Brockhampton Estate facts for kids
The Brockhampton Estate is a special place in Herefordshire, England. It's looked after by the National Trust, an organisation that helps protect historic sites and beautiful natural areas. You can find it north of the A44 road, near the town of Bromyard.
The most important part of the Estate is Lower Brockhampton Manor House. This amazing house was built a long, long time ago, in the late 1300s! It's made with a special building style called timber framing, where wooden beams form the main structure. The house is surrounded by a moat, which is a ditch filled with water, and you enter it through a restored gatehouse. Around the house, there are about 1,000 acres of farmland and 700 acres of woodland. In 2010, the National Trust carefully restored the house using old building methods like wattle and daub.
The Brockhampton Estate was given to the National Trust in 1946 by Colonel John Lutley. His family had owned the estate for over 20 generations, which is a very long time! Even though the family name changed a few times because of marriages, the estate stayed in the same family for centuries.
Exploring Brockhampton's Past
Scientists believe that a medieval village called Studmarsh might have been located on the Estate. In 2012, archaeologists dug there and found the foundations of two old buildings. These might have been part of the village from long ago!
The Barneby Family and Royal Connections
One of the families who lived at Brockhampton was the Barneby family. Thomas Barneby, who sadly died in a battle in 1461, married Isabella Whitgreave. She was the heiress, meaning she inherited the Brockhampton estate.
Later, a descendant named William Barneby was the Sheriff of Worcester in 1605. He married Amphylis Lyttleton. Amphylis had a niece named Bridget Marrow. Bridget was a gentlewoman at the court of Anne of Denmark, who was the Queen of England and Scotland from 1603. Bridget even became the keeper of the Queen's jewels!
Amphylis Barneby wanted her nephew to join the household of Prince Henry, who was the son of King James I. She wrote to her relative, Meriel Lyttelton, asking for advice. Meriel's reply wasn't very encouraging at first. She mentioned that Amphylis's nephew, Thomas Cornewall, had joined the Prince's household earlier. However, Meriel said that her brother, Henry Bromley, would help Amphylis when the time was right. This shows how families helped each other get important positions in royal courts long ago.
