Orchard Wyndham

Coordinates: 51°09′04.7″N 3°19′40.7″W / 51.151306°N 3.327972°W / 51.151306; -3.327972

Orchard Wyndham, west front

Orchard Wyndham, south front

Orchard Wyndham. Northward beyond the house is the town of Watchet and its harbour, historically part of the estate, on the Bristol Channel. 18th century English School. National Trust, collection of Petworth House, Sussex

Entrance lodge to Orchard Wyndham

Orchard Wyndham is a historic manor house near Williton, Somerset, England. Parts of the manor date from medieval times. It has been owned by the prominent Wyndham family for more than 700 years.

Descent

Saxons

There is evidence of occupation of the site from Roman and Saxon times.^[1] The estate was originally called "Orchard", possibly a corruption of the Saxon family name "De Horcherd". The de Orchard family held another nearby manor in Somerset, now called Orchard Portman which was inherited by the Portman family. The arms of de Orchard were: Azure, a chevron argent between three pears pendant or.^[2]

Sydenham

In 1448 it passed into the hands of the Sydenham family of nearby Combe Sydenham, and was thenceforth known as Orchard Sydenham. Elizabeth Sydenham (d.1571) inherited the house and in 1528 married Sir John Wyndham (died c. 1580) of Felbrigg in Norfolk.^[1]

Wyndham

Arms of Wyndham: Azure, a chevron between three lion's heads erased or

The descent of Orchard Wyndham in the Wyndham family is as follows:^[3]

• Sir John Wyndham (died c. 1580), second son of Sir Thomas Wyndham (d.1521) by his first wife Eleanor Scrope, daughter and heiress of Richard Scrope of Upsall Castle, Yorkshire, inherited Orchard from his wife Elizabeth Sydenham (d.1/1/1571), daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Sydenham of Orchard, Somerset.^[4]
• Sir John Wyndham, son, who married Florence Wadham (d.1596), heiress in her issue of her brother Nicholas Wadham (d.1609), who together with his wife Dorothy Petre, founded Wadham College, Oxford.
• Sir John Wyndham (1558–1645), only son, was a co-heir to the substantial Wadham estates of his uncle Nicholas Wadham, including his principal seats of Merryfield in the parish of Ilton, Somerset (see below) and Edge in the parish of Branscombe, Devon. Also part of the Wadham inheritance were the manors of Trent, then in Somerset now in Dorset, and the manor of Silverton in Devon, where his descendant George Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont (1786-1845) built a large neo-Classical mansion Silverton Park (alias Egremont House), demolished in 1901. He married Joan Portman, daughter of Sir Henry Portman (d.1590), of Orchard Portman, Somerset, son of Sir William Portman (d.1557), Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.
• John Wyndham (d.1649), second and eldest surviving son, who married Catherine Hopton daughter of Robert Hopton of Witham, Somerset, and sister of Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton (d.1652).
• Sir William Wyndham, 1st Baronet (c.1632-1683), eldest son, of Orchard. Member of Parliament for Somerset 1656-1658 and for Taunton 1660-1679, was made a Baronet in 1661, "of Orchard, Somerset". It was during the tenure of the 1st Baronet that Orchard became known as Orchard Wyndham.
• Sir Edward Wyndham, 2nd Baronet (c. 1667–1695)
• Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet (1687–1740)
• Sir Charles Wyndham, 4th Baronet (1710–1763). Succeeded his cousin as 2nd Earl of Egremont in 1750.
• George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751–1837)
• George Francis Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont (1785–1845), died without male progeny.
• William VI Wyndham (1834-1914), of Dinton House, Wiltshire, JP, DL, cousin. He was heir male to his grandfather William IV Wyndham (1769-1841), of Dinton, under the will of his distant cousin (who shared common descent from Sir John Wyndham (1558-1645) of Orchard Wyndham) George Francis Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont (1786-1845), following the death of the 4th Earl's widow in 1876 who had retained a life interest in his estate.^[5] He thus inherited the ancient family manor of Orchard Wyndham and also the palatial Silverton Park in Devon, built by the 4th Earl in 1839, which he demolished in 1901. He married in 1867 Frances Ann Stafford (d.1934), 2nd daughter of Rev. Charles James Stafford, vicar of Dinton.
• William VII Wyndham (1868-1951), eldest son, JP, of Orchard Wyndham. He sold Dinton in 1916 and made Orchard Wyndham his main seat. He died unmarried and without progeny.

Description

The house has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, ^[6] while the Bailiff's House,^[7] Lodge,^[8] remains of the walled garden^[9] and gate^[10] are also listed.

The Giant's Cave which is also known as the Blue Grotto, within the grounds, is a landscape feature in the form of a ruin, dating from the mid 18th century. It consists of large undressed blocks of red sandstone, irregularly placed in sections of wall about 2.5 metres high.^[11]

Estate

Today the estate retains substantial local landholdings and also land at Ilton, Somerset, where the "Wyndham Estate" is the largest employer in the village^[12] and where the public house is called the "Wyndham Arms". This land was formerly part of the Merryfield estate which the family inherited from Nicholas Wadham (d.1609) of Merryfield in the parish of Ilton.^[13]

Return of Owners of Land 1873

The Return of Owners of Land, 1873 (as corrected in 1883) revealed the holdings of Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham and Dinton in total as 23,708 acres worth £37,420 per annum as follows:^[14]

• Somerset 11,231 acres (of which 2,866 Wyndham of Dinton)
• Devon 6,740 acres
• Wilts 5,734 acres (all Wyndham of Dinton)
• Surrey 3 acres

Principal historic estates

The principal historic estates of the family were as follows:^[15]

• Somerset: Orchard Wyndham, St Decuman's, Watchet, Williton, Beer Crocombe, Brean Down, Chiselborough, Ilton, Kingsbury Episcopi, Pitcombe.
• Devon: Bondleigh, Silverton.
• Wiltshire: Allington, Dinton, Mere, Norrington, Salisbury, Slaughterford, Trowbridge.
• Dorset: Hawkchurch, Mappowder, Sturminster Marshall.
• Gloucestershire: Hawling.
• Hampshire: Binsted Popham, Christchurch, Hinton Admiral, Milton, Yateley.
• Shropshire: Beckbury.

See also

• List of Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset

Further reading

• Victoria County History, Volume 5, Somerset, 1985, "Parishes: St. Decumans, including Watchet and Williton", pp. 143-171
• Wyndham, Hon H. A., "A Family History, The Wyndhams of Somerset, Sussex and Wiltshire", 1950
• National Archives: Family and Estate Details of Wyndham family of Orchard Wyndham, GB/NNAF/F89128 (based on Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Guide to Principal Estate and Family Collections L-W, 1999

Sources

• Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, p.2511, pedigree of Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham

External links

• www.orchardwyndham.com official website

References