Nibley House,

North Nibley North Nibley is a village in Gloucestershire, England about northwest of Wotton-under-Edge. Name The village is commonly known as ''Nibley'', but the official name distinguishes it from the village of Nibley, just outside Yate, about away i ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

house on the English Heritage Register. The Neoclassical Georgian facade dates from 1763 behind which lies the Jacobean manor house built in 1609 by John Smythe the Elder, Steward at the time to Lord Berkeley. Nibley House is known as an example of exceptional Georgian design and for its stucco rococo style ceiling located in its drawing room thought to have been inspired by the work of the famous Swiss-Italian stuccoist Giuseppe Cortese. Today Nibley Hall is a private residence.

Early residents

John Smyth (1567-1640) built the Jacobean part of Nibley Hall in 1609. He was the steward and biographer of, and beneficiary of patronage from, the

Berkeley family The Berkeley family is an English family. It is one of five families in Britain that can trace its patrilineal descent back to an Anglo-Saxon ancestor (the other four being the Arden family, the Swinton family, the Wentworth family, and the ...

of nearby

Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle ( ; historically sometimes spelled as ''Berkley Castle'' or ''Barkley Castle'') is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. The castle's origins date back to the 11th century, being designated by English ...

. The numerous books that he wrote are highly regarded by historians and widely quoted as they accurately portray social conditions of that time. Shortly after his second marriage he built Nibley House). He acquired a large amount of property which was listed in his Will of 1640. Nibley Hall was inherited by his son, also John (1611-1692). The younger John was also a writer, his most notable work being “A Description of the Hundred of Berkeley”; from about 1640 he was reluctantly caught up in the Civil War. The younger John’s eldest son, Edward, married Rose, daughter of Sir Edward Leech (MP) or Leche of

Shipley Hall Shipley Hall was a country estate in Shipley, Derbyshire near Heanor and Ilkeston which now forms a Country Park. Early history The Shipley estate is an ancient manor that was mentioned in the Domesday Book. From the 14th century the land was ...

; John, considering them extravagant, left his estate in

to his grandson George Smyth, it being settled on him at the time of his marriage in 1691. In the early 1700s George had a coloured engraving made of his estate. His son, also George, was born shortly after his father died in 1712. In his will the senior George Smyth left all of his estates to his then-unborn child, whether son or daughter. The younger George Smyth made major alterations and additions to the Jacobean house from 1763 and transformed it into the present house. In 1735 he married Sarah, the daughter of Henry Biggs of Benthall. In 1767, their son Nicholas married Anna Maria, daughter of Sir Charles Leighton, and heiress to her grandmother’s

Condover Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with th ...

estates. Their only son, also Nicholas, inherited Nibley House on the death of his father.

Later residents

The house was sold to John Jortin, a landowner and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. After the death of his only son, he left Nibley House to a distant relative, William Lee, on condition that Lee assumed the surname of Jortin. Bennett family at Nibley House

William Lee Jortin sold the house in around 1848 to Isaac Bennett, who called the property "The Great House" and farmed the 200 acres surrounding the house until retiring to a cottage on the estate in 1870, being succeeded by his son, Charles, who ran the farm. On Charles's death in 1879, his widow continued to run the estate, selling it in 1901 to Colonel William Frederick Noel, of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. He sold it in 1911 to Lieutenant-Colonel James Douglas Buckton, of the Prince of Wales Battalion. He died in 1933; his widow died in 1940, and the church sold Nibley House., The house had fallen into disrepair, and is currently undergoing renovations by the current owners.

References

External links

Nibley House website
{{coord, 51.66187, -2.38086, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Hotels in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed buildings in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed houses in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed hotels