of Clearwell, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. He served as Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1582 and 1602. He died on 2 October 1611, aged 75, and was buried at Newland, Gloucestershire.
Robert Hopton (c.1575-1638) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two parliaments between 1604 and 1622.
Eastbach Court is a historic Grade II listed mansion in English Bicknor, Gloucestershire, England.
Francis Wyndham, of Clearwell Court, Gloucestershire, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons briefly from 1709 to 1710.
John Twynyho of Cirencester, Bristol and Lechlade, all in Gloucestershire, was a lawyer and wealthy wool merchant who served as Recorder of Bristol, as a Member of Parliament for Bristol in Gloucestershire in 1472-5 and in 1484 and for the prestigious county seat Gloucestershire in 1476. In 1478 he was Attorney General to Lord Edward (the future King Edward V, eldest son and heir of King Edward IV.
Thomas Wyndham of Clearwell Court, Gloucestershire, Dunraven Castle, Glamorgan, and Cromer, Norfolk, was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1734.
Sir William Throckmorton, 1st Baronet (1579–1628) was an English landowner and investor in the settlement of Virginia.