Great Chalfield Manor facts for kids
Great Chalfield Manor is a beautiful old country house in Great Chalfield, a small village in Wiltshire, England. It's about 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of the town of Bradford on Avon. This historic home is known for being one of the best examples of a late medieval English manor house.
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History of Great Chalfield Manor
Great Chalfield Manor was built a long time ago, between 1465 and 1480. It was made for a man named Thomas Tropenell. He wasn't born into a super rich family, but he became wealthy as a clothier, selling fabrics. The house stands on the spot where an older, fortified house once stood. You can still see parts of the old walls and towers today.
The manor house is surrounded by a moat, which is a wide ditch, usually filled with water, for protection. The main hall of the house is very special. It has windows on both sides, letting in lots of light. On either side of the hall are two wings with pointed roofs, called gables. These wings are surprisingly symmetrical, meaning they look the same on both sides, which was unusual for houses built at that time.
The house also has special oriel windows, which are bay windows that stick out from the wall. There are also smaller porches in the inner corners. The church, which is very close by, also faces into the main courtyard. This shows how closely connected the church and the manor house were in the past.
The house changed hands many times over the centuries. In 1550, it went to the Eyre family when Ann Tropenell married John Eyre. It stayed with the Eyre family for three generations. Later, in 1631, Sir John Eyre sold it to Sir Richard Gurney, who was the Lord Mayor of London. After that, it was owned by several other families, including the Hanhams, the Halls, and the Pierreponts, before finally coming into the hands of Robert Neale.
In the 1800s, the house was changed quite a bit. An architect named Thomas Larkins Walker surveyed the manor in 1836. Even though his big plans for restoration weren't fully carried out, the house was made smaller. The great hall, which was used as a farmhouse, lost its fancy ceiling. Only one of the original decorative carvings from the ceiling survived.
Gardens and Features
Outside the manor, there's a lovely garden. One unique feature is four "tree houses." These are groups of four yew trees that have grown together. They've been carefully trimmed and hollowed out inside, so you can actually walk through them!
In the early 1900s, George Fuller MP bought the house and its gardens. His son, Major Robert Fuller, then spent years restoring and furnishing the manor between 1905 and 1911. He had help from Sir Harold Brakspear, a famous architect. The garden was also beautifully redesigned by Alfred Parsons.
Robert Fuller later gave the house and nine acres of land to the National Trust in 1943. The National Trust helps protect historic places and natural beauty in England. Today, the house is open to the public. Robert Floyd, who is Robert Fuller's grandson, and his family live there and help manage the property for the Trust. You can take guided tours of the house at certain times.
Great Chalfield Manor is a very important historical building. It is a Grade I listed building, which means it's considered to be of exceptional historical interest. The Tropenell Cartulary, a special old manuscript created for Thomas Tropenell, is still kept at the manor. The barn next to the house, built in the 1600s and 1700s, is also Grade I listed. The gardens are Grade II listed, meaning they are also historically important.
All Saints' Church
Right near the front of Great Chalfield Manor is
All Saints' Church. It's a small church that dates back to the 1300s. This church is the parish church for Great Chalfield.
A chapel was first mentioned here in 1316. By 1428, it was a church, but it had fewer than ten people living in the parish. The church you see today was mostly built around 1480 by Thomas Tropenell, the same person who built the manor house. Parts from that time still remain, like the south chapel, the small square bellcote (a small structure holding a bell), and the roof of the nave (the main part of the church).
In 1775, Robert Neale made some improvements, adding a family chapel. This chapel is now used as a vestry, which is a room in a church where clergy prepare. Some of the windows were added in the 1800s, and more restoration work was done in 1914. The font, which is used for baptisms, is from the 1200s, and the pulpit, where sermons are given, is from the 1600s.
The church's records go back to 1605. Like the manor, All Saints' Church was also designated as Grade I listed in 1962. Today, it's part of a group of churches that includes Broughton Gifford, Great Chalfield, and Holt.
Filming at the Manor
Because of its beautiful and historic look, Great Chalfield Manor and its grounds have been used as a location for many films and TV shows since the late 1990s.
- In 1999, it was used for Wives and Daughters, a BBC TV show based on a novel. It was called Hamley Hall in the show.
- The 2007 film Persuasion also filmed scenes here.
- The manor was a location for the 2008 movie The Other Boleyn Girl.
- Some scenes for the 2008 BBC TV show Tess of the d'Urbervilles were filmed at the manor.
- In 2014, scenes for the BBC's historical TV series Wolf Hall were filmed there.
- The house was used as Killewarran House in the BBC series Poldark.
- It was also used for Elizabeth of York's childhood home in the 2017 miniseries White Princess.
Images for kids
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Great Chalfield: the less formal southern aspect
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One of four clipped yew garden features
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Doors of the barn
