Manor from heaven
Built in the second half of the 15th century for wealthy landowner Thomas Tropenell, who made his fortune during the Wars of the Roses, Great Chalfield Manor, near Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, is a charming moated manor with a glorious Arts and Crafts garden.
Leather boots lined up in a fireplace
Although built on a modest, ‘human’ scale, the exterior is finely proportioned and the mellow, yellow-grey Corsham stone in which it is constructed displays its detailed mullioned windows, gables, arches and buttresses to splendid advantage.
An Edwardian bath disguised with oak panelling.
At the heart of the house lies a two-storey-high independent great hall flanked by gabled wings with elaborate oriel windows. The hall bears a display of stag heads and a number of artistic and historical delights, including a stunning 17th-century Antwerp tapestry.
Left: A Tudor arched moulded doorway. Right: Towering foxgloves feature in the manor’s many gardens.
Over the years many alterations have been made, and in the mid 19th century the great hall was adapted for use as a farmhouse. As is the story of many great houses, Great Chalfield Manor endured substantial periods of neglect. In 1905, however, the owner at the time, Major Robert Fuller, restored the house to its former glory with the assistance of the architect Sir Harold Brakspear, who based his design on drawings prepared decades earlier by a pupil of Pugin, Thomas Larkin Walker.
Left: A strawberry-leaf ornament crowns an oriel window. Right: The organ in the nearby All Saints Parish Church
In 1943, Major Fuller gave Great Chalfield Manor to the National Trust, but remained in residence until his death in 1955. The house is currently occupied by Major Fuller’s grandson and his family, who manage the house on behalf of the Trust.
Left: Stag heads and tapestries furnish the great hall. Right: The oriel window of the drawing room.
With such history and form, it is not surprising that this architectural gem, set in such a beautiful location, should be in demand as a film location. Readers may recognise its recent appearance as Thomas Cromwell’s house, Austin Friars, in the BBC’s acclaimed production of Wolf Hall, based on Hilary Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. Other well-known productions that have utilised the house or grounds include smallscreen adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives And Daughters and Thomas Hardy’s Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, as well as the film The Other Boleyn Girl.
For visitor information: 01225-782239, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/great-chalfield-manor-and-garden
Pictures provided by National Trust Photographers: Nadia Mackenzie, Andrew Butler, and John Hammond
Leather boots lined up in a fireplaceAlthough built on a modest, ‘human’ scale, the exterior is finely proportioned and the mellow, yellow-grey Corsham stone in which it is constructed displays its detailed mullioned windows, gables, arches and buttresses to splendid advantage.
An Edwardian bath disguised with oak panelling.At the heart of the house lies a two-storey-high independent great hall flanked by gabled wings with elaborate oriel windows. The hall bears a display of stag heads and a number of artistic and historical delights, including a stunning 17th-century Antwerp tapestry.
Left: A Tudor arched moulded doorway. Right: Towering foxgloves feature in the manor’s many gardens.Over the years many alterations have been made, and in the mid 19th century the great hall was adapted for use as a farmhouse. As is the story of many great houses, Great Chalfield Manor endured substantial periods of neglect. In 1905, however, the owner at the time, Major Robert Fuller, restored the house to its former glory with the assistance of the architect Sir Harold Brakspear, who based his design on drawings prepared decades earlier by a pupil of Pugin, Thomas Larkin Walker.
Left: A strawberry-leaf ornament crowns an oriel window. Right: The organ in the nearby All Saints Parish ChurchIn 1943, Major Fuller gave Great Chalfield Manor to the National Trust, but remained in residence until his death in 1955. The house is currently occupied by Major Fuller’s grandson and his family, who manage the house on behalf of the Trust.
Left: Stag heads and tapestries furnish the great hall. Right: The oriel window of the drawing room.With such history and form, it is not surprising that this architectural gem, set in such a beautiful location, should be in demand as a film location. Readers may recognise its recent appearance as Thomas Cromwell’s house, Austin Friars, in the BBC’s acclaimed production of Wolf Hall, based on Hilary Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. Other well-known productions that have utilised the house or grounds include smallscreen adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives And Daughters and Thomas Hardy’s Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, as well as the film The Other Boleyn Girl.
For visitor information: 01225-782239, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/great-chalfield-manor-and-garden
Pictures provided by National Trust Photographers: Nadia Mackenzie, Andrew Butler, and John Hammond