Sheldon Manor near
Chippenham,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England, is Wiltshire's oldest inhabited
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 ...
and dates back to
Anglo-Saxon times. Its structure is mostly 17th-century, and it 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
The medieval settlement of Sheldon, first mentioned in 803, no longer exists, having been
deserted by 1582;
[ a 1976 survey confirmed its remains to lie to the rear of the Manor, which itself stands on the site of an older habitation known as " The Holloway".]
The manor of Sheldon was granted to Sir William de Beauvilain in about 1180;[ on his death, as a ]Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
, it was forfeit to The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
as an escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...
and then granted to the de Godarville family in 1231 by Henry III.[ In 1250 it passed to Sir Geoffrey Gascelyn on his marriage to Joan de Godarville.] In 1424 the Manor was sold to Sir Walter Hungerford, and after some time was eventually granted to Catherine Parr temporarily until the Hungerford heir achieved majority.[
For many years, the property was tenanted until Sir Edward Hungerford sold the Manor in 1684 and in 1711 it was bought by William Norris, whose last survivor died in 1828.][ In 1854 it was bought by Sir Gabriel Goldney, whose son lived there until 1911,] followed by the Bailey family.[
From 1917 the Manor was owned by the Gibbs family][ being Major Martin Anthony Gibbs, a former ]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 Go ...
, his wife Elsie Margaret Mary (née Hamilton-Dalrymple) and their six children.
In 1982, Mrs Gibbs published a historical and architectural account of the Manor.
The Manor is now within the civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of Chippenham Without;[ unbroken occupation since 1282 makes Sheldon Manor Wiltshire's longest continuously inhabited manor house. It was granted 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 ...
status by the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England in 1960.
Architecture and antiques
The earliest parts of the structure are thought to be a window on the west side and the porch, dating back to the late 13th century.[ ]Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist
* Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo
* David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...
considered the porch to be "astounding, but much too big for the present house". Most of the main structure, consisting of two and a half storeys, and of rubble stone
Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an i ...
and stone-tiled roofs, dates to c. 1659 when it was built for a Mr Forster, although some parts are earlier. Later additions date to post-1711 and improvements to c. 1911.[
]
;External features
There is a small stone chapel in the grounds, believed to date to about 1450 and built by the Hungerford family for use by themselves and their servants. It has an east window with Perpendicular
In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...
tracery
Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...
.[ After a long period of use as ]stables
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
, it was restored in the twentieth century. There is also a brick-built storehouse mounted on staddle stones
Staddle stones (variations include steddle stones) were originally used as supporting bases for granaries, hayricks, game larders, etc. The staddle stones lifted the granaries above the ground thereby protecting the stored grain from vermin and wa ...
to prevent incursion by rats.[
;Antiques
The Manor has collections of ]Nailsea
Nailsea is a town in Somerset, England, southwest of Bristol, and northeast of Weston-super-Mare. The nearest village is Backwell, which lies south of Nailsea on the opposite side of the Bristol to Exeter railway line. Nailsea had a populatio ...
glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
, Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
saddlebag
Saddlebags are bags that are attached to saddles.
Horse riding
In horse riding, saddlebags sit in various positions, on the back, side, or front of the saddle. Most attach to the saddle by straps and ties. They can be made from various material ...
s, porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
and oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
furniture, including an Elizabethan refectory table and chairs. There are paintings by Tissot
Tissot SA () is a Swiss watchmaker. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. After several mergers and name changes, the group which Tissot SA belonged to was renam ...
, David Teniers and Bassano, vases by William De Morgan
William Frend De Morgan (16 November 1839 – 15 January 1917) was an English potter, tile designer and novelist. A lifelong friend of William Morris, he designed tiles, stained glass and furniture for Morris & Co. from 1863 to 1872. His tiles ...
and "an unusual collection of glass walking sticks."[
]
Modern times
The Manor was the first winner of AA/NPI Historic House Awards, for its "architectural integrity and warm welcome";[ its gardens, which are open to the public although the house itself is not, include a notable rose garden, ancient yews, an arboretum and mulberry bushes.][
It is a licensed venue for weddings and hosts summer productions of Shakespeare and operas in its grounds.][ It is also home to the Cleveland Bay Endeavour, a project to "conserve and promote" the ]Cleveland Bay
The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation ...
horse, an endangered breed.
The owners of the house were described in 1988 by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as "... provid ngthat essential ingredient so many historic buildings lack: a sense of continuity with the past and the feeling that Sheldon Manor is still a living organism, not an ancient relic."
In 1995, the Manor was used as the location for Uppercross in the BBC production ''Persuasion
Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for Social influence, influence. Persuasion can influence a person's Belief, beliefs, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, Intention, intentions, Motivation, motivations, or Behavior, behaviours.
...
'' and in 2008 for BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
's ''Bonekickers
''Bonekickers'' is a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It made its début on 8 July 2008 in television, 2008 and ran for one series.
It was written by ''Life on Mars (UK TV series), Life on Mars' ...
''.
In the eighties, during the summer the "Shakespeare at Sheldon" festival was held under the supervision of the resident Gibbs family. The stage area was above the swimming pool, the tennis courts had marquees installed and were used as dressing areas and temporary raked seating was installed below the swimming pool for the audience. The thick hedge around this area enabled the actors to cross unseen after they exited the stage area.
References
External links
{{good article
Houses completed in the 13th century
Country houses in Wiltshire
Grade I listed buildings in Wiltshire
Grade I listed houses
Deserted medieval villages in Wiltshire
Chippenham Without