History of Wyndham Arms, Clearwell pt 2 (General)

by slowhands , proud of his ancient Dean Forest roots, Monday, April 12, 2010, 06:51 (5418 days ago) @ slowhands

Philip Joce had a house at Clearwell in 1324 (fn. 56) but John Greyndour had a house in Newland village in 1414, (fn. 57) and the owners of the estate may not have been consistently resident at Clearwell until the time of Robert Greyndour, the first to be styled of Clearwell rather than of Newland. (fn. 58) In 1443 Robert's house at Clearwell comprised hall, chapel, 12 chambers, buttery, pantry, and cellar, besides farm buildings. (fn. 59) It was presumably at the site of Clearwell Court, south-west of the village, which remained the principal residence of the owners of the estate until the early 19th century when the Wyndhams lived also at Adare and Dunraven. (fn. 60) Clearwell Court had 21 hearths in 1672, (fn. 61) and c. 1710 was a rambling structure, presenting a long multigabled front to the west. It was mainly of the 17th century but probably of several different builds within that period. (fn. 62) It was rebuilt by Thomas Wyndham c. 1728 from designs by Roger Morris (fn. 63) as a large mansion in castellated Gothick style. Initially it was of few rooms, with a two-storeyed centre recessed between short three-storeyed wings, all on a high basement. The windows of the principal floor have twocentred heads with simple Y tracery above mullions and transoms, those of the first floor having square heads within mullions and transoms and all having hood mouldings. At the outer angles there are diagonal buttresses, and the roof is hidden by an embattled parapet bearing the Wyndham crest. In the mid 18th century additions, including a long axiallyplaced library, were made at the rear of the house. It is not known how the interior was fitted: a number of surviving fireplaces in early 18th-century style have been attributed both to Morris and to the mid 19th century when the interior was altered for the countess of Dunraven by John Middleton. (fn. 64) North-east of the house, a stable range with a central carriageway and a screen wall and road gate are probably by Morris, but the east end of the stables appears to incorporate part of the 17th-century stables, and the lodges at each end of the screen wall are 19th-century additions. The terracing of the gardens is probably contemporary with the mid 19th-century refurbishment of the house. The house, which was usually called Clearwell Castle in the 20th century, was gutted by fire in 1929 and was repaired by Col. Vereker. After his death in 1947 it was left empty for some years, and fittings were removed and the fabric badly damaged by vandals. In 1952 the house was bought by Frank Yeates, (fn. 65) son of a former gardener on the estate, who spent many years restoring the house, the work being done by himself and members of his family. The Yeates family sold the house in the early 1980s, when it became a hotel. (fn. 66)

From: 'Newland', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St. Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean (1996), pp. 195-231. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=23260 Date accessed: 12 April 2010.

--
Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>