With most places that I visit I can usually find some historical or architectural information about them, but occasionally there's the odd one that I can find absolutely nothing at all and have to waffle a bit, either with anecdotes of my visit, some detective work from a basic knowledge of buildings and observation of various clues, or both. This isn't one of them! ;)
This is the other kind of odd one I come across that has so much history, reams and reams of it, that I don't know where to start. Both are equally difficult to write up, so what I usually do is just concentrate on the architecture for these kind, as that's my interest and one of the main purposes of Past Remains. Unfortunately, there isn't much about the architecture at all, not even on the Listed Buildings register! So I'll just have to do the best with what I've got and add some waffle where I haven't got any.
A Grade II* listed building, this gorgeous house was originally the chantry belonging to a group of church buildings comprising a close around the 14th century church of St Mary, and dates from the 1340s College. The largest of the buildings, the Chantry was the residence of the Chanter, Canter or Precentor; a senior canon who, being the first singer, was responsible for leading the chants during Divine Service.
Very little of the original fabric remains however, apart from some of the walls and painted beams. It was largely rebuilt and became known as Heath's Court, with further extensions added around the 17th century core in the 1840s. Then later remodelled in 1876.
It was during its phase as Heath's Court that Sir Thomas Fairfax stayed here in 1645, when Parliamentary troops were stationed in the town. The dining room was used as the 'Great Convention Room', where Oliver Cromwell and General Fairfax met to plan the West Country campaign during the Civil War.
The entrance on the church side includes this unusual and imposing gate, which echoes the design of the portico on the courtyard door. This is the only part of the building that can be seen. I did have a whizz around on Street View once back home, but it's too far from the nearest public road on the other side to even be glimpsed, although on Google Earth it looks as though there's a lot more to the building than this. There is a gatehouse that side so there must be another - possibly more formal - entrance, this one leading up to the inner courtyard.
And below, a totally enchanting door in the nearby wall.
The house was bought by James Coleridge, the elder brother of the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in 1796. It was subsequently passed down to James's son, Sir John Taylor Coleridge, in 1838, and it was he, along with his son, who carried out the first extensions of a new service range, stables and coach house. The drawing room was also rebuilt and the grounds were extended and landscaped.
Rebuilt in the style of a Gothic Mansion in red brick with an asymmetrical composition, steep pitched roofs and gables, and the most delightful diaper design in contrasting brick. Seen through a gate, above, in a 'secret' lane now quite overgrown. And below, the view of the house across the churchyard of St Mary's.
And finally, two photos of the former gatehouse, which I took some years before I saw the house itself. I didn't know where the Chanter's House was at that time and it was only when I came across a photo on Flickr that I realised it was in plain view by the Church itself.
This was an article that I'd partially written and had in draft on my website before the host changed over to a different web builder. Unfortunately I lost that draft as it wasn't published, but I had saved it to document so I finally finished - and rewrote much of it - for the blog.
Lots more to do; about 200 website articles plus more in draft and quite a few new ones too, lol, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up a bit more more regularly now that Christmas, New Year and my birthday this week are out of the way! :)
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