Widcombe Manor House

Widcombe Manor is a grade I listed Georgian house in Widcombe, Bath, England, built in 1656^[1] and then rebuilt in 1727 for Philip Bennet the local MP.^[2] The crest of the Bennet family can be seen surmounting the two pedestals at the entrance gates.^[3] The manor is located on Church Street adjacent to St Thomas à Becket Church.

Widcombe Manor House
Location within Somerset
General information
Town or city	Bath
Country	England
Coordinates	51°22′25″N 2°20′50″W / 51.3735°N 2.3471°W / 51.3735; -2.3471
Completed	1727
Client	Philip Bennet

Widcombe Manor House, Bath

The house has a south-facing front which is in its original condition. In around 1850, the west front was altered and now includes a bay window and stone balconies at the first floor windows.

The fountain in front of the house is Italian and thought to date from the 15th century. It was installed in its present position in the early twentieth century.^[4] It is also Grade I listed.^[5]

The property was acquired in 1839 by Major-General William Clapham, husband of Ellen Jones-Parry. In 1880, the Manor was let to Viscount Weymouth, who became Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath of Longleat House.^[6]

It was then inherited by Margaret Jones-Parry in 1917, and was thereafter left to her brother James Yale, born Jones-Parry, heir of Plas-yn-Yale.^[7]

The house was home to Horace Annesley Vachell who based his novel Golden House on the property.^[8]

From 1955, it was the home to the entrepreneur and inventor Jeremy Fry. Princess Margaret and Tony Armstrong-Jones were frequent visitors,^[9][10] and it was the location of the 1972 Widcombe Manor Festival at which Hawkwind were scheduled to play.^[11]

The façade was closely replicated on a South Australian home by Hennessey Builders in 2000.^[12][13]

References

1. "Widcombe Manor House and St. Thomas a Becket Church". Bath in Time. Dan Brown. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
2. . Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
3. Maurice Scott (1984). Discovering Widcombe and Lyncombe. ISBN 0-9520876-0-X.
4. Maurice Scott (1984). Discovering Widcombe and Lyncombe. ISBN 0-9520876-0-X.
5. Historic England. "Fountain at Widcombe Manor House (1394134)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
6. Widcombe Manor - The Golden House, Widcombe Manor, Church Street, Widcombe, Bath, Compiled by Elizabeth Holland, for the Survey of Old Bath and the Widcombe and Lyncombe Local History Society
7. Widcombe Manor - The Golden House, Widcombe Manor, Church Street, Widcombe, Bath, Compiled by Elizabeth Holland, for the Survey of Old Bath and the Widcombe and Lyncombe Local History Society
8. Greenwood, Charles (1977). Famous houses of the West Country. Bath: Kingsmead Press. pp. 99–101. ISBN 978-0-901571-87-8.
9. Jeremy Fry Obituary, The Times.
10. , The Independent.
11. Bath Free festivals 1972–1979.
12. Country Home Ideas Magazine, Susannah Hardy, Vol.8 No.10, pp. 94-103, Express Media Group
13. 105 Milan Terrace Aldgate SA 5154, realestateview.com.au. Accessed 11/12/2022.