Paycocke's House and Gardens facts for kids
Paycocke's House and Gardens is a special old house and garden in Coggeshall, Essex, England. It's a great example of a Tudor merchant's home. A rich cloth merchant named Thomas Paycocke built this house.
In the 1800s, the house almost fell apart. But Lord Noel Buxton saved and fixed it up in the early 1900s. Now, the National Trust looks after it. People say it's a beautiful house with amazing wooden details and carvings.
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History of Paycocke's House
Thomas Paycocke was a very successful businessman in the late 1400s. He was a skilled craftsman who made his money from wool. The wool trade was super important in places like Coggeshall back then. Thomas Paycocke used this to become very wealthy.
How the House Was Built
The house was built from an older medieval building. This original building belonged to Thomas Paycocke's father, John Paycocke. John Paycocke was also quite rich. He built the first part of the house around 1500. It was a wedding gift for his son Thomas and his new wife, Margaret.
You can even see their initials, T.P. and M.P., carved into the wood of the house! John Paycocke passed away in 1505. His children inherited his land. Thomas Paycocke then added a new section to the house in 1509.
Thomas Paycocke's Wealth
Records show that Thomas Paycocke stayed very rich. When he died in 1518, he left a huge amount of money, £1500, just in cash. This didn't even include his other valuable items or properties!
Later Owners and Restoration
The Paycocke family owned the house until 1584. That's when the last male family member died. The house was then sold to the Buxton family. In 1746, the Buxton family split the big house into three smaller cottages. They then sold these cottages. Over time, the houses became very run down.
In 1906, a historian named G. F. Beaumont spoke out against the house being destroyed. Luckily, Lord Noel Buxton bought the house. He was a descendant of the Buxton family who owned it centuries ago. Lord Buxton made sure the house was carefully restored. Many of the beautiful carvings were fixed. After all this work, the house was given to the National Trust to protect it for everyone.
Paycocke's Gardens
The area where the gardens are now used to be an industrial yard. Thomas Paycocke and other merchants used it for their businesses. The gardens were a very important part of Paycocke's House. The Noel family had redesigned them in a style called Arts and Crafts.
The National Trust started restoring the gardens in 2008. They brought them back to their original Arts and Crafts style. This makes the gardens a lovely place to visit today.
