Bolehyde Manor
Encyclopedia
Bolehyde Manor is a 14th century manor house
at Allington, near Chippenham
, Wiltshire
. It is a Grade II listed building within the Allington conservation area
.
.
It later came into the possession of the Snell family of Kington St. Michael, probably in the 16th century, and was sold by Sir Charles Snell to John Cole in 1635, remaining in the possession of that family until the late 19th century.
Andrew and Camilla Parker Bowles moved there in 1973, and its vegetable garden is reputed, falsely, to be the location of Prince Charles' proposal of marriage to Lady Diana Spencer
. It is now occupied by the Earl and Countess Cairns
.
building. Parts are possibly 16th century and it contains a Tudor-arched fireplace. Outside there is a mid 17th century dovecote and two summer houses. The frontage includes a two storey porch topped by a balustrade having Georgian
busts at its front corners. It has been said that a skirmish between Cornish troops of King Charles and the Roundheads took place in the locality.
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...
at Allington, near 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...
, 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...
. It is a Grade II listed building within the Allington conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
.
History
The house takes its name from Thomas de Bolehyde who was a tenant, however, it is said to have been built with "money embezzled from the monks" and thought to have been in the possession of Glastonbury AbbeyGlastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
.
It later came into the possession of the Snell family of Kington St. Michael, probably in the 16th century, and was sold by Sir Charles Snell to John Cole in 1635, remaining in the possession of that family until the late 19th century.
Andrew and Camilla Parker Bowles moved there in 1973, and its vegetable garden is reputed, falsely, to be the location of Prince Charles' proposal of marriage to Lady Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. It is now occupied by the Earl and Countess Cairns
Earl Cairns
Earl Cairns is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1878 for the prominent lawyer and Conservative politician Hugh Cairns, 1st Baron Cairns. He was Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880...
.
Architecture
The house itself is a large 17th century stone-tiled rubble stoneRubble masonry
Rubble masonry is rough, unhewn building stone set in mortar, but not laid in regular courses. It may appear as the outer surface of a wall or may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or cut stone....
building. Parts are possibly 16th century and it contains a Tudor-arched fireplace. Outside there is a mid 17th century dovecote and two summer houses. The frontage includes a two storey porch topped by a balustrade having Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
busts at its front corners. It has been said that a skirmish between Cornish troops of King Charles and the Roundheads took place in the locality.