Lytes Cary Manor
Encyclopedia
Lytes Cary is a manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 with associated chapel and gardens near Charlton Mackrell
Charlton Mackrell
Charlton Mackrell is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated three miles east of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 996....

 and Somerton
Somerton
Somerton is a small town and civil parish in the South Somerset district of the English county of Somerset. It gave its name to the county of Somerset, was briefly, around the start of the 14th century, the county town, and around 900 AD was possibly the capital of Wessex...

 in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The property, owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

, has parts dating to the 14th century, with other sections dating to the 15th, 16th, 18th, and 20th centuries. "Yet all parts blend to perfection with one another and with the gentle sunny landscape that surrounds them," comments Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...

. The House is listed as Grade I by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

.

The chapel predates the existing house, and functioned as a chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...

 chapel, where masses could be said for the souls of the family, both living and dead.

The gardens are listed as Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...


The House

The unusual name derives from the Lyte family who lived at Lytes Cary for over four centuries, and the River Cary
River Cary
The River Cary is a river in Somerset, England.The River Cary has its source at Park Pond in Castle Cary, and then flows southwest through Cary Moor to Babcary, where there is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Babcary Meadows and Cary Fitzpaine. It then flows northwest through...

 which flows nearby. The first documentary evidence is from 1285 when it was known as Kari. William le Lyte was a feudal tenant of the estate in 1286, and the Lyte family occupied and added to the house until the mid 18th century. The earliest surviving part of the manor and associated buildings is the chapel, which dates to the mid-14th century. The Great Hall
Great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...

 was built in the mid-15th century, and in the early 16th century the entrance porch and oriel room was added to the eastern side of the hall, and the great parlour and little parlour to the south of the hall, with bedrooms above. Sometime after the Lyte family sold the Manor in 1755, tenants moved in and the house gradually fell into disrepair. In 1810 it was reported by a neighbour that the north range 'had lately been destroyed and a farm house built on the site', (this north range is dated by architectural historians to the late 18th century) and by the time John Buckler
John Buckler
John Buckler was a British artist and occasional architect who is best remembered for his many drawings of churches and other historic buildings, recording much that has since been altered or destroyed....

 came to draw the house in 1835 the west range had also disappeared.

In 1907 Sir Walter Jenner – son of the late Sir William Jenner, physician to Queen Victoria – purchased Lytes Cary. At the time of his arrival the Great Hall was being used as a cider store and the Great Parlour was full of farm equipment. Jenner's brother Leopold had just bought and started to restore Avebury Manor in Wiltshire, and Jenner drew inspiration from his brother's work there. He set about restoring Lytes Cary and decorating the interiors in period style, including fine 17th-century and 18th-century oak furniture, antique tapestries and fabrics modelled after medieval textiles. He had the west range rebuilt in a plain William and Mary style by the architect C.E. Ponting
Charles Ponting
Charles Edwin Ponting, F.S.A., was a Gothic Revival architect who practised in Marlborough, Wiltshire.-Career:Ponting began his architectural career in 1864 in the office of the architect Samuel Overton. He was agent for Meux brewing family's estate from 1870 until 1888...

, but left the historic core of the house mostly untouched.

Jenner left the manor to the National Trust after he died in 1948. The National Trust opened the west range as a holiday rental property in 2006. Only the older parts of the house are open to the public, and photography is not permitted inside.

The house and chapel are built of the local blue lias
Blue Lias
The Blue Lias is a geologic formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, between 195 and 200 million years ago...

 stone. Parts of the house have mellow honey-coloured Ham stone dressings, especially around windows and at quoins; the later 18th century additions have brick dressings. The roofs are stone tiled with some later terracotta tiles.

The Chapel

The chapel predates the existing house, and functioned as a chantry chapel, where masses could be said for the souls of the family, both living and dead. It was built by Peter Lyte in about 1343, and was completed by 1358, and would have served both the original manor which now no longer survives and later the existing house. It has a small window, or squint
Hagioscope
A hagioscope or squint, in architecture, is an opening through the wall of a church in an oblique direction, to enable the worshippers in the transepts or other parts of the church, from which the altar was not visible, to see the elevation of the host.Hagioscopes were also sometimes known as...

, that permitted servants and others to observe communion from the house. The chapel was thoroughly renovated in 1631 by Thomas Lyte, who installed the arch-braced-collar truss roof, the communion rail, a rear screen and a freize below the roof painted with the arms of the Lytes and their relations. A monument to the south of the altar records Thomas' work on the chapel. In 1912 Sir Walter Jenner added the stained glass, including medieval glass said to have come from Charlton Mackrell church which William Le Lyte had commissioned before his death in 1316.

The Great Hall

This structure was built in the mid-15th century. At the southern end is a shallow raised dais on which the Lytes and favoured guests would have sat at a long table, facing the rest of the hall where the servants would have dined. The roof has arch-braced-collar trusses, with double purlins, and cusped curved windbraces. Typical of West Country design, these carved windbraces are both decorative and practical. Beneath is a cornice of pierced quatrefoils, and at the base of each main rafter is a carved wooden angel with a shield with the Lyte arms. The fireplace is 15th century, while the windows and the stained glass in them date from the early 16th century. The hall is entered from the east front porch via the screens passage, which would have divided the Hall from the kitchen and servants quarters' which would have lain to the left of the hall. The screen and gallery are not original, having been inserted by Sir Walter Jenner in 1907. He based the decoration on that of the arch from the Great Hall through to the Oriel Room. At the time of Jenner's arrival in 1907 the Great Hall was being used as a cider store.

The Great Hall is furnished with mostly 17th century oak furniture, including tables, coffers and wainscot chairs, and a great dining table, on which stand two blue and white late 17th-century Delftware
Delftware
Delftware, or Delft pottery, denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century....

 pyramidal tulip vase
Tulip vase
A tulip vase, or pyramid vase, is a vase designed to put cut flowers and especially tulips in, but it primarily serves as a decorative showpiece. They were first made in The Netherlands in the 17th century and were decorated with Delfts blauw or Chinese decoration...

s.

One treasure of the home is the Lytes Herbal, a 16th-century botanical volume by noted horticulturist Henry Lyte
Henry Lyte (botanist)
Henry Lyte was an English botanist and antiquary. He is best known for two works, A niewe Herball , which was a translation of the Cruydeboeck of Rembert Dodoens , and an antiquarian volume, The Light of Britayne , both of which are dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I.-Life:Henry Lyte was born at...

, who was born and resided at the manor. Lyte's Niewe Herball was published in 1578 and was a translation and elaboration of the Cruydeboeck of Flemish herbalist Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens was a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus.-Biography:...

. The herbal was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

. A copy is displayed in the Great Hall.

The Oriel Room

This was added to the south of the Great Hall in the early 16th century to provide a small intimate room where the family could eat in private away from the servants. Above it is the small Oriel Bedroom, probably originally a dressing room for the Great Chamber as its only entrance is via that room.

At the same time that the oriel room and bedroom were added, rooms were added or remodelled to the south of the Great Hall: the Great Parlour with Great Chamber above, and the Little Parlour with Little Parlour above. John Lyte, the builder, placed his coat of arms on the outside of the building.

The Great Parlour

This was the main family sitting room on the ground floor, with the south-facing grand window giving views to the gardens, and was remodelled by John Lyte in 1533. In the early 17th century Thomas Lyte added the wood panelling (including Ionic pilasters) and the internal porch: these decorative features also had the practical benefit of keeping out the drafts. In the 20th century the room was being used as a store for farm equipment. Sir Walter Jenner had the paint stripped from the panelling to reveal the original warm-coloured oak.

Above is the Great Chamber, an impressive room with a barrel ceiling with geometrical plaster decoration featuring John Lyte's arms and those of his wife, Edith Horsey. This ceiling is a rare survival. The wall above the bed displays the royal coat of arms and Tudor roses, signifying Lyte's loyalty to King Henry VIII (whose government Lyte represented in Somerset). The panelling is 17th century, as are the great four poster bed and the tapestries on the walls.

The Little Parlour

This smaller room may have been used by Henry and Thomas Lyte for their studies. It too has alter panelling and an alcove in which are displayed a collection of early glassware. Above this room is the Little Chamber, used by Sir Walter Jenner as his bedroom. The bed came from Burton Pynsent in Somerset, a house given to William Pitt the Elder by an admirer of his achievements as prime minister.

The gardens

All trace of Henry Lyte's garden has disappeared. Records show that his son Thomas kept a very well-stocked orchard, which included in 1618 "Apples, 3 skore severall sorts. pears and Wardens (a type of pear), 44 sorts. Plummes, 15 divers kynds. Grapes, 3 severall sortes. Cherries, 1. Walnuts, 3. Peaches, 1." By the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 period the garden had run to seed, and so the Jenners had to start from scratch on their arrival in 1907. They had the gardens designed and constructed to include a series of hedged and walled "rooms" with topiary
Topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...

, specimen trees, a pool, statuary, croquet
Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...

 lawn, walkways, an Elizabethan orchard, and a herbal border that includes plants described in the Lytes Herbal.

The gardens were constructed in a series of 'rooms', which are separated from each other by high, neatly-clipped box and yew hedges. The gardens were influenced by the Arts and Crafts style
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

 popular at the time. The Jenners had a garden staff of four.

In 1965 Graham Stuart Thomas
Graham Stuart Thomas
Graham Stuart Thomas OBE , was an English horticulturalist, artist, author, poet and garden designer.He was born in Cambridge and studied in the University Botanic Garden at Cambridge University...

, the National Trust's first Gardens Adviser designed the Main Border. From 1955-1997 the Trust's tenants at the Manor, Biddy and Jeremy Chittenden, transformed the garden, and Biddy rethought and replanted the main border in 1996, using new plants but following Stuart Thomas's colour scheme.

The gardens are listed as Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...

, Reference GD2152

The Apostle Garden

This is aligned on the front door in the East front of the house and the water tower, which was built by the Jenners in imitation of the dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...

 at Avebury Manor. It is a severe, formal approach, flanked by topiarised yews, and is "deliberately low-key and simple so as not to distract from the beauty of the building".

The Main Border

This border is 35 metres (114.8 ft) long and at its best in midsummer. The flowers grade from blues and yellows, through creams and apricots to pinks, mauves and reds. There is a restful White Garden beyond for contrast.

The Orchard

Fruit trees such as quinces, medlars, crab apples and pears are underplanted with spring-flowering meadow plants such as snakeshead fritillaries
Fritillaria meleagris
Fritillaria meleagris is a fritillary in the family Liliaceae. Its common names include Snake's Head Fritillary, Snake's Head , Checkered Daffodil, Chess Flower, Frog-cup, Guinea-hen Flower, Leper Lily , Frog-cup, Lazarus bell or, in northern...

, camassia
Camassia
Camassia is a genus of six species native to western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern California, and east to Utah, Wyoming and Montana...

s, narcissus, cowslips
Primula veris
Primula veris is a flowering plant in the genus Primula. The species is found throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney.-Names:The common name cowslip derives...

 and lady's smock
Cardamine pratensis
Cardamine pratensis , is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia.-Description:...

. The orchard is crossed by wide mown paths meeting at a central sundial. Originally four weeping elms were situated at the four corners of the garden, but they succumbed to Dutch Elm disease
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...

 in the early seventies and were replaced in 1973 by four weeping ash trees which make inviting 'houses'. The orchard can be viewed from the Raised Walk on its east side, another idea copied from Avebury Manor.

The Long Walk

This is based on the Long Walk at Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, although it is on a smaller scale. It is a plain grassed walkway connecting the Raised Walk with the Pond Garden.

The Pond Garden, Seat Garden and Croquet Lawn

These three gardens are interlinked, with aligned openings to form a vista from the bay windows of the Great Parlour and Great Chamber on the south front of the house over to the Sparkford plain.

The Hornbeam Arch and Vase Garden

A short tunnel of hornbeams link the Pond Garden to the Vase Garden, where variegated weigela is underplanted with euphorbia and vinca.

See also

  • List of Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset
  • Henry Lyte (botanist)
    Henry Lyte (botanist)
    Henry Lyte was an English botanist and antiquary. He is best known for two works, A niewe Herball , which was a translation of the Cruydeboeck of Rembert Dodoens , and an antiquarian volume, The Light of Britayne , both of which are dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I.-Life:Henry Lyte was born at...

  • Henry Francis Lyte
    Henry Francis Lyte
    Henry Francis Lyte was a Scottish Anglican divine and hymn-writer.-Youth and education:Henry Francis Lyte was born to Thomas and Anna Maria Lyte on a farm at Ednam, near Kelso, Scotland...

    -Branch of the Lytes Cary line.
  • Nicholas Hilliard - creator of the Lytes Jewel.

Further reading

  • Archer, Michael, 1975-6, 'Delft at Dyrham', The National Trust Year Book
  • Collinson, John, 1791, The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset iii
  • George, William, 1879, Lytes Cary Manor House Bristol
  • Hellyer, Arthur, 1982, 'Epitome of Englishness' County Life 2 September 1982, 634-6
  • Hussey, Christopher, 1947, 'Lytes Cary, Somerset' Country Life 18, 25 July, 1 August 1947, 128-31,178-81,228-31
  • Lyte, Henry, 1578, Niewe Herball
  • Lyte, Henry, 1588, The Light of Britayne
  • Maxwell-Lyte, Sir Henry, 1892, The Lytes of Lytescary Taunton; reprinted in Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society 38, 1-110
  • Tait, Hugh, 1986, Catalogue of the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum i: The Jewels London. [Lyte jewel]

External links

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