Sheldon Manor

Sheldon Manor
Sheldon Manor
Type	Manor House
Location	Wiltshire
Coordinates	51°27′58″N2°09′54″W / 51.4660°N 2.1651°W
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Sheldon Manor
Designated	20 December 1960
Reference no.	1022907
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Chapel to the south-east of Sheldon Manor
Designated	20 December 1960
Reference no.	1022908
	Location of Sheldon Manor in Wiltshire

Last updated June 27, 2024

Sheldon Manor near Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, is Wiltshire's oldest inhabited manor house and dates back to Anglo-Saxon times. Its structure is mostly 17th-century, and it is a Grade I listed building.

History

The medieval settlement of Sheldon,^[1] first mentioned in 803, no longer exists, having been deserted by 1582;^[2] a 1976 survey confirmed its remains to lie to the rear of the Manor, which itself stands on the site of an older habitation known as "The Holloway".^[3]

The manor of Sheldon was granted to Sir William de Beauvilain in about 1180;^[2] on his death, as a Norman, it was forfeit to The Crown as an escheat and then granted to the de Godarville family in 1231 by Henry III.^[3] In 1250 it passed to Sir Geoffrey Gascelyn on his marriage to Joan de Godarville.^[2] In 1424 the Manor was sold to Sir Walter Hungerford,^[4] and after some time was eventually granted to Catherine Parr temporarily until the Hungerford heir achieved majority.^[4]

For many years, the property was tenanted until Sir Edward Hungerford sold the Manor in 1684 and in 1711 it was bought by William Norris, whose last survivor died in 1828.^[4] In 1854 it was bought by Sir Gabriel Goldney, whose son lived there until 1911,^[5] followed by the Bailey family.^[4]

From 1917 the Manor was owned by the Gibbs family^[2] being Major Martin Anthony Gibbs, a former High Sheriff of Wiltshire, his wife Elsie Margaret Mary (née Hamilton-Dalrymple) and their six children.

In 1982, Mrs Gibbs published a historical and architectural account of the Manor.^[2]

The Manor is now within the civil parish of Chippenham Without;^[2] unbroken occupation since 1282 makes Sheldon Manor Wiltshire's longest continuously inhabited manor house.^[6] It was granted Grade I listed building status by the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England in 1960.^[7]

Architecture and antiques

The earliest parts of the structure are thought to be a window on the west side and the porch, dating back to the late 13th century.^[7] Pevsner considered the porch to be "astounding, but much too big for the present house".^[8] Most of the main structure, consisting of two and a half storeys, and of rubble stone and stone-tiled roofs, dates to c. 1659 when it was built for a Mr Forster, although some parts are earlier. Later additions date to post-1711 and improvements to c. 1911.^[7]

Interior of chapel SheldonManorChapel.jpg — Interior of chapel

External features

There is a small stone chapel in the grounds, believed to date to about 1450 and built by the Hungerford family for use by themselves and their servants. It has an east window with Perpendicular tracery.^[8] After a long period of use as stables, it was restored in the twentieth century.^[9] There is also a brick-built storehouse mounted on staddle stones to prevent incursion by rats.^[3]

Antiques

The Manor has collections of Nailsea glass, Persian saddlebags, porcelain and oak furniture, including an Elizabethan refectory table and chairs.^[10] There are paintings by Tissot, David Teniers and Bassano, vases by William De Morgan and "an unusual collection of glass walking sticks."^[11]

Modern times

The Manor was the first winner of AA/NPI Historic House Awards, for its "architectural integrity and warm welcome";^[5] its gardens, which are open to the public although the house itself is not, include a notable rose garden, ancient yews, an arboretum and mulberry bushes.^[5]

It is a licensed venue for weddings^[12] and hosts summer productions of Shakespeare and operas in its grounds.^[13] It is also home to the Cleveland Bay Endeavour, a project to "conserve and promote" the Cleveland Bay horse, an endangered breed.^[14]

The owners of the house were described in 1988 by The New York Times as "... provid[ing] that essential ingredient so many historic buildings lack: a sense of continuity with the past and the feeling that Sheldon Manor is still a living organism, not an ancient relic."^[11]

In 1995, the Manor was used as the location for Uppercross in the BBC production Persuasion ^[15] and in 2008 for BBC One's Bonekickers .^[13]

In the eighties, during the summer the "Shakespeare at Sheldon" festival was held under the supervision of the resident Gibbs family. The stage area was above the swimming pool, the tennis courts had marquees installed and were used as dressing areas and temporary raked seating was installed below the swimming pool for the audience. The thick hedge around this area enabled the actors to cross unseen after they exited the stage area.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avebury (village)</span> Village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England

Avebury is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 5.5 miles (9 km) west of Marlborough and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Devizes. Much of the village is encircled by the prehistoric monument complex also known as Avebury. The parish also includes the small villages of Avebury Trusloe and Beckhampton, and the hamlet of West Kennett.

Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Bath, 86 miles (138 km) west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, where some form of settlement is believed to have existed since before Roman times. It was a royal vill and probably a royal hunting lodge, under Alfred the Great. The town continued to grow when the Great Western Railway arrived in 1841. It had a population of 36,548 in 2021.

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.

Sheldon School is a large mixed secondary school and sixth form in Chippenham, Wiltshire for students aged 11 to 18 and is the largest school in Wiltshire. Since April 2011, it has been an Academy. It is one of three secondary schools in Chippenham, the others being Abbeyfield and Hardenhuish. The school is headed by Peter Lynch, former Headteacher of Bradley Stoke Community School, who was appointed in September 2023.The school is off the Hardenhuish Lane in the southern region of Hardenhuish Park, which is all that separates it from Hardenhuish School to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford</span> Member of the Parliament of England

Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford was an English knight and landowner, from 1400 to 1414 a Member of the House of Commons, of which he became Speaker, then was an Admiral and peer.

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

Biddestone is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Biddestone and Slaughterford, in north-west 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.

Farleigh Hungerford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Norton St Philip, in the Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, 9 miles southeast of Bath, 3½ miles west of Trowbridge on A366, between Trowbridge and Radstock in the valley of the River Frome. In 1931 the parish had a population of 98.

Bishopstone is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Ebble valley about 5.5 miles (9 km) south-west of Salisbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Hampshire and includes the small village of Croucheston and the hamlet of The Pitts.

Bremhill is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) northwest of Calne and 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Chippenham. The name originates from 'Bramble hill'.

Studley is a small village in the county of Wiltshire, England, belonging to the civil parish of Calne Without.

Kington St Michael is a village and civil parish about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Chippenham in Wiltshire, England.

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.

Wingfield is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Bradford-on-Avon and 2.2 miles (3.5 km) west of Trowbridge.

Crewe Hall is a Jacobean mansion located near Crewe Green, east of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. Described by Nikolaus Pevsner as one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire, it is listed at grade I. Built in 1615–36 for Sir Randolph Crewe, it was one of the county's largest houses in the 17th century, and was said to have "brought London into Cheshire".

Hardenhuish School is a large mixed secondary school and sixth form in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, for students aged 11 to 18. Together with Abbeyfield School and Sheldon School, it is one of three secondary schools in the town with academy status. The school's headteacher is Lisa Percy.

Chippenham Without is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, created as a separate entity from the parish of Chippenham by the Local Government Act 1894 and largely consisting of farmland to the west of Chippenham, towards Biddestone. Of note within it are the ancient settlements of Allington and Sheldon, the latter with its manor house. The population taken at the 2011 census was 208.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolehyde Manor</span> Manor house in Wiltshire, England

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.

Lucknam Park is a luxury hotel, spa and restaurant in west Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Corsham and 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Bath. The core of its building is a Grade II listed country house built in the late 17th or early 18th century. The hotel's restaurant has held one star in the Michelin Guide since 2006.

Teffont Evias is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Teffont, on the Nadder valley in the south of Wiltshire, England. Edric Holmes described the village as "most delightfully situated", and Maurice Hewlett included Teffont in his list of the half dozen most beautiful villages in England. The present buildings are mostly of local stone, and several are thatched.

Rudloe Manor is a 17th-century Grade II* listed manor house in Box parish, Wiltshire, England.

References

↑ Historic England. "Medieval settlement of Sheldon (1018428)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 12 November 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Chippenham Without". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
1 2 3 Sheldon, Mike. "Sheldon Manor, Wiltshire (GR04)". Dr Mike Sheldon. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
1 2 3 4 "Wiltshire: Medieval Manor Houses (Part 2)". Britannia Internet. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
1 2 3 "Parks and Gardens UK". Parks and Gardens Data Services Ltd, Archaeology Department, University of York. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
↑ "Sheldon Manor, an Attraction in Chippenham, Wiltshire". Information Britain. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
1 2 3 Historic England. "Sheldon Manor (1022907)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
1 2 Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 468. ISBN 978-0-14-0710-26-7.
↑ "Sheldon Manor Chapel, Chippenham Without". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council . Retrieved 8 November 2010.
↑ "Wiltshire". Westair Reproductions Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
1 2 Boucher, Bruce (13 November 1988). "Towns of Stone In the Downs Of Wiltshire". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 March 2009.
↑ "Weddings". Sheldon Manor. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
1 2 "Events". Sheldon Manor. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
↑ "Cleveland Bay Endeavour". Cleveland Bay Endeavour. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
↑ "A Local-Interest Guide To Jane Austen Novels & Screen Adaptations". South Central MediaScene. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.

External links

Media related to Sheldon Manor, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Historic England. "Medieval settlement of Sheldon (1018428)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 12 November 2015.

[WCC-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Chippenham Without". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 12 November 2015.

[mikesh-3] 1 2 3 Sheldon, Mike. "Sheldon Manor, Wiltshire (GR04)". Dr Mike Sheldon. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2009.

[brit-4] 1 2 3 4 "Wiltshire: Medieval Manor Houses (Part 2)". Britannia Internet. Retrieved 3 March 2009.

[PandG-5] 1 2 3 "Parks and Gardens UK". Parks and Gardens Data Services Ltd, Archaeology Department, University of York. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2009.

[6] "Sheldon Manor, an Attraction in Chippenham, Wiltshire". Information Britain. Retrieved 4 March 2009.

[IOE-7] 1 2 3 Historic England. "Sheldon Manor (1022907)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 December 2022.

[Pev-8] 1 2 Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 468. ISBN 978-0-14-0710-26-7.

[9] "Sheldon Manor Chapel, Chippenham Without". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council . Retrieved 8 November 2010.

[10] "Wiltshire". Westair Reproductions Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2009.

[NYTimes-11] 1 2 Boucher, Bruce (13 November 1988). "Towns of Stone In the Downs Of Wiltshire". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 March 2009.

[12] "Weddings". Sheldon Manor. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.

[Events-13] 1 2 "Events". Sheldon Manor. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.

[14] "Cleveland Bay Endeavour". Cleveland Bay Endeavour. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2009.

[15] "A Local-Interest Guide To Jane Austen Novels & Screen Adaptations". South Central MediaScene. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]