From social climbers and sugar magnates to livestock, Barrington Court has certainly had a wide range of inhabitants...
Here are a few of the key people to have called Barrington Court 'home'
Henry Daubeney
© NTPL / Neil Campbell-Sharp
Determined to make his mark on society, Henry Daubeney was a social climber. Prone to making ostentatious gestures in order to get himself noticed, in 1538 his ambition was realised and he was appointed Earl of Bridgwater. It is thought that this was the catalyst for beginning construction on Barrington Court - for a man of such standing ought to have an appropriate home.
Sadly, his ambition bankrupted him, and he fell from favour in the royal court. By the time of his death, his sister had to foot the bill for his burial, as his estate was destitute.
The Cliftons and the Strodes
© NTPL / Andreas von Einsiedel
Following the demise of the Earl of Bridgwater, wealthy London merchant William Clifton bought the estate. Three generations of the Clifton family lived in the house, before it was sold on to William Strode in 1625.
Two lasting relics of the Strode family still exist today. The first, a decorative overmantle, created to celebrate the marriage of William to local heiress Joan Barnard, bearing the family heraldry. The second is unmissable - in 1674 William's son, William Strode II, built the huge stable block, which still stands in the grounds.
Life after the Strodes
© NTPL / John Hammond
From the time when the Strode family left Barrington Court, until its acquisition by the National Trust at the beginning of the 20th century, there are no records of the residents of the house. At the turn of the 20th century it was no better than a barn. The house soon became a huge financial drain to the National Trust, and yet again its future looked uncertain. Luckily, in 1920, Coln Arthur Lyle took over the lease on the property, undertaking the massive task of refurbishing the interior of the derelict Court house, and creating the lavish surrounding estate.
The Lyle Legacy
© National Trust / Helen Appleyard
Inside the house, floors, walls and ceilings were reinstated so that the rooms could then be lined by Lyle’s large collection of wooden panels, many with unusual decorative features. East Wing first floor was altered to accommodate a large wooden staircase and a sprung floor was installed in the Great Hall.
The stable block was re-designed to form a quadrangle with an internal courtyard and fountains. The whole building was converted into living accommodation and joined to the main house via an enclosed passageway.
© National Trust / Helen Appleyard
At around the same time the walled gardens, kitchen garden, squash court, kennels, garages and estate cottages and houses were created in the simple Arts and Crafts style architecture popular at the time. Garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll, assisted with the plans for the planting in the new floral walled gardens, and new avenues produced a sense of unity between the Court House and the 1920s buildings.
© National Trust / Helen Appleyard
The designs truly complemented the existing Tudor architecture meaning the modern viewer can be deceived into thinking the grounds have always been laid out in this way. In fact most of Barrington Court as you see it today is a product of the time, effort and money that the Lyle family put into it after 1920.
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