Acton Court is the historic manor house of the

manor of Iron Acton The historic manor of Iron Acton was a manor centred on the village of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire, England, situated about north-east of the centre of the City of Bristol. The manor house, known as Acton Court is a Tudor (16th century) buil ...

in Gloucestershire, England. It is a

grade I 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 ...

building of Tudor architecture and was recently restored. It is situated, at some considerable distance from the village of

Iron Acton Iron Acton is a village, civil parish and former manor in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it jus ...

and the parish church of St Michael, on Latteridge Lane,

, South Gloucestershire, England. The Poyntz family owned the property from 1364 until 1680.

Nicholas Poyntz Sir Nicholas Poyntz (1510—circa 28 November 1556) was a prominent English courtier during the latter part of Henry VIII's reign. There is a portrait drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Royal Collection and an oil portrait after the ...

(died 1557) added the East Wing onto the existing moated manor house shortly before 1535. Construction took about 9 months to complete. Subsequently, the wing was lavishly and fashionably decorated to impress

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The king and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, stayed in the house in 1535, during a tour of the West Country. Building work continued at Acton Court until Nicholas died in 1557. When the direct line of succession ended in 1680, the house was sold. It was reduced in size and converted for use as a tenanted farmhouse. Due to neglect, the house gradually fell into a dilapidated state. By the end of the 20th century, practically only the East Wing survived. However, the neglect resulted in a rare example of Tudor royal state apartments being preserved virtually intact. The house was purchased at auction in 1984 by

Eva Dorothy Brown Eva Dorothy Brown (14 January 1927 – 8 October 2013) was a campaigner who was recognised with an MBE (1988) for her work to save buildings in Bristol and in the Avon area. Biography Early life and family Dorothy Brown was born in Berwick-up ...

on behalf of the Bristol Visual and Environmental Group (BVEG). An extensive restoration was completed only recently. Prior to the restoration, English Heritage commissioned a comprehensive study, published as K. Rodwell and R. Bell, ''Acton Court: The evolution of an early Tudor courtier's house'' (2004). The monograph is now publicly available through th
Archaeology Data Service

References

External links

Acton Court
official website.
A House Fit for a King
a history of Acton Court by Jean Manco from Bristol Past. {{Authority control Historic house museums in Gloucestershire Country houses in Gloucestershire Grade I listed houses in Gloucestershire

Further reading

References

External links