Halswell House

Halswell House
Halswell House painted by Agostino Aglio circa 1830

Halswell House is a Grade I listed country house in Goathurst, Somerset, England.[1][2]

Descent

Domesday Book

The Domesday Book of 1086 lists the holder of the manor of Halswell as Roger Arundel, whose tenant was Wido. It descended from Roger to Henry de Newburgh, whose tenant in 1285 was Taunton Priory.[3]

de Halswell

Arms of Halswell: Azure, three bars wavy argent over all a bend gules

Peter de Halswell was the holder in 1285, and held by the feudal tenure of 1/4 of a knight's fee. William de Halswell held the manor in 1303 as 1/8 of a knight's fee. William Halswell was living in 1394 and appears to have been the holder in 1428. The descent is uncertain thereafter until Nicholas Halswell (c.1512-1564), MP for Bridgwater in 1553 and 1563, the son of John Halswell by his wife Mary Est. Nicholas' son by his wife Margery Tremayle (d.1573) was Robert Halswell (d.1570), who built Halswell House, whose eldest son by his wife Susan Brouncker (daughter of Henry Brouncker of Melksham, Wiltshire, Sheriff of Wiltshire) was Sir Nicholas Halswell (1566-1633), MP for Bridgwater in 1604.[4] His eldest son Robert Halswell (d.1626), MP for Bridgwater in 1614,[5] predeceased him, and thus Sir Nicholas's heir was his eldest surviving son Henry Halswell (d.1636). Sir Nicholas had settled much of his property, including Halswell, onto Henry in 1628 in order to escape his creditors. Henry died unmarried and without progeny when his heir became his brother Rev. Hugh Halswell (d. 1672), rector of Cheriton, Hampshire and proctor of Oxford University, who left a sole daughter Jane Halswell (d.1650) his sole heiress. Jane married John Tynte of Chelvey Court, Brockley, Somerset, and left a son Sir Halswell Tynte, 1st Baronet (d.1702), whose inheritance became the manor of Halswell.[6]

Tynte

In 1667 the manor was put into trust for Jane Halswell's son Sir Halswell Tynte, 1st Baronet (1649–1702), MP for Bridgwater 1679–1689.[7] Rev. Sir John Tynte, 2nd Baronet (1683–1710), rector of Goathurst, married Jane Kemeys of the Kemeys family of Cefn Mably. He was succeeded successively by his three sons: Sir Halsewell Tynte, 3rd Baronet (1705–30), of Halswell and Cefnmabli, whose two daughters died young; Rev. Sir John Tynte, 4th Baronet (1707–1740), also rector of Goathurst, who died unmarried; Sir Charles Kemys Tynte, 5th Baronet (1710–1785), who died without progeny. Cefn Mably remained in the hands of the Kemeys Tynte family until 1923.

Bond

In 2004 the house and 17 acres[8] was purchased for £1.94 million by Grahame Bond, a property developer, who spent £800,000 transforming it into a weddings venue. His business failed in 2012 and the house was repossessed by the mortgagor the US bank Citi Private Banking.[9]

Parkland

Halswell Park was developed between 1745 and 1785 as a setting for Halswell House. The 17-acre (69,000 m2) pleasure garden was created by Sir Charles Kemeys Tynte, and ranks in importance with some of the finest landscape gardens in Europe. In 1740 the grounds covered 30 acres (12 ha) but this had been expanded to 132 acres (53 ha) by 1800. It included tree plantations and avenues with a canal later converted into a lake.[10] The park is on the Heritage at Risk register.[11]

The grounds contain many fanciful buildings, fish ponds, cascades and bridges,[12] including the Temple of Harmony which stands in Mill Wood. Completed in 1767, it is Grade II listed[13] and has been fully restored. It is open to the public on Sundays from May until September.

Sale and dispersal

The contents of the house were sold in 1948, and the house itself in 1950 when the rest of the estate was auctioned off. Part of the house was converted into flats. The Halswell Park Trust was established with the aim of acquiring the buildings and surrounding land of Halswell Park, restoring them and opening them to the public. In 1998, the Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust restored Robin Hood's Hut (Grade II),[14] which commands views over Somerset, the Bristol Channel and South Wales. Robin Hood's Hut is now owned by the Landmark Trust, who let the building on short holiday leases.

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ latitude 51.0986, longitude -3.0668
  2. ↑ "Halswell House". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
  3. ↑ Victoria County History, Somerset, Volume 6, 1992, Goathurst: Manors, pp. 47-49
  4. ↑ http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/halswell-sir-nicholas-1566-1633
  5. ↑ http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/halswell-robert-1588-1626
  6. ↑ Victoria County History, Somerset, Volume 6, 1992, Goathurst: Manors, pp. 47-49
  7. ↑ Victoria County History, Somerset, Volume 6, 1992, Goathurst: Manors, pp. 47-49
  8. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1199650/Inside-upper-class-masked-ball-turned-orgy-stately-home-Halswell-House.html
  9. ↑ Daily Mail Newspaper, 24 July 2012
  10. ↑ Bond, James (1998). Somerset Parks and Gardens. Somerset Books. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0861834655.
  11. ↑ "Halswell Park, Goathurst / Broomfield - Sedgemoor". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Ornamental bridge with flanking half-figures". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
  13. ↑ "Temple". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
  14. ↑ "Robin Hood's Hut". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-11-04.

External links