Babington is a small village between

Radstock Radstock is a town and civil parish on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, about south-west of Bath and north-west of Frome. It is within the area of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. The Radstoc ...

and

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, which has now largely disappeared.

History

In 1233 or 1234 much of the southern area of what is now Babington Parish was granted to the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

and became known as Temple Newbury. It consisted of around four

Virgate The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( la, virgāta was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equal ...

s and may have supported cloth making and fulling mills. The parish of Babington was part of the

Kilmersdon Kilmersdon is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. It is located on the B3139 between Wells, Somerset, Wells and Trowbridge in ...

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

, The village dates from

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Its name derives from the

Babington family Babington is the name of an Anglo-IrishBurke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1958, 4th Edition by L. G. Pine, Burke's Peerage: 'Babington of Creevagh', pg 42' and English gentry family. The Anglo-Irish branch of the family is still extant today. Ba ...

, who were once associated with the village, but appears to have been largely demolished to make way for the

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 ...

around 1705. Evidence of the medieval village was found during excavations carried out in 1997. It is known that the manor was sold by Thomas and Mary Mankham to Joan Elcode, a widow, in a deed dated Easter 1572. The Manor then contained 7

messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

s, one cottage, 10 tofts, 1

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

, 10 gardens, 14 orchards, of land, of meadow, of pasture, of wood, of

furze ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

and 4s annual rent and 1 lb of pepper.

Babington House

The current

Babington House Babington House is a Grade II* listed manor house, located in the village of Babington, between Radstock and Frome, in the county of Somerset, England. Converted to a private members club and hotel by Nick Jones, it is currently owned by Soho ...

was built around 1705 for Henry Mompesson, probably on the foundations of an earlier building. Babington was inherited by successive members of the Knatchbull family until 1952, when the House and immediate grounds were sold. In 2000, it was bought by the Soho House club, and converted to a hotel, club and wedding venue in 2000. The

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

house is designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a Grade II*

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 ...

. The 18th-century stable block and coach house have now been made into three separate dwellings. The grounds also contain a listed ice house and two impressive sets of gates.

Church of St Margaret

The church is thought to date from 1748 and was probably built by

John Strahan John Strahan was an architect working in Bristol and Bath, England in the early 18th century. He died around 1740. List of works * Shakespeare Public House, Bristol (1725) * Combe Hay Manor Combe Hay 1728 to 1730 * Frampton Court, Frampton-on-Se ...

William Halfpenny William Halfpenny (active 1723–1755) was an English architect and builder in the first half of the 18th century, and prolific author of builder's pattern books. In some of his publications he described himself as "architect and carpenter" ...

, and is considered to be very similar in conception to

Redland Chapel Redland Parish Church is a Georgian church, built in 1742, in the Redland suburb of Bristol, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History It which was built, probably by John Strahan and completed by William Halfpenny, with plasterwork ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

which was long considered to be by John Strahan but now known to be by William Halfpenny. It is a Grade I

. The interior includes an unusual Royal Arms of the

Hanoverians The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house origi ...

on the Rood. The church is owned and operated by the St Margaret's, Babington, Charitable Trust, and is licensed for weddings and public worship. The Trust works in partnership with the management of Babington House, which is adjacent, to arrange weddings for Babington House clients in the church. The church is not exclusively for Babington House clients. Within the churchyard there are a set of three chest tombs. The monument to John Shute is dated 1688 and that to

Thomas Branch Thomas Branch (fl. 1738–1753), was a British author. His ''Principia Legis et Æquitatis'' was regarded as "the accumulated spirit and wisdom of ... the English law." Life Nothing is known of Branch's life, but if the "lady of Thomas Branc ...

1779.

Charity Cottage

Charity Cottage in Charity Lane dates from the 17th century and was built as three cottages, although they have now been converted into one property.

References

External links

Babington House Hotel
* {{OpenDomesday, ST7051, babington, Babington Villages in Mendip District