The Dower House, Stoke Park is a dower house in Bristol, England. It is one of Bristol's more prominent landmarks, set on Purdown, a hill above the M32 motorway on the main approach into the city, and painted yellow. The house was built in 1553 by Sir Richard Berkeley. Rebuilt by Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt circa 1760, it eventually became used as a dower house by the dukes of Beaufort at nearby

Badminton House Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to th ...

. This included

Charles Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort (12 September 1709 – 28 October 1756) was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1731 until 1745 when he succeeded to the peerage as Duke of Beaufort. Life Somerset was the ...

(the son of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort) and wife Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort whose daughter's obelisk can be found to this date on the hill she died on from falling off a horse. The Dower House, from green

It was used as part of

Stoke Park Hospital __NOTOC__ Stoke Park Hospital, was a large hospital for the mental handicapped, closed circa 1997, situated on the north-east edge of Bristol, England, just within South Gloucestershire. Most patients were long-term residents, both adults and ...

, previously ''Stoke Park Colony'', from 1909. The house closed as hospital wards in November 1986 when the final remaining patients were moved to other wards, though the laundry remained for a period. The building was sold in 1991 to the Sennitt and Neate families who planned to redevelop the house into a nursing home, and it was rented to the nearby University of the West of England (UWE) for lectures and seminars in the interim, while the facilities at the Frenchay campus were redeveloped. Residential planning permission was sought, but before any planning permission was acquired, in 1998 the house was sold on to a consortium of housing developers. The last UWE lecture was in spring 2003. The main house was converted into 13 apartments in 2004. The estate is now maintained as an open space by Bristol City Council, known as Stoke Park Estate. Several aspects of the house and estate are listed. The house is

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 ...

. The balustraded terrace, the Orangery, the remains of the Obelisk, and the Broomhill Gate are all

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 ...

. The woods contain the Beaufort Memorial, the cold bath and a partially derelict stone tunnel with rusticated entrance arches, all also

. It is known locally as "The Yellow Castle".

Haunted history

Dower House is rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of a girl named Elizabeth Somerset, who died in 1760 from injuries sustained after tumbling from her horse. Many visitors have claimed that they have heard galloping hooves as they travel through - although horses haven't been on the grounds for years. Steve England, a conservation educator and RHS horticulturist, states that “I’ve heard the sound of thumping hooves behind me on numerous occasions, once so vividly I jumped out of the way, but there was nothing there."

References

External links

Stoke Park Estate
Bristol City Council
The History of Stoke Park
edited by Adrian Kerton, Glenside Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Dower House Dower houses Grade II* listed buildings in Bristol Country houses in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed houses Grade II listed buildings in Bristol Houses completed in 1553 1553 establishments in England