Barrow Court is a manor house in

Barrow Gurney Barrow Gurney is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the unitary authority of North Somerset on the B3130, midway between the A38 and A370 near the Long Ashton bypass and Bristol Airport, south west of Bristol city ce ...

, Somerset, England. The site was originally

Barrow Gurney Nunnery Barrow Gurney Nunnery (also called Minchin Barrow) was established around 1200 in Barrow Gurney Somerset, England. The Benedictine convent was founded by one of the Fitz-Hardinges (or Fitzhardinge), and in 1212, was left 10 marks in the will of ...

and was rebuilt in the 16th and 19th centuries. It has been designated as a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

was founded in 1212 by one of the Fitz-Hardinges (or Fitzhardinge), who had been granted the

Lordship of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

William Rufus William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 the area and buildings were granted by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

to John Drew, of Bristol, who converted it into a private mansion, renamed Barrow Court. The house is closely attached to the original priory Church of St Mary And St Edward. The original building was converted into a country house in around 1538, largely rebuilt in 1545, and further altered and extended in around 1602 by its owner Dr Francis James into its current E shape, which is the oldest part to survive. It was sold in 1659 to William Gore, in whose family it was passed down until 1881 when it was bought by Anthony Gibbs, son of William Gibbs of

Tyntesfield 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 form ...

, who sold it to his brother Henry Martin Gibbs. He largely rebuilt the Jacobean house and the church. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was used as a military hospital. It became a college of education from 1949 to 1976 but remained in the Gibbs family ownership until they sold it in 1976. It was then divided into several separate dwellings. On the west of the main house is a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...

that dates from the 14th century but has now been turned into a house.

Gardens

The house is surrounded by of formal gardens and a more extensive area, around , of parkland, which held a

medieval deer park In medieval and Early Modern England, Wales and Ireland, a deer park () was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank, or by a stone or brick wall. The ditch was on the ins ...

. In 1890

Inigo Thomas Francis Inigo Thomas (25 December 1865 – 27 March 1950) was a British artist and garden designer. Thomas was born in Warmsworth, Yorkshire, the fifth son of Rev. Charles Edward Thomas and Georgiana Mary Hely-Hutchinson, daughter of Hon. Henry ...

carried out extensive work. building gazebos, a balustraded garden wall and walled courts. In 1890 he added a set of gates and a wall with twelve pillars known as the ''twelve months of the year''. They support sculptures by

Alfred Drury Edward Alfred Briscoe Drury (11 November 1856 – 24 December 1944) was a British architectural sculptor and artist active in the New Sculpture movement. During a long career Drury created a great number of decorative figures such as busts and ...

representing the "daughters of the year", with January being a young girl at the northern end along to an elderly matriarch representing December at the south, each with flowers suitable to the particular month. The lily pond with its accompanying pedestals and urns date from the same time, along with other ornamental steps, walls, vases, a sundial, and a mock temple.

References

{{reflist , colwidth=30em Grade II* listed buildings in North Somerset Grade II* listed houses in Somerset Houses in Somerset Jacobean architecture in the United Kingdom