Church Farmhouse, Caldicot

Church Farmhouse, Caldicot, Monmouthshire is a substantial farmhouse dating from the late Middle Ages. Tradition suggests that it was established as a grange farm for Llanthony Secunda Priory in the 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building. The adjacent barn has its own Grade II listing.

Church Farmhouse
"exceptionally rare and interesting"
TypeHouse
LocationCaldicot, Monmouthshire
Coordinates51.5958°N 2.7487°W / 51.5958; -2.7487
BuiltMedieval
Architectural style(s)Vernacular
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name: Church Farmhouse
Designated7 May 1973
Reference no.2055
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name: Barn at Church Farm
Designated17 July 1980
Reference no.2756
Location of Church Farmhouse in Monmouthshire

History and description

The establishment of Church Farmhouse is traditionally suggested to have come about as a grange estate to Llanthony Secunda Priory in Gloucestershire.[1] The architectural historian John Newman, writing in his Gwent/Monmouthshire Pevsner, notes that the priory acquired land in Caldicot in the 12th century.[lower-alpha 1][3] The subsequent, extensive, rebuilding, in particular, a major expansion around 1600, has created a "rather confusing" building history.[1] Cadw suggests that, if it was a monastic grange, it would have been dissolved in either 1536 or 1539.[1] A second tradition regarding the house is that it came into the personal possession of Henry VIII at this time.[4] The house was extended around 1600, when Cadw indicates it may have become a rectory. Aside from a small Victorian extension, refoofing of the tower in the 1940s, and the removal of cement render from the walls in the 1970s, the house remains largely unaltered,[1] although Newman notes that the farmhouse's setting has been "drastically compromised by late 20th century housing".[5]

The house is constructed of local limestone and is to an L-plan, of three storeys to the east range and four to the south. The south-west range contains a set of medieval rooms, which Newman describes as "on an oddly miniature scale".[3] Cadw suggests that these were "monastic dormitories (each) with its own secure closet and garderobe" and notes "it is very remarkable that such an arrangement should have survived so completely".[1]

The house, which is currently for sale,[6] remains privately owned. Its Cadw listing record describes Church Farmhouse as "an exceptionally rare and interesting monastic building".[1] The adjacent barn, which dates from the 18th century, has its own Grade II listing.[7]

Notes
  1. John Newman's entry for Church Farm, in his Gwent/Monmouthshire Pevsner, appears under the title Llanthony Secunda Manor, a name which he notes is a "modern adoption".[2]
gollark: They're highly transitive and borrow-checked.
gollark: You know, for purposes.
gollark: We have transitive metaapioformic ideatic manipulation arrays to prevent this.
gollark: Actually, no.
gollark: I'll just send them to low Jovian orbit.

References
  1. Cadw. "Church Farmhouse  (Grade II*) (2055)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  2. Newman 2000, p. 160.
  3. Newman 2000, pp. 160–161.
  4. Ridout, Joanne (21 November 2019). "A Welsh medieval manor that once belonged to Henry VIII and has barely changed inside is on the market". Wales Online. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  5. Newman 2000, p. 161.
  6. "Llanthony Secunda Manor" (PDF). Rightmove. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  7. Cadw. "Barn at Church Farm  (Grade II) (2756)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 10 March 2020.

Sources
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