Ebrington Manor is a

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 ...

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 ...

in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Ebrington Ebrington (known locally as Yabberton or Yubberton) is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, about from Chipping Campden. It has narrow lanes and tiny streets of Cotswold stone houses and cottages, many of which are thatched ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England. Since 1476 it has been a seat of the Fortescue family, since 1789 Earls Fortescue.

Location

It is located within the village of

in Gloucestershire, immediately to the south-west of the parish church of Ebrington.

History

The house dates back to the fourteenth or fifteenth century, and was significantly altered twice, in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. It was built on land purchased by Sir John Fortescue (c.1394-1479), who was

Chief Justice of the King's Bench Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

. An heraldic

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

above the entrance door displays the arms of Fortescue impaling Aylmer, representing Hugh Fortescue (1665–1719), and his second wife Lucy Aylmer, whom he married after 1708, a daughter of

Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer Admiral of the Fleet Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer (ca. 1650 – 18 August 1720), of Covent Garden, Westminster, and Westcliffe, near Dover, was an Anglo-Irish Royal Navy officer and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House o ...

(circa 1650–1720), grandparents of

Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue (12 March 1753 – 16 June 1841) was a British peer, created Earl Fortescue in 1789. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaumaris from 1784 to 1785. Origins He was the son of Matthew Fortescue, 2nd ...

(1753-1841). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the house was run by the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

for rest and recuperation for

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bomber crews. In 1970 the house was the location of an attempted murder and arson. The current Earl has three daughters and no sons. Therefore the family has been involved in a campaign to change inheritance laws. It was listed as a

grade II 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 ...

building 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 ...

on 25 August 1960.

Architecture

The

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

building has grey slate roofs and a central five flue chimney. The main body of the house includes a 17th centy hall and

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

d gallery. There is extensive plasterwork throughout the house, some of which was moved from a summerhouse in the grounds. The main entrance gate piers and the summer-house in the grounds are both grade II* listed buildings. The garden was laid put in the 1940s.

References

{{coord, 52.0575, -1.7338, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Gloucestershire Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire Fortescue family

Location

History

Architecture

See also

References