House in Wickhamford Worcestershire
| Wickhamford Manor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) "highly picturesque" | |
| Type | House |
| Location | Wickhamford Worcestershire |
| Coordinates | 52°04′42″N 1°54′07″W / 52.0783°N 1.902°W / 52.0783; -1.902 |
| Built | 16th century |
| Architectural style(s) | Vernacular |
| Governing body | Privately owned |
| Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Manor House, Wickhamford |
| Designated | 30 July 1959 |
| Reference no. | 1215988 |
| Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Dovecote approximately 100 m south east of Manor House |
| Designated | 30 July 1959 |
| Reference no. | 1216194 |
| Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Barn approximately 75 m south of Manor House |
| Designated | 30 July 1959 |
| Reference no. | 1215990 |
  Location of Wickhamford Manor in Worcestershire | |
Wickhamford Manor, Wickhamford, Worcestershire is a manor house dating from the 16th century. It was the childhood home of James Lees-Milne, the writer. The manor is a Grade II listed building.
History
The manor was originally a monastic grange in the possession of Evesham Abbey. Following the Dissolution of the monasteries, it was granted by Elizabeth I to Thomas Throckmorton in 1562. Throckmorton sold the manor to Samuel Sandys in 1594 and the Sandys family retained ownership until 1860. Penelope Washington, daughter of a later Sandys and a distant relative of George Washington, lived at the manor in the 17th century. Her tomb in the estate church of St John the Baptist, is carved with the Washington coat of arms, three stars above two bars (or stripes), which is traditionally assumed to be the origin of the Stars and Stripes, although this is disputed.
In 1906 the manor was bought by George Lees-Milne. The Lees, and their relatives the Cromptons, were originally from Lancashire, where they had made considerable fortunes from coal mining and cotton spinning. In 1908, George's son James was born at the house. An exaggerated portrait of his parents as "a pair of ludicrous eccentrics", and his difficult relationships with them is recorded in the early chapters of his volume of autobiography, Another Self.
George Lees-Milne sold Wickhamford in 1947, two years before his death. In 2010, it was again for sale, at a guide price of £2.95 million.
Architecture and description
Pevsner describes the grouping of manor house, ancillary buildings and church around a lake, originally a medieval fish pond, as "highly picturesque". The present manor buildings date from the 16th century, with later additions. It has a timber frame, infilled with limestone rubble, is of two storeys and built to an E-plan. Much is early 20th century reconstruction and expansion undertaken by George Lees-Milne. The dovecote by the lake is genuinely medieval, dating from the 13th century, and has its own Grade II listing.
Notes
- ^ Brooks & Pevsner 2007, pp. 662–663.
- "Wickhamford Manor House". www.badseysociety.uk. The Badsey Society. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- "Church of St John the Baptist". www.badseysociety.uk. The Badsey Society. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- "Wickhamford". www.worcesteranddudleyhistoricchurches.org.uk. Worcestershire & Dudley Historic Churches Trust. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- Vile 2018, p. ?.
- "The Official James Lees-Milne Website". www.jamesleesmilne.com. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "George Crompton Lees-Milner (1880–1949)". www.badseysociety.uk. The Badsey Society. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- Bloch 2009, p. 5.
- Bloch 2009, p. 8.
- Lees-Milne 1970, pp. 2–52.
- "Impeccable provenance of the perfect manor house". The Birmingham Press. 21 October 2010.
- ^ Historic England. "Manor House, Wickhamford (Grade II) (1215988)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- Historic England. "Dovecote approximately 100 m south east of Manor House (Grade II) (1216194)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
References
- Bloch, Michael (2009). James Lees-Milne: The Life. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-6550-2. OCLC 699032729.
- Brooks, Alan; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). Worcestershire. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11298-6. OCLC 237891290.
- Lees-Milne, James (1970). Another Self. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-01807-1. OCLC 731915296.
- Vile, John R. (2018). The American Flag: An Encyclopedia of the Stars and Stripes in U.S. History, Culture, and Law. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-5789-8.