Chastleton House

Chastleton House ( tʃæsəltən.haʊs ) is a Jacobi America Country house in Chastleton, near Moreton -in-Marsh in the county of Oxfordshire. Mentioned in the list of Grade I historic buildings Britain's property is since 1991 owned by the National Trust.

Architectural History

The mansion was for coming from a wealthy wool merchant Welsh family lawyer Walter Jones 1607-1612 (by * 1550, † 1632) established; the property he had acquired in 1604 by Robert Catesby, the designer of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The previous building was ' new building completely demolished by Jones. As a building material of the so-called Cotswold stone, a yellow limestone from the Jurassic served. The building was a narrow courtyard, the Court Dairy ( dairy farm ) is applied.

Chastleton House is different from other property of this type in several ways: The park with an embedded in the countryside lack access. Next it was inserted in the village of Chastleton. This was the economic institutions needed for a mansion and are usually connected structurally to this, therefore, as a laundry, a bakery or a fish pond, already exists and thus missing on the property. Finally, the property was for almost 400 years by the same family who had come soon after completion of the building in the 17th century in financial difficulties because of the property belonging land not threw enough funds. This situation may also the decline of the wool industry in the 17th century and the support of the opposition party ( Royalists ) by the owners have contributed. The landlords did not drive their lease with a final consequence. Anyway, found a lack of money in Chastleton House modernizations otherwise regularly made ​​in the respective tastes of the building and its furnishings instead hardly. This meant that construction and equipment of the time of origin largely intact.

So shall also the National Trust to focus on preservation of the property acquired in the state, and largely dispensed restoration measures. This gives the visitors to whom the majority of the rooms has already been made ​​available, a rare glimpse into the living conditions of the 17th century. Of particular architectural Rank the long gallery ( Long Gallery ) with its stuccoed barrel-vaulted ceiling. At 22 meters in length and age it is unparalleled in England. Especially noteworthy is the Great Hall ( Great Chamber ), which was set up for entertaining important guests and musical performances. The design has roots in the Italian Renaissance. The design of the wall panels shows influences of classicism, as well as the painted roundels around a frieze depicting the twelve Sibyls. In the room there is a Gläserst from the Jacobite period, reflect the engravings with the Jacobite symbols, roses, oak leaves and a compass rose, the political sympathies of the family in the 18th century.

In 1919 a number of tapestries was discovered in the building. This work will be interpreted as evidence of the work of tapestry weaving in the mansion of William Sheldon ( † 1570 ) in the near Shipston -on-Stour located Barcheston ( Warwickshire ). One of the tapestry is shown in the middle chamber (Middle Chamber ), another is a permanent exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Chastleton Garden

The guided in the list of Grade II historic buildings Britain's garden was in contrast to the building undergoes various changes over time, so that beyond its original condition hardly anything is known. 1828 put the family Whitmore -Jones to a garden, which mimicked a Jacobin system. This was gradually forgotten, and the garden was considered an original from the period. Only after the takeover of the plant by the National Trust and extensive archival research has been recognized that it was not an original investment. The perimeter walls are known to originate from the 17th century come, so it seems quite clear that its current dimensions that should correspond with its first plant. The latter follows the recommendations of Gervase Markham, he ( The English compatriot ) resigned in his work The English husbandman of 1613: a forecourt to the front front with a side called Base court on a home page that includes stables and farm adjacent rooms; the other two sides of the building should be surrounded by a garden, which is divided into an orchard, an herb garden and planted with ornamental trees pleasure garden. A large part of the ornamental garden occupies a historic Croquetwiese that can be played by today's visitors.

Others

• In 1865, the rules for Chastleton Rasencroquet were first codified, so that Chastleton House can be called with some justice as the " Home of croquet ."
• The property was one of the locations for the produced by the BBC four-part TV movie Elizabeth I - The Virgin Queen, which aired in January and February 2006.