Urchinwood Manor is 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 ...

Congresbury Congresbury is a village and civil parish on the northwestern slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England, which in 2011 had a population of 3,497. It lies on the A370 between Junction 21 of the M5 and Bristol Airport, south of Bris ...

within the English county of

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_ ...

. Part of the house was built around 1620 with additions being made in the 17th century. The house and surrounding estate has been bought and sold many times over the centuries with the estate now being used as an equestrian centre.

History

The manor of Congresbury, including Urchinwood, was endowed to

Queen Elizabeth's Hospital Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (also known as QEH) is an independent day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Elizabeth's Hosp ...

by John Carr in 1586. The two-storey stone house was built by the family of

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

who were the tenants. The exact date is unknown but likely to be before 1620 as the date is recorded on the porch. In 1643 the manor was sold to the local businessman and mayor of

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 ...

, John Taylor, who gained possession of the house shortly afterwards. In 1693 it passed to Richard Morgan. By the second half of the 18th century the house was owned by George Webb and passed to his descendants and by marriage to William Codrington, who sold it in 1814 to John Philip Miles of the

Miles baronets The Miles Baronetcy, of Leigh Court in the County of Somerset, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 April 1859 for the banker and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet, ...

from

Leigh Court Leigh Court is a English country house, country house which is a Grade II* listed building in Abbots Leigh, Somerset, England. The grounds and park are listed, Grade II, on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest ...

for £18,826. In 1834 the estate including the house was sold for £6,650 to the Smyth Pigott family of Brockley Hall. In the middle of the 20th century it was sold to Lt. Colonel John Kenrie La Touche Mardon who sold it to D. Brodie Macdonald. The estate is now used as an equestrian centre.

Architecture

It was renovated and extended in the 17th and 20th centuries, converting the original L-shaped house into a "U". The porch at the front is part of the original building from 1620. It opens into a small hall which would have been the original

screens passage A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great c ...

. Leading from the hall is an oak panelled dining room and then the Kings room with a massive open fireplace made of moulded stone, which may have been moved to Urchinwood from another house. Some of the wood panelling in the living room had also been brought in from other houses. Several rooms have Jacobean plasterwork ceilings. The earliest part of the house is linked to the 17th century additions by a stone archway. There is a 17th-century barn to the northwest of the house.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

{{Commons category, Urchinwood Manor
Urchinwood Manor Equestrian Centre
Grade II* listed buildings in North Somerset Buildings and structures completed in 1620