Cannington Court facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cannington Court |
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Cannington, Somerset |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°09′02″N 3°03′42″W / 51.1506°N 3.0618°W |
| Completed | c 1138 |
| Client | Robert de Courcy |
Cannington Court is a very old and important building in the village of Cannington, Somerset, England. It was built around the year 1138. Originally, it was part of a Benedictine nunnery, which was a place where nuns (religious women) lived and prayed. A man named Robert de Courcy started this nunnery. Today, Cannington Court is a Grade I listed building, which means it's considered a very special historical site.
Contents
The Story of Cannington Court
Cannington Court began its life as Cannington Priory, a home for Benedictine nuns. The De Courcy family founded it around 1138. Many important families in Somerset sent their daughters to live and study there.
Life at the Priory
By the 1300s, there were some concerns about the nuns following all the rules. In 1328, an investigation was started to make sure everyone was behaving properly. Big iron gates were put up to help the nuns stay within the priory grounds. There were even old stories that secret tunnels connected the nunnery to the village!
The nunnery also built the nearby Church of St Mary. The priory continued to operate until 1536. This was when King Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries. This meant many religious houses in England were closed down. The nunnery owned a lot of land in the area.
Changes Over the Years
After the priory closed, Edward Rogers bought the building. He made many changes to it. Later, the Clifford family owned it and continued to make alterations, especially in the early 1700s. In the 1800s and 1900s, the inside of the building was redesigned several times.
From 1807 to 1835, Cannington Court became home to Benedictine nuns once again. They had returned to England after the French Revolution. After these nuns left, the building was used as a school for boys. This school moved to Bath in 1917.
Cannington Court then became part of the Somerset Farm Institute. This later became Cannington College. In 2004, it joined with Bridgwater College. Since then, a lot of money has been spent to improve the site. A special project brought the old walled garden back to life. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex officially opened this garden in 2009.
Today, Cannington Court is used by the energy company EDF. They use it as a training center for their employees. EDF has added modern, eco-friendly features to the building. These include ground source heat pumps and solar panels. These help provide half of the building's power using clean energy!
What Cannington Court Looks Like
Cannington Court is a Grade I listed building. This means it's a very important historical building. It was given this special status on March 29, 1963.
The building is mostly made of red sandstone. Some parts are made of brick. It has decorative stone edges and a flat top wall with a stone cap. Some roofs are sloped, some are covered with slate, and others have Roman tiles.
The buildings are arranged around an uneven square courtyard. There's also a chapel wing on the south side. The main entrance building has three floors. The central porch is also three stories high. It's made of smooth stone and has tall, slender columns on each side. The windows have stone bars that divide them.
