Clowerwall Court (General)

by tonyjenkins , Thursday, May 05, 2011, 09:54 (4958 days ago) @ peteressex

Hi Peter/All

Thanks for the advice.

I have no doubt that the Wyndham Arms Hotel was once the manor house and probably served as the residence of the local lord until the Elizabethan manor (Clowerwall Court) was built.

I have spent many hours with the current owners of the Wyndham Arms and thank them for their help.

Custom indicates that when the local lord did not require his residence it was given to the local people as a type of viilage hall, this is probably when the manor house became the local hostelry

My family built a cottage attached to the side of the Wyndham Arms 1700 circa. The cottage and barn was still their home on the 1841 tithe survey.

My family were stone mason and moved up from Cowbridge/Llanblethian/Llantrisant, Glamorganshire when Francis Wyndham acquired the land and Clowerwall Court from the Baynham family.

Francis Wyndham was also a resident of Cowbridge.

I am still researching my Glamorganshire roots and believe the family were stone masons. The family continued in this line of business until the mid 1800's, although Wood Jenkins continued to run a quarry upto about 1920.

A memorial plaque, plus part of the pulpit in Llanblethian parish church is made from Forest of Dean sandstone being commissioned about 1826. The plaque is dedicated to benefactors of Llanblethian church amongst them is Sir Leoline Jenkins. During recent cleaning of the plaque it was discivered that the mason had missed the 'R' from the middle of the word labourer. The 'R' was inserted above, and between the U and E, at a later date.

I believe my family were involved in a number of sites in and around Clearwell including the reconstruction of Clearwell Court for Francis Wyndham between 1710 and 1725.

I also have a ancestor who married in the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul (Bath Abbey) in 1832. Between 1830 and 1835 Bath Abbey underwent some reconstruction. I believe my ancestor was involved in this reconstruction. This leads me to believe that the family were also involved in the construction of Clearwell church as dressing stone from quarries in the Bath area are used in the fabric of the building.

My interest in Clearwell Court is based on my family involvement in its development. I would be happy to hear from anyone who has information regarding their involvement in this and any other construction projects.

I hope I have not gone into too much detail, although my notes do indicate how important it is to understand what occupation our ancestors followed.

Kind Regards

Tony Jenkins