Bradley House (Wiltshire)

Bradley House, or Maiden Bradley House, is a country house in the village of Maiden Bradley with Yarnfield, Wiltshire. It is the family home of the Duke of Somerset, having been in the Seymour family for around 300 years.[1]

History

Construction of the house was started by Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet Seymour of Berry Pomeroy (1610–1688). Around 1688, his son Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet, abandoned the previous family home, Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon, and used the money derived from stripping the castle to fund improvements to the new house at Maiden Bradley.[2] This new Bradley House was completed c.1710. It was a huge building, replaced in 1820 by a house only an eighth of the original size.

The house became the residence of the Dukes of Somerset after Sir Edward Seymour, 6th Baronet, inherited the Dukedom from a distant cousin. Adjacent to Bradley House is the Church of All Saints, the principal burial place for the later Dukes of Somerset from the Seymour family. The Church and family cemetery can be reached from the grounds of Bradley House via private access.[3]

Currently the ground floor of the house is a wedding and party venue, which is open to other visitors by arrangement with or without a guided tour. The garden within the grounds also holds open days.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Maiden Bradley". The Duke of Somerset's Estates. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Report and Transactions of The Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and the Arts. Vol 133 (2001), p 11-12.
  3. ↑ The grave of Algernon Seymour, 15th Duke of Somerset, 19 July 2013

External links

Coordinates: 51°08′49″N 2°16′53″W / 51.14707°N 2.28135°W