The King's House, Salisbury
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The King’s House is a
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
building in
Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...
Close, Wiltshire, England. Since 1981 it has accommodated the
Salisbury Museum The Salisbury Museum (previously The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum) is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology. The museum is housed in The King's Hou ...
and associated galleries.


History


13th–14th century

The house was referred to as the Court of the Abbott of Sherborne in 13th-century documents. The Abbot of
Sherborne Abbey Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It was formerly a Saxon Catholic cathedral (705–1075) and a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539) ...
used this house as his prebendal residence in Salisbury prior to 1539, when Sherborne Abbey was decommissioned during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. At that time the house was known as Sherborne Palace. The administration of estates of religious houses seized in the Reformation was carried out by the Augmentation Court. Both this office and the Dean and Chapter of
Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...
laid claim to the property; after much court wrangling the Dean and Chapter succeeded and still hold the
freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...
today.


15th–16th century

The original house was considerably restructured in the 15th century and replaced with part of the present building. The 15th-century construction can be seen as the central frontage with three gables, and a porch which is thought to date to the 13th century. The building at that time would have had a great hall open to the roof, a parlour with a chamber above, service rooms and a kitchen. The original facing was decorated with flint rubble and herringbone tile courses. The original windows were of Ham Hill stone and traces of these are visible on the frontage. The porch vaulting is also of Ham Hill stone, which is rare in buildings in Salisbury but common in
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...
which implies that the work was carried out in the Sherborne Abbey's tenancy. The oak entrance door inside the porch, with small wicket leaf and strap hinges, is thought to be original. Later extensions have been added to the north and south. There are smoke louvre trusses in the roof and original fireplaces in several rooms. In the 16th century, the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral let the house to a number of secular tenants. Around that period the north end of the house was extended with a large brick cross-wing, out of proportion to the original house. This extension has two large
mullioned A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
and transomed windows and a staircase from the ground floor to the attic, with oak balustrades around two
newel post A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar around which a helical staircase winds. It can also refer to an upright post that supports or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post"). ...
s. Two of the rooms have elaborately decorated plaster ceilings. This work was carried out under the direction of the tenants Thomas and Eleanor Sadler; Thomas was Registrar to the Bishops of Sarum. It is quite probable that it was in these rooms that King James 1 and his wife,
Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...
, were entertained when they visited in 1610 and 1613.


17th century

Thomas Sadler (Jr.) and his wife entertained the antiquary
John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He was a pioneer archaeologist, who recorded (often for the first time) numerous megalithic and other field monuments in southern England ...
at the house in 1656.


18th century

In the 18th century the tenancy was held by the Beach family who sublet the property in smaller units. One of the tenants during this time was Lieutenant General
Henry Shrapnel Lieutenant-General Henry Scrope Shrapnel (3 June 1761 – 13 March 1842) was a British Army officer whose name has entered the English language as the inventor of the shrapnel shell. Biography Henry Shrapnel was born at Midway Manor in Bradfo ...
, inventor of the fragmenting artillery shell. Shrapnel is recorded as living at the house in 1785 which coincides closely with the time that he developed the shell. Further evidence of his activities comes from a description given in 1836 by a lady who attended the
Godolphin School Godolphin School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for girls in Salisbury, England, which was founded in 1726 and opened in 1784. The school educates girls between the ages of three an ...
there. In another part of the building was a ladies' school run by a Mrs Smith from 1767 until she retired in 1781. Another school, under the direction of a Mrs Vazey, also used the building at that time.


19th century

In 1803 the house reverted to single occupancy for a short period, during which the tenancy was held by Sir John Slade from 1808–1852, although he ceased living there from 1829. Slade made a number of alterations including removing windows and adding buttresses to the east front, using the Abbot’s Room as the main entrance and adding a reeded white marble chimney piece to the fireplace. In 1837 the house was sub-divided again and occupied by a Mr Henry Brodribb, a solicitor and Miss Margaret Bazley (or Bazeley), headmistress of the
Godolphin School Godolphin School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for girls in Salisbury, England, which was founded in 1726 and opened in 1784. The school educates girls between the ages of three an ...
, which was then housed in nearby Arundells. In 1837 the Godolphin School moved into the King's House and was transferred in 1848 when an outbreak of cholera in the city forced its evacuation to premises on Milford Hill in another part of Salisbury. In 1849, further renovations included constructing a linking passage along the west façade which effectively hid the original 15th century exterior. In 1850, T. H. Wyatt removed the buttresses from the east face and restored the windows in Elizabethan form. From its vacancy by the Godolphin School the King's House was used to accommodate the Diocesan Training College for Schoolmistresses. In 1873 an extension to the building was constructed to the design of Edward Doran Webb to provide dormitories, and in 1899 a further extension for a chapel, along with the installation of electricity and heating. In the window of the former chapel is a stained glass representation by Kempe of the gartered arms of
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, Queen Anne. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; and Fr ...
who had visited the house with his father in 1610 but had died before his father's second visit in 1613. This room is now used to display ceramics. It was here at The Diocesan Training College that
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...
's sisters Kate and Mary were trained, perhaps inspiring the attendance and escape from the Melchester (Salisbury) college of Sue Bridehead in ''
Jude the Obscure ''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). The protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man; he i ...
'', wherein the college is described.


20th century

In 1966 the college became The College of Sarum St Michael, which closed in 1978, and a 125-year tenancy was taken up by the
Salisbury Museum The Salisbury Museum (previously The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum) is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology. The museum is housed in The King's Hou ...
, which moved into the building and opened its doors to the public in 1981.


Copy of the house

In 1922 a wealthy American cosmetics manufacturer, Carl Weeks and his wife, Edith were impressed with the King's House, and instructed their architects, William Whitney Rasmussen, Byron Boyd and Herbert Moore to construct a similar family house in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
. The architects visited Salisbury, took details and arranged the purchase of authentic fittings locally, including stairs, fireplaces, panelling, flooring and other materials; many items were taken from 91 Crane Street, Salisbury. The project cost $1,500,000 for the building and $1,500,000 for furnishings, and took five years to complete. Now called Salisbury House, the Des Moines house is operated as a museum.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King's House, Salisbury Grade I listed buildings in Wiltshire Grade I listed houses Buildings and structures in Salisbury