The Saltford Manor is a stone house in

Saltford Saltford is a large English village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route. Saltford Manor House (built about 116 ...

, Somerset, near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, that is thought to be the oldest continuously occupied private house in England, and has been designated 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 original

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

construction was by

William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (23 November 1116 – 23 November 1183) was the son and heir of Sir Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and Mabel FitzRobert of Gloucester, daughter of Robert Fitzhamon, and nephew of Empress M ...

, and was built on an estate owned at the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

Geoffrey de Montbray Geoffrey de Montbray (Montbrai, Mowbray) (died 1093), bishop of Coutances ( la, Constantiensis), also known as Geoffrey of Coutances, was a Norman nobleman, trusted adviser of William the Conqueror and a great secular prelate, warrior and adminis ...

the

Bishop of Coutances The Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis)''; French: ''Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)'') is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the Cathe ...

. It is contemporary with nearby

Horton Court Horton Court is a stone-built 16th century manor house in Horton, near Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, England. It is a grade I listed building. The house was built in about 1521 by Rev. William Knight (d. 1547), Prothonotary ...

which was a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

house, therefore it is likely that Saltford had an association with

Keynsham Abbey Keynsham Abbey in Keynsham, Somerset, England, was a monastic abbey founded c. 1166 by William, Earl of Gloucester. The abbey was established as a house of Augustinian canons regular, and operated until the dissolution of the monasteries in 153 ...

, and has long been associated with St Mary's Church in Saltford. In 2003, Saltford Manor was the winner of a contest sponsored by '' Country Life'' to find the "oldest continuously inhabited house in Britain". There were hundreds of entrants, many eliminated because they had been built as ecclesiastical buildings and only become available in the housing market after

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 ...

dissolved the monasteries. Other very old dwellings were eliminated because they are now used as shops or museums. After winning the contest, its resident at the time James Wynn, wrote a history book about the manor entitled ''The House That Jack Built: The Story of the Oldest Inhabited House in Britain''. The book described his love for the site and how he restored it to its current state in 1997. In 2008 Saltford Manor was put up for sale and eventually was sold, on 27 August 2010 for £1,275,000.

Architecture

Architectural historian

John Goodall John Goodall (19 June 1863 – 20 May 1942) was a footballer who rose to fame as a centre forward for England and for Preston North End at the time of the development of the Football League, and also became Watford's first manager in 1903. He ...

believes the house has details, particularly in the ornate windows, which date it to before 1150, and probably to around 1148, the completion date of

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...

, which has some similarities, notably a Norman arch etched with diamond markings that are similar to features in the Cathedral.

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

points to the rare survival of a fragment of a medieval painting as an important feature of the house. Other historically significant details include a Norman window in the main bedroom, a 17th-century kitchen, and an "imposing" Tudor fireplace in the sitting room. Architectural historian Anthony Emery believes that the house originally consisted of a large single room on each floor with a vaulted chamber on the ground floor. Major remodelling was carried out in the 17th century being undertaken during the ownership of two generations of the Flower family. The

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

next to the barn in the grounds dates from this period.

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading