Culham Manor is a historic

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

Culham Culham is a village and civil parish in a bend of the River Thames, south of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. The parish includes Culham Science Centre and Europa School UK (formerly the European School, Culham, which was the only Accredited Europea ...

, near Abingdon in southern

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England. In 2003, the house, set in of grounds, was for sale for

GBP Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...

2.5 million.

History

Circa 1420 a religious guild financed the building of Abingdon Bridge, and the 'old' bridge at Culham. The Manor House, originally a medieval barn held of the

Abbots of Abingdon The Abbot of Abingdon was the head (or abbot) of Anglo-Saxon and eventually Benedictine house of Abingdon Abbey at Abingdon-on-Thames in northern Berkshire (present-day Oxfordshire), England. The following is a list of abbots of Abingdon: Fiction ...

was also built or rebuilt around this period. It was used as a rest house until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1538 In 1468, a member of the Culham-based family of Marshall was a suspect in a Lancastrian plot. Robin Marshall, "late of Culham", was one of 15 suspects pardoned in July 1468 after dubious revelations by the spy John Cornelius, servant of Sir Robert Whittingham. He was probably the son of “Robert Marchal of Culneham” listed as being from Fetherstonehaugh (Fetherstanhalg) in Northumberland in 1431. After a subsequent trial,

John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford (23 April 1408 – 26 February 1462), was the son of Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford (1385? – 15 February 1417), and his second wife, Alice Sergeaux (1386–1452). A Lancastrian loyalist during the latt ...

, was executed. Leland reported on a visit to Culham that there was previously a 'fortres or pile, lyke a castle in Andersey'. During the

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

Abingdon Abbey Abingdon Abbey ( '' " St Mary's Abbey " '' ) was a Benedictine monastery located in the centre of Abingdon-on-Thames beside the River Thames. The abbey was founded c.675 AD in honour of The Virgin Mary. The Domesday Book of 1086 informs ...

in 1545, Culham manor house was seized 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 ...

and sold to a William Bury, a London wool trader and whose family had been Merchants of the Staple at Calais, in exchange for land in the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derived ...

. Bury's descendants were buried at Culham Church. His male line ended with George Bury in 1662 whose daughter Sarah (1650–80) married

Sir Cecil Bishopp, 4th Baronet Sir Cecil Bishopp, 4th Baronet ( 16353 June 1705) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1662. He was the brother of Sir Thomas Bishopp, 3rd Baronet (1627–1652). Bishopp was the son of Sir Edward Bishopp, ...

, of

Parham Park Parham Park is an Elizabethan house and estate in the civil parish of Parham, west of the village of Cootham, and between Storrington and Pulborough, West Sussex, South East England. The estate was originally owned by the Monastery of Westmins ...

, Sussex in 1666. The Manor House was restored by Sir Esmond Ovey between 1933 and 1948.

References

{{coord , 51.6507, -1.2761, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Oxfordshire Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Oxfordshire