OS grid reference ST 893 756 Reference no. 1283450 | Built c1400 | |
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Designated 000000001952-06-01-00001 June 1952 Similar Middlewick House, Sheldon Manor, Vent Haven Museum, Coronation Chair, Formula Rossa | ||
Bolehyde Manor is a 17th-century manor house at Allington, near Chippenham, in Wiltshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building within the Allington conservation area.
Contents
Map of Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham SN14 6LW, UK
History
The house takes its name from Thomas de Bolehyde who was a tenant, however, it is said to have been built with money embezzled from the monks, and thought to have been in the possession of Glastonbury Abbey.
It later came into the possession of the Snell family of Kington St. Michael, probably in the 16th century, and was sold by Sir Charles Snell to John Cole in 1635, remaining in the possession of that family until the late 19th century.
Between 1957 and 1967 the house and farm were in the hands of David and Diana Tylden-Wright, who, for reasons of their own, renamed the house to "Bullidge House". It would appear that as soon as they sold it, the previous name was restored.
Andrew and Camilla Parker Bowles moved there in 1973. Its vegetable garden was reputed, incorrectly, to be the location of Prince Charles' proposal of marriage to Lady Diana Spencer. It is now occupied by the Earl and Countess Cairns.
Architecture
The house is a large 17th-century stone-tiled rubble stone building. Some parts are possibly 16th century, containing a Tudor-arched fireplace. The grounds have a mid 17th-century dovecote and two summer houses. The frontage includes a two-storey porch topped by a balustrade having Georgian busts at its front corners. It has been said that a skirmish between Cornish troops of King Charles I and the Roundheads took place in the locality.
Modern times
The gardens of the house are open to the public on one day each year through the National Gardens Scheme.