In the Somerset countryside, Barrington Court raises its golden Ham-stone façade, bristling with curved gables and twisted chimneys. A Tudor manor of the mid-sixteenth century, it is among the most graceful houses of its generation in the South West.
A manor of the early Renaissance
Barrington Court was built around the middle of the sixteenth century, in the fine golden Ham stone that characterises the houses of Somerset. On an E- or H-plan, it illustrates the early English Renaissance taste for budding symmetry, large windows and carved decoration — curved Dutch gables, ornate chimneys, finials. The house still mingles medieval elements (the layout around a great hall) with new elements come from the Continent, in that transition which marks the middle of the century. It was lived in by various gentry families before knowing, over the centuries, mixed fortunes.
Saved and restored
Barrington knew the fate of many old houses: half-abandoned, turned into a farm, it nearly fell into ruin. It was one of the first great houses acquired by the National Trust, in the early twentieth century, and carefully restored. Fine compartmented walled gardens (inspired by the ideas of the landscape designer Gertrude Jekyll) were then added, extending the spirit of the Tudor manor. Barrington thus offers the image of an English Renaissance house as one liked to dream it: elegant, golden, surrounded by gardens — an ideal as much as a witness.
What to see
- The golden Ham-stone façade, with curved gables and twisted chimneys.
- The E/H-plan and the large windows of the Tudor manor.
- The compartmented walled gardens, of Jekyll inspiration.
- The rural setting of Somerset.
Did you know?
Barrington Court was, in 1907, one of the very first great houses bought by the National Trust — then a young organisation devoted to saving heritage. The acquisition was a risky gamble: the house, in a sorry state, cost dear to restore and nearly discouraged the institution from buying other houses. The gamble was nonetheless held, and Barrington opened the way to the saving of hundreds of Tudor and Elizabethan houses — without which many places in this atlas would today have vanished.
Practical information
Barrington Court lies near Ilminster, in Somerset, in the south-west of England. It is today a house in the care of the National Trust, open to the public with its gardens. Opening hours and days are liable to change; it is best to check them against the official sources before visiting.
Quiz
- In which golden stone is Barrington Court built?
- Ham stone
- White marble
- Red sandstone
- Which plan characterises the Tudor manor?
- An E- or H-plan
- A circular plan
- A cross plan
- Which institution saved Barrington in the early twentieth century?
- The National Trust
- English Heritage
- The Crown