06 June 2006
Elegant Wick Court: Among the original features of Wick Court are a priest hole and an ornately carved staircase. The house is up for sale after vet and TV personality Trude Mostue decided to move on FAMED TV vet Trude Mostue and partner Howard Thomas have put their picturesque, gabled, Jacobean home up for sale. The price is a cool £1.5 million. Trude shot to fame in TV series Vets In Practice, but hasn't graced our screens for some years. Her home is Wick Court, just over seven miles from Bristol and six from Bath.
She lives there with her three children, Froya Molly, aged three, Erik Delme, two and Hilda Nellie, one, as well as her three dogs and as many sheep. The manor of Wick is an ancient place. It lies in the valley of the River Boyd, a tributary of the Avon, below the slopes of Lansdown. It's also on the path of the old Roman road, the Via Julia, which runs between Bristol and Bath. Wick is not mentioned in the Domesday Book as a separate manor because when the record was being compiled for King William, it was included in the large and important royal manor of Pucklechurch. Wick was once owned by the wealthy and powerful Glastonbury Abbey and then, for some 250 years, by the bishops of Bath and Wells.
After King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, between 1536 and 1540, the manor of Wick fell into private hands. It was owned first by Sir John Wintour and then by the Haynes family. The area was rich in deposits of iron oxide. The mining and processing of these deposits made the Golden Valley Ochre and Oxide Company world-famous: the original red colouring of the road surface of The Mall in London came from Wick. At one time the village was a hive of industry, with the river powering mills which made paper, iron, lead and flour. It is generally believed that Wick Court was built around 1665 by Thomas Haynes, whose family originally came from Westbury-on-Trym.
The 17th-century historian Robert Atkins wrote: 'Richard Haynes, son of Thomas, is lord of the manor of Wyck and Abson and keeps Court Leet. He has a handsome seat at Wyck and a large estate.' Other historians believe the house dates from much earlier, around 1610, and was constructed for Sir Edward Wintour's son, John, as a wedding present. Church historian W J Robinson, writing in his West Country Manors in 1930, even suggests that it was erected around 1535, the same time as Siston Court, by one of the Denys family of Dyrham. But one thing we do know is that the Haynes family lived at Wick Court for generations. The last member of the family, Richard, died in 1816. This historic house, extensively and sympathetically improved in the past few years, still retains much of its original character.
This includes an impressive carved oak Jacobean staircase, a spit wheel, a solar (or sun room) and extensive panelling. There are also the remains of a secret room, or 'priest hole', where Roman Catholic clerics visiting the family could hide away at times of persecution. The mansion boasts seven bedrooms, whose guests are said to have included both Ann Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I. There are four bathrooms and four reception rooms, offering potential buyers a blend of period character and contemporary facilities. The kitchen, for instance, is hand-built from reclaimed wood. Wick Court, a classic example of a manor house, still retains its 'U' shape, with the only addition being a rear entrance porch. This was necessary as the driveway to the original front door was removed in Victorian times.
The house possesses everything you would expect from a property of this age - mullioned stone windows with deep-gabled and parapeted roofs with the central, second-storey gabled porch supported on Doric columns. Wick Court escaped the harsh treatment meted out to nearby Siston Court in 1642 when parliamentarian troops were billeted there. As for the Court's immediate surroundings, Robinson noted that a 'residence within a short distance' still possessed ecclesiastical windows. He thought this suggested that the building 'may have formed part of a nunnery or monastery in early times, but no record exists to substantiate the idea'. In the grounds today can be found the former Wick Court Centre, consisting of 5,400 square feet of outbuildings and a converted coach house.
This was used for at least 20 years as a residential study and conference centre for adults and school children. Over two acres of lawned and walled gardens, together with wooded grounds and ancient yew trees, run down to the river Boyd. There is also a Grade II-listed summerhouse, and an adventure playground.
7 bedrooms - Asking price of £1,500,000
An exquisite Grade I listed Jacobean manor house with a further circa 5,400 sq ft of ancillary accommodation including a converted Coach House
THE MAIN HOUSE: (currently a private residence) Ground Floor: reception hall, sitting room, dining room, family room, study, kitchen, utility, rear hall, cloakroom/wc
Lower Ground Floor: vaulted cellar rooms First Floor: drawing room, bedroom 1, bedroom 2, bedroom 3 with en suite bathroom/wc, family bathroom and separate wc Second Floor: bedroom 4, bedroom 5, bedroom 6, bedroom 7, ante room, family bathroom/wc No 2 and further en suite bathroom/wc which serves bedrooms 5 and 6
ANCILLARY COMMERCIAL ACCOMMODATION: Formerly known as The Wick Court Centre – 5,400 sq ft of outbuildings, including a converted coach house, which have been used in the past as a residential study/conference centre. Suitable for alternative uses, subject to obtaining the necessary consents.
EXTENSIVE GROUNDS – in all circa 2.25 acres (0.91 hectare) delightful lawned and walled gardens, and attractive wooded grounds with frontage to the River Boyd Bristol City Centre : 7.5 miles Bath : 6.5 miles M4 (J18) : 6.5 miles Bristol International Airport : 15 miles (The above are approximate distances) This exceptionally fine Grade I listed 17th century property is steeped in history and retains many original period features including an impressive carved oak Jacobean well staircase, a spit wheel, solar room, extensive oak panelling and the remains of a priest hole. Currently a family house, it has recently been the subject of extensive improvements, sympathetically retaining the unique period character whilst ensuring it is well suited to 21st century living. Beautifully presented throughout this is a most refined and historic house of great distinction. Extensive lawned gardens surround the Manor House with ancient yew trees. There is also a Grade II listed summer house and adventure playground.
Close by are circa 5,400 sq ft of outbuildings including a converted coach house. Subject to obtaining all appropriate consents and conducting some improvements, the outbuildings could be developed to offer excellent commercial accommodation, in conjunction with (or separately from) the main house; say as a conference centre, recording studio, business or religious school, retreat, boutique/spa style hotel, veterinary practice or for use by a charity and so on.
Wick Court occupies a principally rural setting to the south of the A420 on the western fringe of the village of Wick and enjoys frontage to the River Boyd a tributary of the River Avon. Almost equidistant from Bristol and the Georgian City of Bath, Wick Court enjoys a convenient location for access to the cultural, leisure and shopping facilities of both cities. The area is well served with a number of good schools located in Bristol and Bath and good train links to London Paddington. Junction 18 of the M4 gives access to Swindon, Heathrow and London to the east and to the M5 and Wales to the west. Wick has been in constant occupation from before the Roman occupation and in the mediaeval period the area belonged to the See of Bath and Wells and the Abbots of Glastonbury, who gained the land as a direct result of the ransom paid for the release of Richard III. It remained in their possession until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII between 1536 and 1540.
The Manor was finally split and the newly formed Manor of Wick and Abson passed into the ownership of the Wintour Family. There is some debate as to who built Wick Court and at what date and whilst the listing seems to indicate it was built circa 1665 by Thomas Haynes some believe that Sir Edward Wintour’s son, John, built the house in around 1610, most likely for his wedding. On the death of Sir John, the house was acquired by Thomas Haynes (1665 – 1681) and remained in the Haynes Family until 1865, when it was purchased by Richard Batterbury of Regents Park, London. It then passed into the hands of F C Constable in 1900 and on his death, passed to Captain J L Brown and his widow lived on in the house until 1955. Wick Court is a beautifully presented 7 bedroom, 4 reception room, 3 bathroom private family house generously proportioned throughout and offering an intoxicating blend of period character with contemporary facilities and a stylish finish.
The kitchen is hand built with reclaimed wood, with an oil fired aga oven (with electric option) and the bathrooms and showers are of the highest quality. It is an outstanding example of a Grade I listed Manor House with typical rendered elevations under a double roman clay tiled roof. It has traditional deep stone mullioned windows with deep gabled and parapetted roofs and to the front, the central second storey gabled porch supported on Doric columns. It is U shaped in plan and the only addition is thought to be the provision of a rear entrance porch. This reversal of role was necessary as the driveway to the original front door was discontinued in the 19th century. Accommodation comprises as follows: (see floorplans below for measurements)
GROUND FLOOR: Reception Hall Sitting Room Dining Room Family Room Study Kitchen Utility Rear Hall Cloakroom/wc
LOWER GROUND FLOOR: Vaulted Cellar Rooms FIRST FLOOR: Drawing Room Bedroom 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3 En Suite Bathroom/wc Family Bathroom Separate wc
SECOND FLOOR Bedroom 4 Bedroom 5 Bedroom 6 Bedroom 7 Ante Room Family Bathroom/wc No. 2 En Suite Bathroom/wc Circa 5,400 sq ft (500 sq metres) of ancillary accommodation adjacent to the main house which includes a two storey former coach house, as well as an extensive single storey construction thought to have dated from the 1970’s. Used for at least 20 years as a residential study/conference centre for adults and school children – currently unoccupied, the Wick Court Centre has potential for re-development for a number of alternative uses, subject to obtaining all the necessary consents. Wick Court is approached by a driveway that passes an enclosed gravelled parking area.
Wrought iron gates set in a stone surround with a stone flagged pathway which leads to the front door (formally the rear entrance). The path continues to the enclosed kitchen courtyard garden (circa 100’ x 87’) and to the other side of the property (originally the front) is a fine walled garden (circa 250 ft x 100 ft) with mature yew trees. A yew hedge with archway leads to further paved courtyard garden and beyond to an adventure playground. In one corner is a gated access and right of way leading to the main road A420, and to the west of the main drive is a further garden which leads down to the River Boyd. Mains water, electricity and drainage. Oil fired central heating.
Purchasers should make their own enquiries to establish the potential for alternative uses and development at the property. Please contact South Gloucestershire District Council tel: 01454 868686
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