Facade of Melksham House, Melksham (geograph 5090497)

Melksham House is a

Grade II listed 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 ...

house, situated 150 metres west of the Market Place in the town of

Melksham Melksham () is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement af ...

, Wiltshire, England. The house was built between the 17th and early 18th century, although records show a building on this site since about 1608. In 1699 Richard Coxeter sold the property to Sir Walter Long, after which time various replacements and extensions were added over the years, while the house continued in the ownership of the Long family. During the 19th century the house had a succession of owners, including (from 1866) Edward Barnwell, schoolmaster, archaeologist and antiquarian, who financed the building of St Andrew's church in the Forest area of the town. After the house was bought in 1895 by Charles Awdry of Shaw Hill House, the Blathwayt family were tenants – among them George Blathwayt, appointed

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gov ...

in 1916. In 1920 the house and surrounding was in the ownership of the Avon Rubber Company, purchased for use as the company club and sports centre for the "social welfare of their employees". The formal opening of the club took place on 11 December 1920, but just days later a fire broke out destroying much of the house, and all that could be salvaged was the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

which has remained intact to this day. The damaged part of the house was rebuilt in a manner more suited to a sports club. In 1963,

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

wrote that the house was "... alas so much pulled about that it cannot count any longer as a C17 building". In 1997, Avon Rubber sold its tyre interest to

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sales of replacement automobile and truck tires, and has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle, and racing tires. W ...

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 40,313 at the 2020 United St ...

, United States, and included in this sale was Avon's manufacturing site in Melksham and the Melksham House sports and social club. The site was sold in 2011 to

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...

, and in 2021 work began to redevelop it into a "campus" of council and health services, although the future fate of Melksham House is still to be determined. The sports ground on the southern part of the site was the home of Melksham Town F.C. from 1926, and was also used by Melksham Rugby Club. In January 2017, both clubs moved to new facilities at Oakfields on the eastern edge of the town.

References

{{reflist Houses completed in the 18th century Country houses in Wiltshire Grade II listed buildings in Wiltshire Grade II listed houses Melksham