Monkton House in Broughton Gifford

Broughton Gifford

Broughton Gifford is a village and civil parish about west of Melksham in Wiltshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 822.The village has two parts:...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, is a Grade II* listed English 16th century house close to the boundaries of 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...

 and 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....

.

History

In the 12th century Cluniac monks of the Order of Saint Benedict

Order of Saint Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...

 founded a monastery at Farleigh, acquiring land in the neighbourhood. On the Dissolution of the Monasteries

Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

 the priory and Abbey land, including the manor of Monkton, were given to Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford

Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Hache and 1st Earl of Hertford, KG was the son of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, by his second wife Anne Stanhope....

. Seymour leased it in 1600 to Edward Long, son of a wealthy Wiltshire clothier, Henry Long of Whaddon

Whaddon, Wiltshire

Whaddon is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hilperton, located in Wiltshire, England.- Location :The hamlet is located 2.5 miles northeast of the county town of Trowbridge. It is only accessible via Whaddon Lane that connects the hamlet to Hilperton....

. Edward had already purchased the manor of Rood Ashton

West Ashton

West Ashton is a village civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is two miles south of Trowbridge, on the A350 road between Melksham and Yarnbrook bypassing Trowbridge....

 three years before.

Long later bought the house on 15 May 1615 and left it to his two sons Edward and John, who occupied it in succession. John appears to have carried out an extensive building programme in or around 1647 (marked by a plaque on the wall of the house) involving repairs, alterations, re-roofing and an extension on the eastern side. A chimney-piece with heavy carving, believed to be part of an altar tomb from Monkton Farleigh

Monkton Farleigh

Monkton Farleigh is a small village in west Wiltshire, England, 3 miles from Bradford-on-Avon, and 5 miles from the city of Bath...

 Priory is in one of the bedrooms.

At some point during the English civil war

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 the household was forced to accommodate soldiers fighting for Cromwell's

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 Parliamentarian

Roundhead

"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...

 army. Possibly John's building programme stretched his finances as he was labelled a delinquent (1649–50) and his estate was sequestered

Sequestration (law)

Sequestration is the act of removing, separating, or seizing anything from the possession of its owner under process of law for the benefit of creditors or the state.-Etymology:...

. He was succeeded by his son Thomas Long of Rowden in Chippenham

Chippenham

Chippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...

 (died 1691), the estate was secured, and continued in the Long family until 10 May 1669 when Thomas sold it to Sir James Thynne of Longleat

Longleat

Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...

. However, Thomas appears to have continued to rent the property until 1671. William Thynne then appears as the owner.

The house is currently owned by the Coote family.