Church Farmhouse, Caldicot Explained

Church Farmhouse
Type:House
Map Relief:yes
Coordinates:51.5958°N -2.7487°W
Location:Caldicot, Monmouthshire
Built:Medieval
Architecture:Vernacular
Governing Body:Privately owned
Designation1:Grade II* listed building
Designation1 Offname:Church Farmhouse
Designation1 Date:7 May 1973
Designation1 Number:2055
Designation2:Grade II listed building
Designation2 Offname:Barn at Church Farm
Designation2 Date:17 July 1980
Designation2 Number:2756

Church Farmhouse, Caldicot, Monmouthshire is a substantial grange building which was a working farmhouse before 1205. It is connected to both Llanthony Prima in Monmouthshire and Llanthony Secunda in Gloucester. It was established as a grange farm for Llanthony Secunda Priory in the 12th century with the lands in Caldicot being given to the monastery in 1137. It is a Grade II* listed building. The adjacent barn has its own Grade II listing.

History and description

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

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". 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".

The house, which is currently for sale, remains privately owned.[2] Its Cadw listing record describes Church Farmhouse as "an exceptionally rare and interesting monastic building". The adjacent barn, which dates from the 18th century, has its own Grade II listing.

Sources

. John Newman (architectural historian). The Buildings of Wales. Gwent/Monmouthshire. 2000. Penguin. London. 0-14-071053-1.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A Welsh medieval manor that once belonged to Henry VIII and has barely changed inside is on the market. Joanne. Ridout. 21 November 2019. Wales Online. 10 March 2020.
  2. Web site: Llanthony Secunda Manor. Rightmove. 6 June 2021.