Whitestaunton Manor in the village of

Whitestaunton Whitestaunton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Northay. It was known simply as Staunton until the 14th century. History The univallate Iron Age hill fort at Horse ...

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 was built in the 15th century as a

Hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

and has been designated as a Grade I

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 ...

. It consists of an east–west range with two wings which were added later. The first record of the house dates from 1479 with

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

showing roof timbers dating from 1447 to 1492. It has been altered and expanded several times since, including a major expansion in the 1570s. The stables and coach house were built in the 16th century and are now Grade II listed. Excavations carried out in 1882, when the house was owned by

Charles Elton Charles Elton may refer to: *Charles Elton (Born, 1993) Professional Rugby Player for Otago Rugby * Charles Isaac Elton (1839–1900), English lawyer, politician, writer and antiquarian * Charles Sutherland Elton (1900–1991), English biologist ...

, had identified a building, thought to be a Roman villa, which had been incorporated into the grounds, and designated as a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. In 2003 archaeological television programme ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

'' carried out an excavation in the grounds, which discovered a Roman bath house. During restoration work, between 2000 and 2011, a

Hammerbeam roof A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams pr ...

was discovered above a Georgian ceiling. The roof dated from 1446 to 1478. It had been damaged by

Death watch beetle The deathwatch beetle (''Xestobium rufovillosum'') is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old w ...

. The work received an award for the work from the

Wood Awards The Wood Awards (until 2003 the Carpenters' Award) is a British award for working with wood. The award, which was launched in 1971, is bestowed on winners of several categories within buildings and furniture. Awards are presented in The Carpenters ...

in 2008. Wooden paneling had also been damaged by Death watch and

Common furniture beetle The common furniture beetle or common house borer (''Anobium punctatum'') is a woodboring beetle originally from Europe but now distributed worldwide. In the larval stage it bores in wood and feeds upon it. Adult ''Anobium punctatum'' measure in ...

. It was removed and restored.

References

{{reflist, 33em Houses completed in 1479 Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset Scheduled monuments in South Somerset Grade I listed houses in Somerset Hall houses

See also

References