The History of Court House Farm

A brief story about the site from local historian Sandy

Where do we start….its believed that there was a community here pre doomsday, with important wells on the site drawing people together, lay lines and water running through the ground add thought provoking ‘mystique’ according to some…..there was almost certainly a monastic community very early on and the Grade 1 listed 12th century church St Peters next door was obviously built to serve a growing population. ( it celebrates its 700 year anniversay this year!)

Possibly the 1st Lord who built an ealier Manor was William Le Brett, who was mentioned in the Domesday book as being Lord of the Manor of Portishead in Norman times. of course there are many strories about the old place, theories about the hidden tunnel which either runs from Court House farm to the 12th Century Saint Peter's Church next door, or to a well known hostelry in the high street. (Ssshhh! We can confirm that the tunnel really does exist, although sadly it is currently filled in).

There is still much else to uncover (and, yes, one day we'll dig out the tunnel), but what we do know is that the land Court House Farm and its neighbour Springfield Farm (now one) sit on is, according to experts, a classic medieval site. The small Manor House dates from this period and was probably very much larger originally as its early timber elements are now long gone. The bigger attached Tower House once a Court House, dates from the Tudor period and its Hexagonal Tower is a later ‘flamboyant' addition in the 1800s which it is believed Edward Morgan, a wealthy merchant, built so as to keep an eye on his ships as they sailed the channel. Some still regard it as a perfect lookout...

The Full article

COURT HOUSE FARM also known as COURT FARM, PORTISHEAD

Court House Farm stands in the very centre of the ancient village of Portishead next to the medieval St. Peter’s Church and accordingly has been at the heart of the local community for many centuries. Court House Farm is Grade Two* listed, so is of great historical importance as only 5.5% of nationally listed buildings fall into this category. The farm buildings are Grade Two listed and consist of a 2-storey barn to the east of Court House Farm, a cart shed and stockyard at the east end of the barn, an attached pigsty, detached foldyard and cowshed near the pigsty. The oldest part of the building is on the east side. A survey conducted on behalf of the Somerset Vernacular Building Research Group in 2006 found that the east section to be almost certainly of 15 th century origin and the west section would seem to date from the early 17 th century. The extensive report with plans and drawings is available at the Somerset Heritage Centre in Taunton.
Court House Farm is one of three manor houses in Portishead, the other two are Capenor Court (sadly demolished in the 1960s) and The Grange, at the southern end of the High Street. The Grange is believed to have been a small status manor house for the settlement of North Weston and is the only other Grade Two* listed building in Portishead. A manor was an ancient division of a parish or village under the Norman system of land holdings.
The first documentary evidence of what was happening in Portishead a thousand years ago is outlined in the Domesday Book of 1086. To set the scene at that time, ‘Porteshe’ belonged to the Bishop of Coutances: ‘William holds Porteshe of the Bishop. Aluric (the Saxon lord of Portishead) held in King Edward’s time as equivalent to eight hides. There is land for eight ploughs or teams. In demesne are two carucates (about 240 acres of plough land) with one servant and nine villeins, and four bordors (cottagers), with five ploughs. The underwood is 12 furlongs long and 3 furlongs broad. It was in King Edward’s time, and is now, worth seventy shillings per annum’.

According to the records of the Court of the Exchequer, William Le Bret became the first named owner of Court House Farm in 1200. He built himself a manor house on or near the site of the present Court House Farm. There were, no doubt, earlier rough wooden structures on the present site but nothing remains of them. William Le Bret’s estate consisted of “six hides and a half of land and a mill and the advowson of the church and the capital messuage (the chief house or manor house) of Portesheved”.

In 1300, the manor house, “the advowson and a shrunken estate of 4 hides and the third part of two mills” was sold for 20 pounds by Ralph de Stoke and Agnes his wife (probably a Le Bret heiress) to William de la Salle (or Halles) of Bradford, Wiltshire. They therefore became the owners of the largest manor in Portishead. They leased their land to rent paying tenants such as Gervase le French, the Bristol merchant. Edward Morgan acquired the manor from the Halles during the reign of Elizabeth I. It stretched from Woodhill, next to the pill (or inlet from the River Severn) to the church. It then passed through the hands of various people such as Sir John Wolshe, John Arthur of Clopton, Roger Abingdon, Thomas Chappell and Hugh Patch. It is commonly thought that Edward Morgan built the west side of the building. He possibly built the hexagonal tower to view his vessels waiting in. Woodhill Bay and King Road for a suitable tide to take them into Bristol. The tower was probably added a little later in the 17 th century because brick quoins were used and the fact that there is a mismatch and some in-filling where the tower meets the west gable. The stairs in the tower are in a poor state at lower levels and the timbered upper section has gone completely. Except for his manor house, Edward Morgan let out his property to leasehold or copyhold tenants such as John Kympe, a mariner, who rented a cottage for 14s. per annum. Henry Morris leased the grist mill and mill house with a watercourse and stream known as Portishead Myll at a rent of 40 shillings, twice yearly. Thomas Chappell of Portishead died before 1640, leaving a widow, Grace. The National Archive holds a document called a ‘sentence’ which records a dispute between two of Thomas’ children, Richard and Ann. It is not definite that this is the Thomas associated with the tenancy of Court House Farm. Thomas Chappell is first recorded in the Rental Book of 1619 as a tenant of a “Great Mansion” tenement. At the same time, the Mayor and Common Council of Bristol decided to approach a Mr. Winter and Mr. Morgan with the view to purchasing more property in Portishead.
From 1608, the City had made a number of purchases of property in Portishead, including buying the Manor from John Hall of Bradford in Wiltshire in 1616, but this had not included the manor house. Mr. William Morgan was paid £500, in two instalments of £250 between 1619 and 1620, for Chappell’s farm at Portishead. This would indicate that the Chappells were already tenants while the property was under the ownership of William Morgan.

The first recorded Court Baron was held at Portishead in 1616 but there is no record of where it was held. However at the Court of 1617, Mr. Parsons was paid for horse meat. It may be that this court was held at the mansion house which had recently been bought from Mr. Winter, along with 52 acres, as this had been in the tenancy of the Parson family, Edmond Parsons being the tenant in 1617. Eve Wigan, in her book suggests that this is the present day Grange at the southern end of the High Street and originally the manor house of North Weston.
In 1624 Bristol Corporation decided to revive the Manor Court which it did in great style. The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors processed behind the sword-bearer to the Court.
After the Court of 1621 a payment was made to Mistress Chappell for the use of her home. So it would seem that the Court from then on was held in the City’s Great Mansion House at Portishead. It has not been possible as yet to ascertain how long this property was in the ownership of the Morgan family and when it was split from the rest of the manor. Documentary evidence shows that Portishead manor formed part of the marriage settlement for two generations of the Hall family in 1567 and 1592. Details of what property was held within the Manor are not recorded.

The Manor is also mentioned in the marriage settlement of William Morgan and Elizabeth Somerset, the daughter of the Earl of Worcester in 1611. William was the son of Edward Morgan of LLantarnam and Penross. Edward’s father, also a William, bought the LLantarnam estate in 1561. He was MP for Monmouth from 1555 to 1571 and died in 1582. Edward, his only son was MP for Monmouth in 1586. In 1574, Edward married Elizabeth Smyth, the daughter of Hugh Smyth of Long Ashton. The marriage settlement included three Somerset Manors, Broomfield, Mark and Durleigh. When Edward and Elizabeth’s son, William, married Elizabeth Somerset these three Manors, from Hugh Smyth, were included in their settlement. The settlement also included the Manors of Burnham, Bishop Lydeard and Portishead. Further investigation is needed to determine whether the Manor of Portishead, sold by William Morgan to Bristol City in 1619 belonged to the Morgan family or the Earl of Worcester at the time of the marriage settlement in 1611. This may give possible clues as to who definitely constructed the Court House and tower. Also further study is needed to determine when the mansion house was split from the rest of the manor and who owned the property prior to the marriage settlement of 1611.

A search through the earliest Minute Books and Audit Books of Bristol City Council show no evidence of any work carried out on the property. The fact that the Rental Books describe the house as a “Great Mansion” with tenement would suggest that the property was already built at the time it was purchased by the City Council. It is difficult to define all the tenants of Court House Farm since Bristol Corporation bought it in 1616. However, one of the most important tenants seems to have been George Chappell who lived at Court House Farm with his wife Katherine. George had inherited the farm and lands from his widowed mother, Mistress Grace Chappell.

In 1664 the couple built the fireplace in the first floor parlour of the older part of the building to commemorate an important event in their lives. On one side of the fireplace in a heart shape lozenge (or a shield shape) are their initials “GC” with “K” underneath and on the other side there is the date “1664”. It may have been commissioned to celebrate a particularly special wedding anniversary but there are no records of their marriage ceremony to support this theory. However, in 1647/48 Bristol City Council employed George Brice to conduct a survey of all their Manors. His survey of Portishead included the ages of the tenants. George is entered as 28 years and Katherine as 25, which would give George’s birth in c.1619 and Katherine in c.1622. This means that the couple would have been about 20 and 17 respectively when they married. Perhaps, therefore, the fireplace was built to celebrate the fact that they had been married for 25 years. On the other hand, George had been loyal to Charles II who was restored to the throne in 1660 so possibly the year

signified a personal gift from the monarch, with possibly even a knighthood. We can only guess!

Rector John Shipton during his tenure at Portishead wrote an account in the parish register of an

altercation at Battery Point during the 17 th century Civil War at which George Chappell together

with other Portishead gentlemen was almost certainly present. It reads as follows:-

“An account of the taking of Portishead Point in Somersetshire in August 1645 copied from

Parliamentary records at that time:

September 1 st – There come letters from Sir Thomas Fairfax his quarters which verify that 200

clubmen having put themselves under the command of His Excellency who set officers over them

with some of his own men and sent them to take Portishead Point, a garrison of the enemy some six

miles from Bristol, which is a strong garrison and stops the passage at King Road, a place to be kept

against great strength of such consequence that it is worth there lying down ever since their being

before Bristol and when the enemy heard that a party was coming to besiege them they were much

perplexed; divers of them left the garrison and went home, and when they came before it they sent

from the fort for a parley which was granted and Wednesday 27 th August 1645 it was agreed:-

1. That within 48 hours they should deliver up the Garrison and Fort of Portishead to Sir

Thomas Fairfax for the use and service of Parliament.

2. That they should all take oath never to take up arms against the Parliament hereafter but

every man go home to his own dwelling and there remain

3. That they should all have quarter for their lives

4. That they shall leave the fort, with all the ordnance, arms and ammunition, to Sir Thomas

Fairfax, undemolished or hurt.

All of which was accordingly performed on Thursday, the 28 th August, and we took the fort, 6 pieces

of ordnance, 200 arms, all their powder, one pullet, match, ammunition, bag and baggage; and His

Excellency hath put into it 400 men, well-armed to keep it for the parliament, with 8 pieces of

ordnance more, and so hath made Bristol an inland town; and the ship that was coming with

munitions to relieve Bristol is by this means kept back, and some of our ships are putting out

towards her, to do what they can for the taking of her”.

To support the theory that George Chappell was involved in the altercation at Battery Point, in the

Calendar of Committee for Advancing Money 1645–1660, it is stated that George Chappell of

Portishead was in arms for two years, 1643 and 1644, at the garrison on Battery Point and assisted

the King’s forces.

The 1647/48 survey showed George renting a tenement and approximately 100 acres. Thomas

Chappell’s name appeared next to the Capital Mansion House and appurtenances. Lack of

documentary evidence and gaps in the Parish Records make it impossible to verify the relationship

between Thomas and George.

George Chappell is mentioned in the rental book of 1652 as the tenant of a mansion house. By 1657

he was Bailiff of Portishead taking over from the late Thomas Parsons. In 1659 George took over

the tenancy of a ‘tenement’ that had been in the tenure of William Ellis. It appears as ‘Chappell’s

tenement’ in the 1660 rental book and was let to Edmund Hobbs. 1

The manor court was certainly held at Court House Farm with George and Katherine entertaining

the Mayor and surveyors from Bristol. In 1662 they were reimbursed £8 13s 10d to cover the cost

of entertaining the party.

George was buried on 24 th June 1682 (aged about 63) and Katherine on 10 th October 1700 (aged

about 78). The couple were childless and so Katherine left a bequest of “Pancake” money to

Portishead people. It was paid out every Shrove Tuesday to the poor people of Portishead who

went to church but did not receive any monetary help from the parish.

The survey of Portishead undertaken by Bristol City council in 1706 lists all property and lands

under their ownership. This shows the Reverend Dr. Read as the tenant of the Capital messuage,

two cottages and approximately 120 acres. Contained in the same volume is an account of the

Court Baron of 1704/05 and this gives us some insight into the former use of the property. The

opening paragraph states that the Court was held:-

‘In ye hall of part of ye house which was formerly used as an Inne and called the Tower House

but now rebuilt and demised to Reverend Dr. Read.’

Unfortunately this does not give any indication of when or for how long the property was used as an

Inn. In 1700/01 Dr. Read took over the tenancy from the late Widow Chappell.

Local historian Henry Carr writing in the early part of the 20 th century states that “from the year

1700 manorial courts at Portishead had become an annual function with Bristol Corporation. On

these occasions the Mayor and Aldermen conducted the proceedings. Before leaving Bristol they

took the wise precaution of sending on in advance a supply of claret and sack, with sometimes half-

a-gross of tobacco pipes for their entertainment. They travelled by road, made a stop at Failand Inn

for refreshment and did the same on the return journey. On arriving at Rownham at the close of

the day and just before leaving for their respective homes, the City Fathers had one more

opportunity of refreshing themselves which seems to have been availed of to the fullest extent.

Such were the good old times, good no doubt they were considered by those who could enjoy their

visits to Portishead in this manner”.

In 1790, the local historian the Reverend John Collinson, does not mention Court House Farm at all

but in 1829 John Rutter observes “that it stands on one side of the churchyard and has a curious

hexagonal tower at the north west corner. The hall is used as a cider cellar and has an antique

chimney piece of carved oak. Staircase also oak."

The Quaker family of Wedmore lived at Court Farm from the mid-1800s. John and Samuel had a

tea and grocery business just across the High Street which was almost certainly Portishead’s first

shop. Albert Wedmore kept a grocer’s shop in the High Street and another member of the

Wedmore family built a house at the top of Cabstand. The Wedmore family’s connection with

Portishead ceased in the early 1900s – until this time they had been fairly substantial land owners in

the village.

The Wedmore family farmed at Court House for many years as can be seen from the Census

Returns listed at the end of this article. Thomas Wedmore was a scholar at the Quaker School in

Sidcot in 1851 together with his brother Samuel and sister Mary. James Tanner, who lived at The

Grange and Emily Bennett who lived at The White Lion (formerly the tidal mill) were also

Portishead children who were scholars at Sidcot School at the same time. Thomas Wedmore was

admitted to the York Retreat, a lunatic asylum, as a private patient on the 3 rd March 1880 and died

there on 3 rd March 1886 aged 48. Presumably that is also the place of his burial.

Apparently, some of the Wedmores emigrated to Arkansas and Texas as there were letters in the

Western Daily Press in the late 1930s from a descendant asking for information on Court House

Farm and the Wedmore family. Miss Jessie Wedmore in 1939 wrote that her uncles, John and

Arthur went as young men in the late 1880s to Texas when the population there was tiny. All her

brothers, sisters, father and grandfather were born at Court House Farm. This was verified at the

time by Mrs. G Furtado who said that her uncle, Abe Stokes also went off to Texas with the

Wedmore brothers. There are a lot of Wedmore graves in the Friends’ Meeting House grounds in St.

Mary’s Road. Cecil Wedmore appears to have been the last local Wedmore as he is the only one in

the 1901 census. He was described as a gentleman “of peculiar charm and culture”. He studied

music in Paris and published an interesting novel entitled “Martha of Mendip”.

After the time of the Wedmore family, Philip Perkins and family farmed at Court House followed by

Frederick Till. The family of Copp became tenants from 1906 until the 1920s. In the 1911 census,

it is stated that the family originally came from Devon. Frederick was aged 59, his wife Priscilla

Amelia was 46. They had been married for nineteen years and had three children, one of whom had

died. Henry, their son, was aged 19 and worked on the family farm. Marion, a daughter, was a part-

time student, aged 15. The farm was recorded as having eleven rooms.

The farm had grazing rights in many parts of Portishead. In January 1903, Mr.Copp gave Portishead

Urban District Council 21 days’ notice to remove a certain pipe alleged to carry rain water from the

Nore Road into a meadow causing damage to the grass and polluting a pool of spring water in its

centre. The Council replied saying that storm water had run in that direction for over 20 years and

pointed out that his cows went on footpaths without attendance! Mrs Copp was still using the old

“calling cards” which she left if the people she was visiting were not in.

When Henry Carr, at the invitation of Mr & Mrs Copp during the early 1900s, looked round the

building, he found it to be in a good state of preservation, except for the tower stairs which even

then were in a state of decay. He said that there was a local rumour that the building had been

known as The Monastery but he felt that at no time did the manor house appear to have been in the

possession of a religious order especially as monasteries were being dissolved during the time it was

being built. He thought that the Manor House was the most important house, after Capenor Court,

in the parish because of its antiquity and state of preservation.

The local newspaper recorded a serious accident that happened to one of Mr. Copp’s workers. In

1902, Charles Ross was in charge of a horse and cart laden with hay. He was riding on the shaft but

slipped and fell to the ground under the wheels. He was taken to his lodgings but died shortly

afterwards.

Later in 1902, Mr. Copp was advertising for a trustworthy person to drive and deliver milk. In May

1903, he was again advertising for a man to work on his dairy farm to help with milking and was

offering a cottage and garden as accommodation. Mr. Copp was obviously a versatile man as in

1909 he manipulated the lantern for the Religious Tract Society as they listened to a lecture on

China. Frederick Copp retired in May 1919 and the contents of his farm and farmyard were sold off

which included animals and household furniture.

Mr & Mrs Heppinstall were the next occupants but were not farmers. They kept donkeys and there

was an orchard on the site where the present front garden is today. Mr. C. Carey is mentioned in a

local newspaper of August 1924 as the next occupant of Court House Farm – he is selling pigs.

Mr & Mrs Samuel and Amy Gale with their family of eight children moved into Court House Farm

in 1930/31 after it had stood empty for eighteen months. At that time the house was covered in ivy

and many trees grew in the farmyard. It was rumoured or even known to be haunted! The Gale

family had previously lived in Church Farm, a little further up Church Road South but this was

condemned in 1930 and demolished because it was thought to be too unhealthy to live in.

Accordingly, the Gale family were offered the tenancy of Court House Farm.

In the 1939 Register, Samuel and Amy Gale were still living at Court House Farm together with

three of their children, Gertrude, who worked as a dressmaker, Alice, noted as being an unpaid

domestic, and Herbert, who worked on the farm. Mr Edward and Mrs Mary Deslandes were also

living there. Mr Deslandes worked as a marine engineer. Two other residents were also listed:

William S Jones, a chemist at the oil refinery (probably the Shell Mex company on Portishead

Docks) and Ruby C F Clark, a travelling school teacher. Five of the records are closed to the

public.

During the 1920s the Reverend H S Briggs, who was a curate at St. Peter’s Church, extracted from

the parish registers details of the births, marriages and burials of Portishead’s oldest families and

presented each family with a copy. He found that the Gale family was almost certainly the second

oldest family still living in Portishead with the marriage of Joanna in 1570. The oldest family is the

Ashford family. Apparently the Gale Chronicle, as it was referred to, was lost so the Rector,

Reverend W Coombes gave permission for the registers to be examined again and another copy

made. The majority of the Gales still living here are descended from Benjamin Gale, one time coal

merchant of this parish. He lived at The Wilderness 2 on Newlands Hill with his wife and nine

children at the beginning of the 20 th century.

Miss Gertie Gale described her childhood as extremely happy at Court House Farm. At that time,

the farm consisted of 300 acres of land. This consisted of land on the golf course overlooking the

estuary and more acreage as far up as the old Portishead Radio Station on Down Road. Miss Gale

helped her father farm during the 2 nd World War when she drove a tractor. All the farm land was

gradually sold off by Bristol Corporation until just 50 acres remained at Clapton where horses, sheep

and cattle grazed. This land was probably sold off in about 2010. Miss Gale also mentioned that

Court House Farm was the central collection point in the district for teasel gathering which were

used for raising the nap and removing knots and unevenness from wool. Apparently, nothing has

been invented that can compete with the teasel in its usefulness in sorting out problems with wool!

The bundles were gathered up before being taken to cloth producing areas.

Because of its antiquity, Court House Farm has had countless articles written about it and attracted

attention from worthy societies. In the Somerset Archaeological Society’s Proceedings Vol X, Page

13, it is stated that the earliest part of Court Farm was built during Henry VIII’s reign with the tower

added in Elizabethan times

Nikolas Pevsner in his iconic series of ‘The Buildings of England – North Somerset and Bristol’’

which were first published in 1968 by Penguin Books, referred to Court House Farm as The Court.

He recorded that there was a “tall polygonal tower at the SW angle of the house, stone with red

brick angles. The windows are of two lights with segmental arches, i.e. later c16. The same type of

window in the part of the house remaining to the right of the tower. Two such three-light windows

with a broad chimney breast between them”.

When I visited Court House Farm with my husband at the invitation of Gertie Gale in 2008, there

were two very long rooms along the front of the house, both with fire places and chimney stacks.

Behind these rooms was a long corridor for access purposes. In all probability this was built as a

single large room or hall with a high ceiling set on 8 large wooden beams. At the end of the west

2 The house was demolished at some point and council bungalows built on the site.

end of the hall, the floor is raised by about six inches above the rest of the floor giving rise to the

thought that the hall could have been used as a court room, hence the name of the building. The

Lord of the Manor would have been seated at the higher level and looked down on any defendants

who were called before him.

At the time of our visit, the first room had a very old chimney place and two pairs of mullioned

windows. The next room was the dining room that had an ante room with a dais where the high

table would have been used by the master and his family. The servants and some visitors would have

sat on the table below if the building was early enough to have been built as a hall house. In the

Middle Ages the largest room in both great and small houses was the open hall, which served as a

communal dining room and also fulfilled many other purposes. In smaller houses during the later

Middle Ages the hall was chambered over and a parlour and service rooms provided either side to

form a characteristic three unit plan.

On the first floor there is a small apartment that may have been used as a private chapel because

there is a recess in the wall. It would seem that the recess may have been intended for the reception

of the sacred vessels used in the services with the Holy Table being placed close to it. In this room

is the underside of a staircase going up to the attic which has “Edward Score 1751” inscribed on it.

Presumably he was the carpenter who had worked on the staircase. The antique mantelpiece of

carved oak mentioned by John Rutter has disappeared

Going up the main staircase there is a squint on the right hand side, which according to Miss Gale

was used by the owners of Court House Farm to keep an eye on the servants in the east end of the

house which is the oldest part of the building. The original hall or kitchen is stone-flagged which

once had an immense chimney now converted into a bay-window.

The outside stairway at the south east corner which apparently led to the parlour above was

demolished at some point. The parlour is now reached by a winding turret stair from the hall. The

parlour once had an arched roof.

The tower, or as it was sometimes called, a belvedere turret, was possibly added on after the west

side of the manor house was built. Its internal walls are covered in graffiti from previous visitors to

the farm especially around the time of World War Two.

Apparently there were two farms on this special site. Besides Court House Farm and its garden,

there is the barn, farm yard and farm buildings known as Springfield Farm. It was farmed by Mr

Greville Bridgman whose farmhouse was Court Lodge in the High Street opposite. When he died,

Miss Gertie Gale’s brother Herbert took on the whole of the two tenancies. The two farms are now

one entity called Court House Farm.

Miss Gertie Gale was Bristol Corporation’s last tenant at Court House Farm after 400 hundred years

of ownership by the city’s authority. When she died in late 2008 no other family member of the

Gale family wished to continue the tenancy. Many local people had strong connections with the

farm and became concerned about its future. A group was therefore formed with the idea of at least

protecting the ancient site and at the best acquiring it for community use. Many people felt that it

could become a community farm.

English Heritage indicated to Bristol Corporation that the site should be sold as one lot because of

its importance and that it should be advertised in an appropriate manner and not auctioned.

However, in May 2010, the property came up for auction in Portman Square, London, which upset

many interested people as it meant they couldn’t attend.

Lot 1 was advertised as “Springfield Farm” with a “Freehold Barn and Farm Building Complex

with Development Potential Available – The main stone barn is arranged over ground and first

floors with internal dimensions of 75 ft. long and 18 ft. wide with a height to eaves on the first floor

of 12 ft. Other farm buildings included a cart shed, pigsty, stock shed and stables”.

Lot 2 was advertised as “A Whole or in 2 Lots, Freehold Tudor House and Garden Available” and

was described as “Church Farm” 3 , the earliest parts of which may be medieval, to which a Court

House was added in the early 1600s, together with several later additions, including a hexagonal

watch tower.... The front of the house overlooks a stone walled formal garden with additional land,

stables and cow sheds at the rear, with vehicle access off Church Road South through a gated drive”.

Although support from the local community was strong it was not enough to save Court House

Farm for the people of Portishead. It was however, sold as one lot to The Spitalfields Heritage

Trust who put up a sign saying it would become a family home. An archaeologist was employed to

give a considered opinion on its long and varied history. It remained empty for 5 years.

The current custodians, Helen and Michael, have worked hard restoring Court Farm, its out-

buildings and gardens and have given this beautiful Grade 2* listed ancient building a new lease of

life.

One can only imagine Court Farm’s past life with all its dramas and quiet times carrying on century

after century. As far as is possible, all the researched facts have now been written down but as ever

with very old buildings, there is always the possibility of some of the past inhabitants’ lives just

touching ours. As Charlotte Bronte wrote in Jane Eyre:-

‘Besides this earth, and besides the race of men, there is an invisible world and a kingdom of

spirits; that world is round us, for it is everywhere’.

The present owners have always felt comfortable at Court Farm but one of the nieces of Gertie Gale

felt there was a presence in the house. Perhaps this is connected to the fact that some of

Portishead’s 19 th century residents referred to Court Farm as The Monastery, but research has not

found any connection at all to a religious order as already mentioned. However an historian who

visited Court House Farm from London a few years ago thought that because of the different floor

levels and the fact that there were notches cut out of the underside of one of the beams above the

raised floor level, that this could have housed a rood screen which seems to support the theory that

this was an ecclesiastical building. Rood screens were largely destroyed at the time of the

Reformation. Of course this theory does not tie in with the fact that the west side of the building

was erected in the early part of the 17 th century, after the Reformation.

Another theory based on the different floor levels is that the Lord of the Manor sat at the high table

on the dais with his guests and family and the servants and retainers sat in the lower part of the hall.

3 Church Farm had stood in Church Road South until its demolition by Bristol Corporation in c.1930.

The Gale family has a family legend that their elderly aunts would come to spend their last days at

Court House Farm and always took the room on the first floor nearest the church. Strangely, the

temperature there invariably feels cold. This is the same room that some people believe was used

for prayer and worship and has the words “Edward Score 1751” carved into a riser of the staircase

as previously mentioned.

A stream – or the Commissioners’ Brook, to give its correct name – passes through The Cottage’s 4

garden on the other side of the Church path before disappearing underground. This was diverted

some centuries ago from its natural flow at the bottom of Stoney Steep 5 to the main rhyne which

supplied the White Lion when it worked as a tidal mill. Therefore the area surrounding the parish

church does not appear to have been served by a natural water course. However, there are two

known wells in the gardens of Court Farm with quite possibly a third somewhere. Old photos show

a pond situated in the south-east corner near the High Street that has since disappeared.

A local dowser recently visited the house and was quite certain that there was another water source

nearby and consequently found an old well that would have served Springfield Farm which shared

the site. He said that when the first Christians built their churches they would cap over wells that

had previously been worshipped by pre-Christians. He also dated the timber in the medieval part of

the house as c.1350.

A heritage planning consultant who has visited Court Farm has identified the small sash window,

pictured here, as early as c.1600. It was an early import from Holland. He also thought that the

shape of the roof timbers in the main room on the ground floor are pre.1500.

Two ladies who had played at Court Farm as children called at the house one day to ask if the tunnel

had been found! When the central heating was being put in on the ground floor, it was noticed that

the area under the floorboards was particularly hard and had a lime mortar finish. Apparently the

girls would lift a trapdoor and go down and play on the tunnel steps in the 1950s/1960s. Relatives

of past occupants told of being able to go some way along a passage way only to find that the roof

had caved it and the passage blocked. It was possible to see the stone side pillars and lintel at one

time. The tunnel can also be seen under a covering trapdoor in the garden near the gate that leads

to the church. One part of the tunnel heads towards the church and the other goes north! Eve

Wigan writes about smuggling in the Gordano region so it is possible that these tunnels were used

for secreting stolen goods. On the other hand, if the house was used as an inn at one time, then it

may have been the storage area for barrels of ale!

The following poem was written in a classical manner in 1858 by Owen Blayney Cole 6 :-

THE MANOR HOUSE

In the warm smile of the familiar sun,

Basks the expropriated hall; yon tower,

Hexagonal and slim, the Elfin bower

Might be intended, but no elves appear,

Not even a Nun remains; albeit the hour

4 The Cottage stands on the other side of Church Road South but owns the garden across the road.

5 Stoney Steep lies between West Hill and Avon Way.

6 Owen Blayney Cole’s life history is told in Posset Pieces No. 13

Of their anticipation is not gone,

With Spring returning, lo! On the parterre,

In crescent cut and diagram and square,

Grows many an hereditary flower

Mid the wild-briars. First of a Brotherhood

Who officinal rites administer

Hard by, a man unto Pomona 7 dear,

The village Nessor, here, until subdued

By fate, the cup at Candlemas renewed.

NB. There is an explanatory note about the Manor House at the end of the volume that says “Commonly

called the Tower Farm, is said to be the ancient Rectory, and has even been dignified with the name of

Monastery. May it not have been a Nunnery?”

The occupants of Court House Farm from 1841 until 1911 are as follows:-

1841 Census

Samuel Vowles aged 50 – Farmer, born in this county

Elizabeth Vowles aged 60 – born in this county

Henry Bullock aged 18 – Man servant – born in this county

Ellen Stokes aged 20 – female servant – born in this county

Joseph and Sarah Wedmore, the next tenants, are listed as farmers in the 1841 census somewhere in

the North Weston area.

1851 Census

Joseph Wedmore aged 47, farmer of 191 acres with 7 labourers, 5 men and 2 boys, born Portishead

Sarah Wedmore aged 40, wife, born Wraxall

Joseph Wedmore aged 14, son

John Wedmore aged 8, son, scholar at home

Albert Wedmore aged 7, son, scholar at home

Arthur Wedmore aged 3

Sarah Wedmore, daughter aged 11 months

Hannah Ware, aged 18, servant

Eliz. Croker, aged 19, servant

George Thomas, aged 20, servant

Joseph Thomas, aged 20, servant

(Thomas Wedmore aged 13 at Sidcot School)

1861 Census

Thomas Wedmore – unmarried head aged 23 born Portishead – farmer’s assistant to J & S

Wedmore owning 269 acres employing 7 men and 2 boys

Mary Wedmore – sister aged 21 – unmarried – born Portishead

John Wedmore – brother – unmarried – aged 18 – farm assistant – born Portishead

Ann House – housekeeper – unmarried - aged 40 – born Nailsea

Eliza Price – visitor –aged 35 – Married – Seamstress – born Nailsea

Eliza Bright – aged 15 – House Servant – Born Nailsea

1871

Thomas Wedmore, Head, aged 33, born Portishead, farmer of 137 acres, 3 men 1 boy

7 Goddess of fruitful abundance

Eliza Wedmore, wife aged 28, born in Failand

Ellen Wedmore, daughter aged 4 scholar, born Portishead

Emily Wedmore, daughter aged 2, born Portishead

Cornelia Wedmore aged 1, born Portishead

Mary A Short, visitor aged 23, dressmaker, born Bristol

Martha Avery, dairy woman and domestic servant aged 43, born Blagdon

Selina Sheddick, aged 13, nursemaid and domestic servant, born Nailsea

Annie Palmer, aged 9, visitor

1881 Census

Joseph Wedmore – Head – Married aged 47 – Farmer of 191 acres employing 7 labourers (5 out and

2 in) – born Portishead

Sarah Wedmore – Wife – Married – aged 40

Joseph J Wedmore – Son – aged 14 – Learning a general business – born Portishead

John Wedmore – Son aged 8 – Scholar at home – born Portishead

Albert Wedmore – Son aged 7 – Scholar at home – born Portishead

Arthur Wedmore – Son aged 3 – born Somerset

Sarah Wedmore aged 11 months – born Portishead

Hannah Ware aged 18 – servant at home – born Tickenham

Eliza Croker aged 19 – servant at home – born Portishead

Jane Offer aged 12 – servant at home – born Portishead

George Thomas aged 23 – servant, labourer on the farm born at Winterbourne

Joseph Pimm aged 20 – servant, labourer on the farm born at Stony Stoke

1891 Census

Philip Perkins aged 27 – Farmer born at Walton in Gordano

Julia Perkins, Sister, aged 26 – Farmer’s daughter, born at Walton in Gordano

Beatrice Avery – Niece, aged 8 – Scholar – born at Churchill

1901 Census

Frederick Till, single, aged 38, farmer and coal seller, born Moorend, Glos.

Sarah Till, mother, aged 82, born Coaley, Glos.

Virtue Knight, aged 20, general servant, born Wellow, Somerset

1911 Census

Frederick Copp, aged 59, married, born in Langtree, Devon, farmer

Priscilla Amelia Copp, wife, aged 46, married 19 years, three children, one died, born Monkleigh,

Devon

Henry Copp, aged 19, working on farm, born in Salcombe, Devon

Marion Copp, aged 15, part time student, born Salcombe, Devon