Halsway Manor (also known as Halsway Court) is a manor house in Halsway,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. It is owned by the Halsway Manor Society who operate the manor as a national centre for the folk arts. It is the only residential

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

centre in the UK. It is situated off the A358 road between

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

and

Williton Williton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. Williton sta ...

on the edge of the

Quantock Hills The Quantock Hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956. Natural England have desi ...

Buildings

Halsway manor was held in 1086 by Roger de Courcelles with Alric, the owner in 1066, as his tenant. The manor passed through many owners down to 1965 and these are listed in the Victoria County History for Somerset, Volume 5. The eastern end of the building dates from the fifteenth century; the western end is a nineteenth-century addition. The manor house, which is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

, is claimed to have been built by

Cardinal Beaufort Cardinal Henry Beaufort (c. 1375 – 11 April 1447), Bishop of Winchester, was an English prelate and statesman who held the offices of Bishop of Lincoln (1398) then Bishop of Winchester (1404) and was from 1426 a Cardinal of the Church of Ro ...

as a hunting lodge. At one point it was occupied by insurrectionist

Jack Cade Jack Cade's Rebellion was a popular revolt in 1450 against the government of England, which took place in the south-east of the country between the months of April and July. It stemmed from local grievances regarding the corruption, maladmi ...

. Thereafter it was a family home until the mid-1960s, when it became the folk music centre. It has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

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 ...

. There is a ballroom, library and lounge bar with an impressive entrance hall. The latter has oak panelling and staircase, with an open fireplace and barrel ceiling. The mews is now used for accommodation. In 1859, John Henry Parker wrote in his ''Account of Domestic Architecture'':

Folk Centre

Halsway Manor Society Ltd was registered as a charity on 8 March 1966 to promote participation in the folk arts — traditional folk music, dance, song, storytelling, folklore and related arts and crafts — through a year-round programme of residential courses, classes, events and activities for people of all ages and abilities. Participants come from all over the country and abroad. Local people are encouraged to get involved through regular dance and music clubs, concerts, an annual festival, fete and craft fairs.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Halsway Manor website
Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset English folk music Music in Somerset Country houses in Somerset Grade II* listed houses in Somerset