Eye Manor,
Eye,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
is a
Carolean 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 ...
dating from the late 17th century, and was built for Ferdinando Gorges. Noted for its interior
plasterwork
Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting. The process of ...
, the house is a
Grade I 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
Ferdinando Gorges
Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the m ...
(c.1565-1647) was an English soldier whose establishment of the Province of
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
saw him called the "Father of English Colonization in
North America". His descendant, also Ferdinando, bought the Eye estate in 1673 and began building the house shortly thereafter. A
datestone
A datestone is typically an embedded stone with the date of engraving and other information carved into it. They are not considered a very reliable source for dating a house, as instances of old houses being destroyed and rebuilt (with the old da ...
above the main doorway carries a date of 1680.
Coats of arms within the house carry the insignia of Gorges and of his wife, Meliora Gorges, née Hilliard.
Gorges' son, Henry sat as a
member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
in the early 18th century.
In the 20th century Eye Manor was the home of the publisher
Christopher Sandford
Christopher Sandford (1902–1983) of Eye Manor, Herefordshire, was a book designer, proprietor of the Golden Cockerel Press, a founding director of the Folio Society, and husband of the wood engraver and pioneer Corn dolly revivalist, Lettice Sa ...
, who owned the
Golden Cockerel Press
The Golden Cockerel Press was an English fine press operating between 1920 and 1961.
History
The private press made handmade limited editions of classic works. The type was hand-set and the books were printed on handmade paper, and sometimes ...
, and his wife
Lettice Sandford
Lettice Sandford (born Lettice Mackintosh Rate; 1902–1993) was a draftsman, wood-engraver, pioneer corn dolly revivalist and watercolourist of her beloved Herefordshire. She was a daughter of Lachlan Mackintosh Rate of Milton Court, Surrey, a ...
. Their son
Jeremy Sandford
Christopher Jeremy Sandford (5 December 1930 – 12 May 2003) was an English television screenwriter who came to prominence in 1966 with ''Cathy Come Home'', his controversial entry in BBC1's ''The Wednesday Play'' anthology strand, which wa ...
, the writer and director of the television drama ''
Cathy Come Home'', grew up at the house. Following his death in 2003, the manor was sold.
In 2009 the house was bought by the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician
Robert Jenrick
Robert Edward Jenrick (born 9 January 1982) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Immigration since October 2022. He served as Minister of State for Health from September to October 2022. He served as Secretary of State fo ...
for £1.1 million. In April 2020, during the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
, Jenrick, then serving as the
, became the subject of media interest when he visited the house, and his parents' home in
Shrewsbury, in apparent contravention of the
government's advice against non-essential travel.
Architecture and description
Eye Manor is noted for the quality of its interior decoration, which
Pevsner and Brooks describe as "an astonishing surprise" within an exterior "as noncommittal as a black double-breasted overcoat". The house is built of red brick to a traditional double-pile plan. Later additions include the
doric porch which dates from the 18th century, and some minor modification undertaken in the early 20th century. It is of two storeys, with cellars and attics.
The plain exterior conceals the embellished interior which has "gorgeously enriched"
panelling
Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials.
Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...
,
bolection moulded stone fireplaces and "outstanding"
plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
ceilings. The quality and style of the plasterwork in the house bears similarities to that at
Holyrood Palace which led Geoffrey Beard, a historian of English decorative arts, to suggest that the same craftsmen may have been involved.
Eye Manor is a
Grade I 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 ...
.
Notes
References
Sources
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*{{cite book
, first=John , last = Summerson
, authorlink=John Summerson
, title=Architecture in Britain: 1530-1830
, series=Pelican History of Art
, url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/architecture-in-britain-1530-to-1830/oclc/915707152?referer=br&ht=edition
, year=1955
, publisher=Penguin Books
, location= London
, oclc=915707152
Country houses in Herefordshire
Grade I listed buildings in Herefordshire
Grade I listed houses
Houses completed in 1680
1680 establishments in England