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| The Manor House | |
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| General information | |
| Location | Castle Combe, Wiltshire, SN14 7HR, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°29′37″N2°13′56″W / 51.4937°N 2.2322°W |
| Opening | 1947 |
| Owner | Exclusive Hotels and Venues |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Manor House is a 17th-century country house hotel in Castle Combe, Wiltshire in the south of England. [1] [2]
The Manor House is noteworthy for several reasons throughout history. Its land is the site of a Norman castle settlement which hosted a number of Lords, the most famous of whom was Sir John Oldcastle, the figure on which the character of Sir John Falstaff is based in the late 16th-century Shakespeare play Henry IV, Part 1 . [3]
It was the home of English geologist and political economist George Poulett Scrope in the 19th century. He lived at the Manor House from the start in 1821 of his first marriage until the death of his wife Emma (the great-granddaughter of Sir Robert Long) in 1866; his wife's family had owned the land since the 14th century. [4] [5] Scrope had the house heavily rebuilt between 1826 and 1830. [6] He was also responsible for the creation of the formal gardens, where a summerhouse incorporates fragments of medieval stone, [7] and a 15th-century church bell-cote shelters a garden seat. [8] The gardens to the east of the house were remodelled in Italian style by a later owner, E. C. Lowndes, who made further alterations to the house in the 1870s. [7] [9]
During the Second World War, the New Zealand Forestry Officers used the Manor House as their headquarters, while a part of it was used as a hospital. [10] In 1947, the owner of the Castle Combe estate sold the houses of the estate, and the Manor House became a country club. After 18 months, the club left the premises, and the house was shortly thereafter sold to Bobbie Allen, an amateur hotelier, and her husband (the Major). Over time, they established the Manor House as a country house hotel, run almost as a club. One source indicates that the conversion to a hotel occurred shortly after the war. [11]
A quite glamorous clientele ensued. Certain of the London hotels would refer guests in search of authentic England to the Manor House. Bobbie Allen was a horsewoman, and the grounds of the Manor House were known for their suitability for riding. Mrs. Allen was from Lancashire and was known for her directness. She wrote a book about her experiences, From Claridge's to Castle Combe, self-published in 1968, which reflects her character and the post-War era of the community and the hotel. [12]
After many years, the Allens sold the Manor House to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Clegg [13] who, in 1988, sold it to the corporation which now owns the property. By the time it was listed as a Grade II building in 1960, it was already operating as a hotel. [9]
Some sources state that Margaret Thatcher wrote at least some of her memoirs, The Downing Street Years , in the manor's Full Glass bar. [14] [15]
George Julius Poulett Scrope FRS was an English geologist and political economist as well as a Member of Parliament and magistrate for Stroud in Gloucestershire.
Castle Combe is a village and civil parish within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire, England. The village is around 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Chippenham. A castle once stood in the area, but was demolished centuries ago.
Sir John Fastolf was a late medieval English soldier, landowner, and knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He has enjoyed a more lasting reputation as the prototype, in some part, of Shakespeare's character Sir John Falstaff. Many historians argue, however, that he deserves to be famous in his own right, not only as a soldier, but as a patron of literature, a writer on strategy and perhaps as an early industrialist.
Scrope is the name of an old English family of Norman origin that first came into prominence in the 14th century. The family has held the noble titles of Baron Scrope of Masham, Baron Scrope of Bolton, and for a brief time, the Earl of Wiltshire.
Biddestone is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Biddestone and Slaughterford, in the Wiltshire district, in northwest Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham and 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Corsham. The parish includes the smaller settlement of Slaughterford.
Avebury Manor & Garden is a National Trust property consisting of a Grade I listed early-16th-century manor house and its surrounding garden. It is in Avebury, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, in the centre of the village next to St James's Church and close to the Avebury neolithic henge monument.
Lea is a village in Wiltshire, England, lying approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Malmesbury. It is part of the civil parish of Lea and Cleverton which includes the village of Garsdon and the hamlet of Cleverton. Garsdon was a separate parish until 1934.
Ston Easton Park is an English country house built in the 18th century. It lies near the village of Ston Easton, Somerset. It is a Grade I listed building and the grounds are listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Upsall Castle is a fourteenth-century ruin, park and manor house in Upsall, in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England.
Stourton with Gasper is a civil parish in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire. Its main settlement is the village of Stourton, along with the hamlets of Bonham and Gasper. The village is about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) northwest of the small town of Mere, and is part of the Stourhead estate, which includes much of the west of the parish. The estate is in the ownership of the National Trust, and the entrance to the estate's famous house and garden is through the village.
Yatton Keynell is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is on the B4039 road near Castle Combe, about 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Chippenham, and about the same distance to the east of the county border with South Gloucestershire.
Redlynch is a village and former manor in the civil parish of Bruton, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The 18th-century church and a folly named The Towers are of architectural interest.
Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton was an English soldier and courtier, serving Richard II of England. He also fought under the Black Prince at the Battle of Crecy in 1346.
Bolehyde Manor is a 17th-century manor house at Allington, north-west of Chippenham, in Wiltshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building within the Allington conservation area of Chippenham Without parish. Camilla Parker Bowles lived at the house between 1973 and 1986, during her first marriage.
Kilmington is a village and civil parish in the extreme west of Wiltshire, England, about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Warminster. The parish includes the hamlets of Kilmington Common and Norton Ferris.
Hutton Court is a country house at Hutton, Somerset, England, built in the 15th century as a manor house. It is Grade II* listed on the National Heritage List for England. In addition to the main house, the boundary wall, summerhouse and the gates and piers to the hall are all separately Grade II listed. and stands immediately to the south of the parish church.
Bishopstrow Hotel & Spa is a late-Georgian English country house standing near the B3414 in the parish of Bishopstrow, about a mile east of Warminster, in Wiltshire in southern England.
Wilbury House or Wilbury Park is an 18th-century Neo-Palladian country house in the parish of Newton Tony, Wiltshire in South West England, about 8.7 miles (14 km) northeast of Salisbury. It is a Grade I listed building, and the surrounding park and garden are Grade II listed.
St Andrew's is a parish church in Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England, built in the 13th century with additions in later centuries. It was restored due to structural concerns in the 19th century. It is a Grade I listed building.
Rudloe Manor is a 17th-century Grade II* listed manor house in Box parish, Wiltshire, England.
