Witham Friary

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History

Bibliographic Sources

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Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Witham Friary
Location: Witham Friary
County: Somerset
Location Type: Countryside - at determined location

Overview

Located on the site of a Carthusian monastery on the River Frome near the present Witham Hall Farm.

Little is known of the Hoptons' residence and nothing remains of the grander 18th c. house that replaced it.

Performance History

A probable performance venue. No relevant Hopton household records survive but entertainers under Sir Ralph Hopton's patronage appeared elsewhere in the SW in the 16th c. It is likely that they also performed at home for their patron.

Current Status

Long demolished.

History of the Venue

ca. 1179 Carthusian priory founded at Witham.

1539 Dissolution and surrender of the priory to the Crown.

1544 Manor of Witham granted to Sir Ralph Hopton.

154x Friary buildings converted into a residence by Hopton.

late 16th c. Estate acquired by John Wyndham via marriage with Catherine, sister and coheir of Ralph, Baron Hopton of Stratton, Cornwall.

early 18th c. House rebuilt by Sir William Wyndham according to the fashionable Palladian design of the architect William Talman.

1762 William Beckford, Lord Mayor of London, purchased the estate and began to build a new house on a nearby site.

1789 Gradual demolition of the Wyndham house begun by the heir, William Beckford.

Record Source

REED Bristol 69

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Hopton, Ralph 1510-1571 Knight

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Collinson, John. The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset. 1st ed. [1791], 1st ed. Index [1898], 1st ed. Supplement [1939]. Gloucester: Sutton, 1983.
  • Edgar, F.T.R. Sir Ralph Hopton: The King's Man in the West (1642–1652). Oxford: Clarendon P, 1968.
  • Hoare, Richard Colt (comp). Monastic Remains of the Religious Houses of Witham, Bruton, and Slavordale, Com. Somerset. Frome: Crockers, 1824.
  • McGarvie, Michael. Witham Friary. Church Histories No 1. Frome: Frome Society for Local Study, 1981.
  • Page, William, and R.W. Dunning, eds. The Victoria History of the County of Somerset. Victoria History of the Counties of England. 4 vols. London; Oxford: Constable [vols 1–2]; Oxford UP [vols 3–8], 1906–12 [vols 1–2]; 1974–2004 [vols 3–8].
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus. North Somerset and Bristol. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1973.