Wormleighton Manor
Encyclopedia
Wormleighton Manor is a manor house
in the civil parish of Wormleighton
in the historic county of Warwickshire
, England
. It belonged to the wealthy Spencer family
during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Much of the house was burned down by Royalists during the English Civil War
in 1645 and abandoned by the Spencers in favour of Althorp
, which contains some materials salvaged from Wormleighton to this day. Today, all that is left of the manor, which was once four times the size of Althorp, is the Wormleighton Manor Gatehouse and Tower Cottage which is a Grade II listed building and the northern range of the manor.
that appeared during the reign of Henry VIII
. The wealthy Spencer family
, who built their fortune on the production of wool in Warwickshire in the fifteenth century, first became linked to Wormleighton in 1469, when John Spencer became feoffee
(feudal lord) and a tenant at Althorp
in 1486. John Spencer's nephew, John, traded in livestock and other commodities and saved enough money to purchase both the Wormleighton and Althorp lands outright.
Wormleighton was bought in 1506, the manor house was completed in 1512. As the family wealth grew dramatically, in 1522 the family purchased the land at Althorp and constructed another residence. In 1613, the gatehouse at the entrance of Wormleighton Manor was added by Sir Robert, first Lord Spencer, and he or his son are believed to have made alterations or enlargements also to the main building. The Spencer library accumulated at the manor to form a substantial collection which is now housed in London.
In 1645, Royalist forces from nearby Banbury
set fire to Wormleighton Manor to prevent it becoming a parliamentary stronghold, causing extensive damage. As a result, Wormleighton Manor was abandoned by the Spencer family as a family residence after the English Civil War
; they developed a distinguished home at Althorp which remains the Spencer seat to this day. Oak paneling in Althorp's tapestry dining room was brought from Wormleighton and reinstalled. Stained glass was also brought from Wormleighton Manor to Althorp in the 19th century and installed in Althorp's chapel.
In 1925, Americans Alexander and Virginia Weddell visited the property with architect Henry Grant Morse
to get some inspiration on architectural features they could incorporate into a Tudor manor and former priory they had recently bought from Lloyds Bank
in Warwickshire and had shipped to Richmond, Virginia
. The eastern wing of Virginia House
, completed in 1929, is said to be based on the design of Wormleighton Manor.
s one above the other, one about 40 ft. long, and two others west of them, at least 27 ft. in length. The upper great chamber was known as the 'Star Chamber' because of its adornments. Around 1630, the lower great chamber was reduced by the insertion of inner south and west walls forming corridors outside them and the Star Chamber' was reduced on the south side to make way for a fire-place.
The plan as it stands today is rectangular and is made mainly of 18th-century brickwork on the north side although there are remains of stonework on the south side, indicating 17th-century repairs after the 1645 demolition. Adjoining the west end are lower small wing fragments of the original 16th-century brickwork. The three bays of the north side are the best preserved. The westernmost is made one of two stones with two gable
s and was built later, while the other two bays, roughly 70 ft. long, have the original 16th-century buttresses and are each about 15 ft. in height. The wall is also the original brickwork with yellow stone dressings to the windows and doorways. The southern part of the wall has more than half of a steeply pitched gable-head which rises above the parapet-level, although the eaves are much lower.
There are two ranges of tall square-headed windows with four-centred lights which remain, although the second is blocked to make way for a modern loft-doorway. Three windows served the 'Star Chamber' and the fourth window provides light to the chamber west of it, which is blocked below the transom. It has been partly converted into an entrance lobby doorway to the 17th-century corridor. To the west of this were two windows but have been blocked up, but replaced with windows beneath it in the 18th or 19th century to light the kitchen. The east end of the block is also made of red brickwork and is about 36 ft. wide with a large three-sided bay window.
The south side of the building was mostly constructed in the 17 century and consists of a variety of materials that meet with vertical seams and straight joints. The east end has about 9 ft. of the original brickwork which meets with a yellow ashlar walling, which extends 60 ft, the same length as the original higher part of the north front. Then there is 40 ft. of stone-rubble walling which is believed to be where the former west range of the manor adjoined the north range and contains modern windows and doors. The chimney-stack above the 'Star Chamber' fireplace has four detached square shafts which are set diagonally on a base of thin bricks.
and its south wall was a stone fireplace which is now mostly destroyed. The chamber is about 15 ft. high with a plain plastered ceiling but parts of the original ceiling still remain in the entrance lobby with some moulded main-beams. The great upper chamber, the 'Star Chamber', is now empty and but was used for some time as a farm-loft. The kitchen is fully modernized as is much of the rest of the manor.
and is listed as a Grade II listed building. It has three bays, the middle with the wide gateway, which is flanked on the west by a gabled lodge and on the east by a low tower. The archways are 11 ft high and on the south have aged marigold central carvings and a sundial
. Amidst the entablatures and on the sills of the upper windows of four lights with plain square heads, there are carved achievements of arms. On the north and west face too appear the arms of Spencer, distinguishable with its dragon and griffin supporters, while the south face has a central square panel displaying the royal Stuart arms, all dated to the original 1613 building.
Four-centred doorways and located in the side-walls of the gateway. The lower west lodge with a red tiled roof is about 27 ft. long outside and of two stories with a central chimney and the east tower at the side of the gateway is roughly 16 ft. wide with a four-light window on the lower part and three-light windows to the three stories above, with east windows to the third and fourth stories and a window facing south to the fourth story.
There are also the remains of a two storied building about 80 ft further south, believed to have once been part of the stable buildings which were rebuilt in the seventeenth century which today is a modern farm building.
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...
in the civil parish of Wormleighton
Wormleighton
Wormleighton is a village in the county of Warwickshire, England.Although founded in the 15th century, it was abandoned after the English Civil War when the Spencer family home Wormleighton Manor was burned down in 1645. The village, however, refounded in the 19th century...
in the historic county of Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, 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...
. It belonged to the wealthy Spencer family
Spencer family
The Spencer family are a British noble family descended in the male line from Henry Spencer, claimed to be a descendant of the cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer , male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the later Dukes of Marlborough, and the Earls Spencer...
during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Much of the house was burned down by Royalists 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...
in 1645 and abandoned by the Spencers in favour of Althorp
Althorp
Althorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...
, which contains some materials salvaged from Wormleighton to this day. Today, all that is left of the manor, which was once four times the size of Althorp, is the Wormleighton Manor Gatehouse and Tower Cottage which is a Grade II listed building and the northern range of the manor.
History
Wormleighton manor is a fine example of the Tudor architectureTudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
that appeared during the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The wealthy Spencer family
Spencer family
The Spencer family are a British noble family descended in the male line from Henry Spencer, claimed to be a descendant of the cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer , male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the later Dukes of Marlborough, and the Earls Spencer...
, who built their fortune on the production of wool in Warwickshire in the fifteenth century, first became linked to Wormleighton in 1469, when John Spencer became feoffee
Feoffee
A Feoffee is a trustee who holds a fief , that is to say an estate in land, for the use of a beneficial owner. The term is more fully stated as a feoffee to uses of the beneficial owner. The use of such trustees developed towards the end of the era of feudalism in the middle ages and became...
(feudal lord) and a tenant at Althorp
Althorp
Althorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...
in 1486. John Spencer's nephew, John, traded in livestock and other commodities and saved enough money to purchase both the Wormleighton and Althorp lands outright.
Wormleighton was bought in 1506, the manor house was completed in 1512. As the family wealth grew dramatically, in 1522 the family purchased the land at Althorp and constructed another residence. In 1613, the gatehouse at the entrance of Wormleighton Manor was added by Sir Robert, first Lord Spencer, and he or his son are believed to have made alterations or enlargements also to the main building. The Spencer library accumulated at the manor to form a substantial collection which is now housed in London.
In 1645, Royalist forces from nearby Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
set fire to Wormleighton Manor to prevent it becoming a parliamentary stronghold, causing extensive damage. As a result, Wormleighton Manor was abandoned by the Spencer family as a family residence after the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
; they developed a distinguished home at Althorp which remains the Spencer seat to this day. Oak paneling in Althorp's tapestry dining room was brought from Wormleighton and reinstalled. Stained glass was also brought from Wormleighton Manor to Althorp in the 19th century and installed in Althorp's chapel.
In 1925, Americans Alexander and Virginia Weddell visited the property with architect Henry Grant Morse
Henry Grant Morse
Henry Grant Morse was an American architect. Based in New York City, he worked in a partnership for the Hawes & Morse firm for many years. He was noted in particular for his work on Virginia House in Richmond, Virginia which is partly a reconstruction of a Tudor manor shipped over from...
to get some inspiration on architectural features they could incorporate into a Tudor manor and former priory they had recently bought from Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...
in Warwickshire and had shipped to Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. The eastern wing of Virginia House
Virginia House
Virginia House is a country house on a hillside overlooking the James River in Richmond, Virginia, United States.The house was constructed from the materials of the 16th Century Warwick Priory and shipped over and reassembled, completed several months before the stock market crash of 1929...
, completed in 1929, is said to be based on the design of Wormleighton Manor.
Exterior
Wormleighton manor is made from brick with regular coursed rubble ironstone and ashlar. The tiled roof has stone coped gable parapets in the Tudor style. Today the manor is far cry from its former glory, with only the north wing remaining. The original manor in its prime extended farther west and also southwards, but there is now no visible evidence of the size or shape of the original house. The remaining wing seems to have consisted of two great chamberGreat chamber
The great chamber was the second most important room in a medieval or Tudor English castle, palace, mansion or manor house after the great hall. Medieval great halls were the ceremonial centre of household and were not private at all; the gentlemen attendants and the servants would come and go all...
s one above the other, one about 40 ft. long, and two others west of them, at least 27 ft. in length. The upper great chamber was known as the 'Star Chamber' because of its adornments. Around 1630, the lower great chamber was reduced by the insertion of inner south and west walls forming corridors outside them and the Star Chamber' was reduced on the south side to make way for a fire-place.
The plan as it stands today is rectangular and is made mainly of 18th-century brickwork on the north side although there are remains of stonework on the south side, indicating 17th-century repairs after the 1645 demolition. Adjoining the west end are lower small wing fragments of the original 16th-century brickwork. The three bays of the north side are the best preserved. The westernmost is made one of two stones with two gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s and was built later, while the other two bays, roughly 70 ft. long, have the original 16th-century buttresses and are each about 15 ft. in height. The wall is also the original brickwork with yellow stone dressings to the windows and doorways. The southern part of the wall has more than half of a steeply pitched gable-head which rises above the parapet-level, although the eaves are much lower.
There are two ranges of tall square-headed windows with four-centred lights which remain, although the second is blocked to make way for a modern loft-doorway. Three windows served the 'Star Chamber' and the fourth window provides light to the chamber west of it, which is blocked below the transom. It has been partly converted into an entrance lobby doorway to the 17th-century corridor. To the west of this were two windows but have been blocked up, but replaced with windows beneath it in the 18th or 19th century to light the kitchen. The east end of the block is also made of red brickwork and is about 36 ft. wide with a large three-sided bay window.
The south side of the building was mostly constructed in the 17 century and consists of a variety of materials that meet with vertical seams and straight joints. The east end has about 9 ft. of the original brickwork which meets with a yellow ashlar walling, which extends 60 ft, the same length as the original higher part of the north front. Then there is 40 ft. of stone-rubble walling which is believed to be where the former west range of the manor adjoined the north range and contains modern windows and doors. The chimney-stack above the 'Star Chamber' fireplace has four detached square shafts which are set diagonally on a base of thin bricks.
Interior
Little of the original interior fittings remains. The doorway into the chamber has 17th-century moulded jambs in which are three carved stone shields. The chamber is now used as a sculleryScullery
Scullery may refer to:*Dishwashing*Scullery * Scullery maid...
and its south wall was a stone fireplace which is now mostly destroyed. The chamber is about 15 ft. high with a plain plastered ceiling but parts of the original ceiling still remain in the entrance lobby with some moulded main-beams. The great upper chamber, the 'Star Chamber', is now empty and but was used for some time as a farm-loft. The kitchen is fully modernized as is much of the rest of the manor.
Gatehouse
The gatehouse, constructed in 1613, stands about 100 ft south of the main building. It is of two storeys, built of yellow ashlarAshlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
and is listed as a Grade II listed building. It has three bays, the middle with the wide gateway, which is flanked on the west by a gabled lodge and on the east by a low tower. The archways are 11 ft high and on the south have aged marigold central carvings and a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
. Amidst the entablatures and on the sills of the upper windows of four lights with plain square heads, there are carved achievements of arms. On the north and west face too appear the arms of Spencer, distinguishable with its dragon and griffin supporters, while the south face has a central square panel displaying the royal Stuart arms, all dated to the original 1613 building.
Four-centred doorways and located in the side-walls of the gateway. The lower west lodge with a red tiled roof is about 27 ft. long outside and of two stories with a central chimney and the east tower at the side of the gateway is roughly 16 ft. wide with a four-light window on the lower part and three-light windows to the three stories above, with east windows to the third and fourth stories and a window facing south to the fourth story.
There are also the remains of a two storied building about 80 ft further south, believed to have once been part of the stable buildings which were rebuilt in the seventeenth century which today is a modern farm building.
Further reading
- Biddle-Cope, J.C. The Copes of Wiltshire. from Memoirs of the Copes of Wiltshire. M.A. Worchester College, Oxford, 1882.
- Ditchfield, P.H. The Manor Houses of England. New York: Crescent Books, 1985.
- Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p343
- Fry, Plantagenet Somerset. Castles of Britain and Ireland. New York: Abbeyville Press Publishers, 1997.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus and Wedgwood, Alexandra, (1966), The buildings of England: Warwickshire p483
- Salzman, L.F. (ed), (1949), Parishes: Wormleighton, A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 5, Kington hundred, pp. 218-224
- Spencer, Charles, Althorp: The Story of an English Manor House. New York: St Martin's Press, 1999, 9
- Tyack, Geoffrey and Steven Brindle. Country Houses of England. New York: WW Norton and Company, Inc., 1994.
- Wood, Margaret. The English Mediaevil House. New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1965.