Calcot Manor

Calcot Manor, Gloucestershire, England (National Grid Reference ST 841180 94891) was established in approximately 1300 AD by Henry of Kingswood as a tithe barn annex of Kingswood Abbey. The estate, situated about three kilometers west of Tetbury on the A4135 road, was expanded to include a 16th century manor house and other buildings. Structures added in the Late Middle Ages to mid 17th century include a chapel, granary and stables and other buildings. The buildings are all constructed from limestone; which locally quarried stones are typically flat and easily stacked for drystone wall purposes.

Roman Period

It is known that there was a Roman presence at the site as early as the fifth century AD based upon the archeological finds of carved stones, Roman coins and other discoveries. A number of Roman tombstones have been found along the course of the ancient Roman road which traverses between Gloucester and Bath, a route close to Calcot Manor.

Many Roman artefacts have been discovered at Calcot, some of which are now displayed at the Gloucester City Museum and the Stroud Museum. One of the principal finds is a curved, limestone ornate bas-relief. This stone had been originally embedded in the wall of the tithe barn ^[1]. This particular stone is now located in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. There are also substantial Roman settlements at nearly Cirencester and Gloucester.

The bas-relief is classified as a funerary military monument, on which a legionary is shown with arms on horseback^[2] Behind the Roman military leader is the standard bearer with his insignia.^[3] As of Baddeley’s publication in 1925, the stone was still embedded within the inner tithebarn wall

Middle Ages

The original datestone is extant within the porch of the tithe barn interior and reads: "ANNOGRE MCCC HENRICI ABBATIS XXIX FAI DOM H EDIFICATA", verifying founding by Abbot Henry in the year 1300 during the period of King Edward I. The tithe barn itself is a Grade II listed building. The tithe barn also has a distinguishing feature of arrow slits at each building end.

The remains of a medieval rabbit warren were unearthed at Calcot Manor in 2004, at a location being excavated for expansion of the present hotel use, when the groundworks for a new spa were being conducted. A mysterious subterranean tunnel was then found extending at least 100 meters beneath the main manor house garden terrace. The tunnel is intact as of 2004, but has not yet been fully explored. Earth bore tunnels of this type are sometimes associated with High Middle Ages abbeys, palaces, and castles as secret escape routes if the site were under siege.

The hamlet of Calcot at this location is the first recorded settlement at the site, being listed in the Doomsday Book (i.e. 1086 AD) in the Hundred of Berkeley. Although named a barn, its earliest origins and uses remain obscure due to architectural features that are not consistent with a barn or granary. For example, the upper level arrow slit situated on the west side is somewhat difficult to define as to early use, although somewhat wider arrow slits are known to have been used in 17th century times as granary vents. According to Lumina Technologies^[4]: "The Calcot arrow slits for ventilation are typically at least ten centimeters wide to insure that owls could freely enter and prey upon any mice that could harm the grain stocks".

Middle ages to 18th century period

When the English abbeys were dissolved in the early to middle 16th century , the Calcot property became property of the King of England, who in turn granted Calcot to Nicholas Poyntz. In 1559 Calcot was sold to Thomas Parry. Then in 1598 ownership of Calcot passed to Sir Thomas Estcourt, who was accumulating many other properties in the parishes of Newington Bagpath. The tithe barn was struck by lightening in 1728, but restoration was completed a year later, with an extant further datestone embedded in the porch interior wall of the tithe barn, the entire Calcot property remained in the possession of the Estcourt Family until the early 19th century.

A similarity was found between these blue-gray stones at Calcot and the dressed stones used in the nearby Beverston Castle. A 1790 drawing of the tithebarn reveals the presence of an array of seven and possibly eight arrow slits across the front face of the structure. The slit apertures were situated somewhat higher than the front facing fenestration. These arrow slits are no longer present in the restored tithebarn.

The sites and Monuments Record, SMR 2931/2, indicates that a small chapel structure previously existed on site, but was demolished most likely in the early 19th century. An ink drawing by Grimm of the chapel in 1790^[5] shows the medieval arches of the early chapel.

20th century to the present

In 1928, Mary Emery bought the ruined Calcot Tithe Barn roof and had it shipped to Mariemont, Ohio as individual roofing tiles. These tiles became the roof of the Mariemont town church,^[6]. A large amount of surface adhering moss and lichens were on the tiles, adding to the antique appearance wanted by Mariemont designers. Mariemont was created to imitate architecture of a medieval European town.

In 1970 the farm elements were relocated to nearby areas, leaving all of the old stonework buildings unneeded for agriculture. The Ball family bought the Calcott estate in the early 1980s and created a hotel, gradually adding building conversions on site to hotel use throughout the next decade. Louisa and Michael Stone, prior regular guests, took title to Calcot in the early 1992 and restored the tithe barn itself in the early years of the new millennium, so that in 2006 Calcot Manor has become an upscale destination property in the Cotswolds.

See also

• Beverston Castle
• Drystone wall
• Roman camp

References

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