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Nibley House, North Nibley in Gloucestershire is a
John Smyth (1567-1640) built the Jacobean part of Nibley House in 1609. He was the steward and biographer of, and beneficiary of patronage from, the Berkeley family of nearby Berkeley Castle. The numerous books that he wrote are highly regarded by historians and widely quoted as they accurately portray social conditions of that time. Shortly after his second marriage he built Nibley House. He acquired a large amount of property which was listed in his Will of 1640.
Nibley House was inherited by his son, also John (1611-1692). The younger John was also a writer, his most notable work being “A Description of the Hundred of Berkeley”; from about 1640 he was reluctantly caught up in the Civil War. The younger John’s eldest son, Edward, married Rose, daughter of Sir
William Lee Jortin sold the house in around 1848 to Isaac Bennett, who called the property "The Great House" and farmed the 200 acres surrounding the house until retiring to a cottage on the estate in 1870, being succeeded by his son, Charles, who ran the farm. On Charles's death in 1879, his widow continued to run the estate, selling it in 1901 to Colonel William Frederick Noel, of the
Nibley House website
{{coord, 51.66187, -2.38086, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Hotels in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed buildings in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed houses in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed hotels
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 on the English Heritage Register. The Neoclassical Georgian facade dates from 1763 behind which lies the Jacobean manor house built in 1609 by John Smythe the Elder, Steward at the time to Lord Berkeley. Today it is still a private residence which provides bed and breakfast and camping accommodation and is also a wedding venue.
Early residents
John Smyth (1567-1640) built the Jacobean part of Nibley House in 1609. He was the steward and biographer of, and beneficiary of patronage from, the Berkeley family of nearby Berkeley Castle. The numerous books that he wrote are highly regarded by historians and widely quoted as they accurately portray social conditions of that time. Shortly after his second marriage he built Nibley House. He acquired a large amount of property which was listed in his Will of 1640.
Nibley House was inherited by his son, also John (1611-1692). The younger John was also a writer, his most notable work being “A Description of the Hundred of Berkeley”; from about 1640 he was reluctantly caught up in the Civil War. The younger John’s eldest son, Edward, married Rose, daughter of Sir Edward Leech (MP)
Sir Edward Leech (or Leche; 1572–1652) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1625.
Biography
In 1614, Leche was elected Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel. He was elected Member of Parliament ...
or Leche of Shipley Hall
Shipley Hall was a country estate in Shipley, Derbyshire near Heanor and Ilkeston which now forms a Country Park.
Early history
The Shipley estate is an ancient manor that was mentioned in the Domesday Book. From the 14th century the land w ...
; John, considering them extravagant, left his estate in North Nibley to his grandson George Smyth, it being settled on him at the time of his marriage in 1691. In the early 1700s George had a coloured engraving made of his estate. His son, also George, was born shortly after his father died in 1712. In his will the senior George Smyth left all of his estates to his then-unborn child, whether son or daughter. The younger George Smyth made major alterations and additions to the Jacobean house from 1763 and transformed it into the present house. In 1735 he married Sarah, the daughter of Henry Biggs of Benthall. In 1767, their son Nicholas married Anna Maria, daughter of Sir Charles Leighton, and heiress to her grandmother’s Condover estates. Their only son, also Nicholas, inherited Nibley House on the death of his father.
Later residents
The house was sold to John Jortin, a landowner andbarrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
of Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
. After the death of his only son, he left Nibley House to a distant relative, William Lee, on condition that Lee assumed the surname of Jortin.
William Lee Jortin sold the house in around 1848 to Isaac Bennett, who called the property "The Great House" and farmed the 200 acres surrounding the house until retiring to a cottage on the estate in 1870, being succeeded by his son, Charles, who ran the farm. On Charles's death in 1879, his widow continued to run the estate, selling it in 1901 to Colonel William Frederick Noel, of the Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
. He sold it in 1911 to Lieutenant-Colonel James Douglas Buckton, of the Prince of Wales Battalion. He died in 1933; his widow died in 1940, and the church sold the property to the Eley family, the present owners.
References
External links
Nibley House website
{{coord, 51.66187, -2.38086, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Hotels in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed buildings in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed houses in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed hotels