Clevedon Court facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Clevedon Court |
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Clevedon |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°26′25″N 2°49′56″W / 51.4402°N 2.8321°W |
| Completed | 14th century |
| Client | Sir John de Clevedon |
Clevedon Court is a grand old country house, called a manor house, located on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England. It was first built way back in the early 1300s! Today, the National Trust looks after it. It's also a special "Grade I listed building," which means it's super important for its history and architecture.
This amazing house grew and changed over many years. The oldest parts are the great hall and the chapel. Around 1570, a new part, the west wing, was added. At this time, the windows and decorations were also updated. More changes happened in the 1700s when the Elton family owned it. In 1960, the house became property of the nation and was given to the National Trust to help with taxes. The Elton family still lives there, and you can visit the house today!
Besides the main house, the grounds have old walls and other buildings. Some of these are even older, from the 1200s! The gardens are also very special and are listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Contents
Discovering Clevedon Court's Past
Most of Clevedon Court was built in the early 1300s by Sir John de Clevedon. Some people think it might even be on the site of an old Roman building! This idea comes from digs done near the house in the 1960s. The house also includes parts of a 1200s building, which is a bit crooked compared to the rest. It was built about two miles from the local church of St Andrew, which is by the sea.
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the land of Clevedon was given to Matthew de Mortagne. He then gave it to Hildebert. Sir John de Clevedon might have been related to one of these men. Because the church was far away, the manor house had its own chapel. It was dedicated to Saint Peter in the 1320s. The house has changed a lot over the centuries, with new parts added almost every 100 years. But it still looks and feels like a medieval manor house.
Sir John de Clevedon's daughter, Katherine, did something amazing: she started England's very first free school! The de Clevedon family line ended in 1376. The house then passed to the Wake family from Northamptonshire through marriage. They were the main owners, or Lords of the Manor, until 1630. John Wake added a big new west wing in the late 1500s. In 1630, Sir John Wake sold the house to Sir John Digby. During the English Civil War, Sir John's properties were taken away. But his family got them back after the king returned to power. In 1709, Abraham Elton, a businessman from Bristol, bought the house.
The Elton Family's Influence
The Eltons were a very important family in Bristol. Abraham Elton was a key figure in the city, serving as its Sheriff and Mayor. He also became a member of parliament. In 1717, he was given the special title of baronet, becoming the first of the Elton baronets. The family made their money from things like copper and brass mining in the Mendip Hills, and other types of trade.
Several more Abraham Eltons followed. Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Baronet, and his son, Sir Abraham Elton, 3rd Baronet, also held important roles in Bristol. The third Baronet faced financial difficulties. In 1761, the estate went to his brother, Sir Abraham Isaac Elton, 4th Baronet. He made many changes to the house and gardens in the popular Gothic revival style. His son, Sir Abraham Elton, 5th Baronet, took over in 1790. He was a religious man and supported Hannah More, a famous writer and social reformer. His second wife, Mary, also made changes to the house in the early 1800s. She helped improve the town, even starting a school named after her today.
The line of Abrahams ended in 1842 when Sir Charles Abraham Elton, 6th Baronet, took over. Sir Charles was a writer. His sister Julia married the historian Henry Hallam. Their nephew, Arthur Hallam, is buried in the Elton family tomb. Arthur Hallam is the subject of a famous poem by Alfred Tennyson called In Memoriam A.H.H.. Tennyson visited Clevedon Court in 1850. William Makepeace Thackeray, another famous writer, also visited the court. It inspired the house Castlewood in his novel The History of Henry Esmond.
Sir Arthur Elton, 7th Baronet, inherited the house in 1853. Like his father, he was a writer. He worked hard to improve the town of Clevedon. He set up a library, created allotments (small plots of land for growing food), and helped build the local cottage hospital. All Saints' Church, near the Court, was built in 1860 because Sir Arthur wanted it. He also made changes to the Court itself. A fire in 1882 badly damaged the West Wing of the house. It was rebuilt by architect C. E. Davis. During this work, the old chapel was found again. It had been hidden for a long time, perhaps since the Protestant Reformation.
Sir Edmund Elton, 8th Baronet, took over in 1883. He loved being a volunteer firefighter and invented some clever things, like a bicycle brake and a device to stop ladies' skirts from getting caught in bicycle wheels! He was also a well-known potter. He started his "Sunflower Pottery" in the Court grounds with a local boy named George Masters. Their "Elton ware" pottery became very popular, especially in America. Their pottery often had bright colors, raised flower designs like Art Nouveau, and later, shiny metallic finishes.
Sir Edmund's son, Sir Ambrose, became the owner in 1920. His son, Sir Arthur, was a pioneer in making documentary films before, during, and after the Second World War. He inherited the title in 1951. In 1960, the house was given to the National Trust. The Victorian west wing was taken down to save money and make the house look more like its original medieval design. Sir Arthur passed away in 1973, and his son Sir Charles took over. The Elton family still lives in the house, and it is open for visitors to explore.
The House's Design and Changes
Clevedon Court faces south, with Court Hill behind it. The oldest parts, like the great hall, passageways, porches, and chapel, are from the early 1300s. The chapel's square windows have beautiful stone patterns. These parts were likely finished by 1322. The 1300s building also included older parts, like a small four-story tower from the 1200s. The room that became the 1300s kitchen (now a museum) was probably an even older hall.
Not many changes happened in the later medieval period, just a small toilet tower added at the back. Around 1570, a large west wing was built. This new wing would have completely changed how the Wake family lived there. At the same time, the front of the house was updated with new windows and decorations in the "Elizabethan" style.
There isn't much proof of building work in the early 1700s, maybe just repairs. But in the 1760s and 1770s, big changes happened. The great hall roof was replaced, and a new Gothic-style window was added to the south side of the great hall. The west wing was also updated in a "Chinese Gothic" style.
Sir Arthur Elton (7th Baronet) started updating the house before 1850. In the 1860s, he made major changes. The west wing was made bigger and redesigned in an "Elizabethan" style. Less obvious changes were made to the east end, where the servants lived. The fire of 1882 destroyed much of the western part of the house. When it was rebuilt, an even larger west end was constructed. But Sir Arthur made sure to keep its Elizabethan south front. Around 1912, the great hall window was changed again to have a square top, like the Elizabethan style.
In the late 1950s, when the National Trust took over, the Victorian west wing was removed. Many smaller buildings from the 1700s and 1800s at the back were also taken down. The new west front was given a stone look and kept the Elizabethan south front.
Other Buildings Around the House
In the grounds, one old building from the medieval period is a small, round tower with battlements. No one knows what it was originally used for. It's next to a large wall that might also be from the 1200s. The other garden walls are old, mostly from before 1730, which is when the stables were built. All the other buildings, like the lodge at the South entrance (from 1851), are in the Georgian or Victorian styles. The eastern barn looks medieval because it uses stones from an older medieval barn that used to stand in front of the house.
An old picture of the court shows a building called Wake's Tower on Court Hill. It was on a map from 1570 but was taken down before 1738. Towers like this were popular in the Elizabethan era. They were often used as lookouts or summer houses. A summerhouse was built on the same spot, but it was also in ruins by the early 1800s.
Inside Clevedon Court
The biggest room in the house is the great hall. This was the original dining room. Next to it is the screens passage, which led from the service rooms into the hall. The staircase on the north side of the hall was added in the 1700s. The state room on the first floor's western side was damaged by the 1882 fire. The wooden panels around the fireplace came from the Eltons' old house in Queen Square, Bristol.
The chapel on the first floor has a rectangular window with beautiful stone patterns. This window is a main feature on the front of the house. The colorful stained glass in the window was added after the 1882 fire. The justice room has been used for many things. It got its name because it was where the local court met until the 1700s. The house is full of family portraits and other paintings. You can also see collections of Eltonware pottery and Nailsea Glass, plus old pictures of bridges and railways.
Exploring the Gardens
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The gardens of Clevedon Court are very special. They are listed as "Grade II*" on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
The gardens sit at the bottom of Court Hill, protected from the winds coming off the Bristol Channel. The front lawns gently slope down to the wall. The house hides the amazing design of the garden behind it. This garden is carved into the hillside with many terraces that climb steeply up into the woods. These terraces are surrounded by what a famous garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll, called "One of the noblest ranges of terrace walls in England."
An old record from 1389 mentions two gardens, but we don't know where they were. We also don't know when the terraces were built. But the basic layout we see today was definitely there by about 1730. Later in the 1700s, the space behind the big wall was filled in to create the top terrace. From here, you get wide views across the valley to the Mendip Hills. The Octagon, a garden building, was built around the same time. So was a more rustic summer house that faces it across a long grassy path. Later, the lower wall was covered with rosy pink bricks. These bricks were also used to build a double set of steps below the Octagon. The garden still mostly looks like it did in the 1700s. Small ponds and fountains were added in the 1800s. The hillside behind, which used to be open, is now covered in thick woods. An old rose arbour from the Edwardian garden was replaced in 2009. This marked 300 years of the Elton family at Clevedon Court.
We don't know much about the plants from the mid-1700s. But there's a twisted black mulberry tree in front of the house that was already called "ancient" in 1822! Drawings and photos from the 1800s show very fancy flower beds. These were removed in the 1960s. Today, the garden has a more natural style. This highlights the beautiful walls and is easier to care for. In recent years, wild plants have been allowed to grow with rare and exotic ones. The gardeners think carefully about different textures and colors of leaves. The lower garden, in front of the house, now feels like a small arboretum (a collection of trees). A beautiful catalpa tree (an oriental plane tree) stands out here. The grass around it is left long in spring, letting camassias and bluebells create a lovely display.
Like many English gardens, this one is most beautiful in May and June. That's when the magnolias are blooming and luxurious plants like peonies and alliums are in flower. The gardeners are always adding plants that look good throughout the year, especially in late summer. Now there are many types and colors of lavender and lots of agapanthus, crinum, nerines, and day lilies. You can also find rare plants like a Heptacodium and an Arbutus menziesii.
See also
- List of Grade I listed buildings in North Somerset
- List of National Trust properties in Somerset
