History of Barrington Court

Expert curated

Strode House, built in 1674, seen from the Lily Garden at Barrington Court, Somerset | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

There has been a house on the site of Barrington Court, on the edge of the Somerset Levels, since the time of the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century. The first house to be acquired by the National Trust, its 16th century appearance was shaped and adapted by three owners in particular, who each used their wealth from commerce to establish themselves as country squires.

Early history

Barrington Court is surrounded by evidence of pre-historic occupation, a result of the fertile nature of the land and its strategic position between major settlements. The Fosse Way, a Roman road linking Exeter and Lincoln, is less than 3 miles away.

For at least 300 years, the manor belonged to the Daubeney family. Sir Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (1451–1508), supported Henry Tudor’s claim to the English throne during the Wars of the Roses and was amply rewarded. His son, Henry,1st Earl of Bridgewater (1493–1548), was a courtier whose extravagance led to the sale of the Barrington estate in the 1540s.

In 1552, Barrington was purchased by William Clifton (c. 1510–64), the first owner to have made his fortune from trade. He was a cloth merchant with business interests as far away as Russia. He also speculated in London property.

Gothic and Renaissance influences

The present-day Barrington Court House was most probably built for William Clifton. Parts of the older manor house are still buried within its walls and there is archaeological evidence of related structures, including a moat, in the grounds.

It was completed in c. 1559, the first year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. With its twisted chimneys and finials rising above a series of ham stone gables, Barrington Court is essentially a Gothic mansion. However, the symmetry of its south front suggests the emerging influence of the Italian Renaissance, and it has an E-shaped plan, which is normally associated with houses of the later 16th century.

Close-up detail of wood carving of a church — Wood carving on second floor at Barrington Court, Somerset | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

Swaggering stables

In the 1620s, the house and some of the land was sold to William Strode (1589–1666), whose family had also made its money in the cloth trade. He was a member of Parliament and later, a colonel in the parliamentary army that fought against Charles I in the English Civil Wars.

The Strodes were the second of the merchant families to undertake a grand building project at Barrington Court. In 1656 William Strode, having made some alterations, gave it to his son, another William (c. 1625–95), who spent the large sum of £3,000 (approximately £560,000 in mid-2020s values) on improvements.

William Strode II built the substantial stable block next to the Court House. It would have been a swaggering statement at the time, ultra-modern in design and unusually large. The date of construction, 1674, can be seen in one of the rainwater heads and the owner’s initials, WS, are marked out in the brickwork.

In 1685, Strode daringly entertained the Duke of Monmouth and his troops at Barrington during the latter’s ill-fated rebellion against King James II. Many of the conspirators were condemned to death by Judge Jeffreys at the ‘Bloody Assizes’ (an assize being a regional court session) but Strode escaped by paying a hefty fine.

During the 18th and 19th centuries Barrington Court changed hands several times and became a tenanted farm. Its luxurious internal fixtures and fittings were removed and it partially fell into ruin.

Acquired by the National Trust

Barrington Court came to the attention of Canon Hardwick Rawnsley (1851–1920), one of the three founders of the National Trust. He wanted it protected from loss or over-restoration. A benefactor, Miss Julia Woodward, provided funds to buy it and in 1907, it became the first mansion property acquired by the Trust. However, the fledgling organisation could barely afford basic repairs and searched for a tenant willing to renovate the buildings.

Once again, it was a wealthy businessman who defined the next phase at Barrington Court. This time it was Colonel Abram Arthur Lyle (1880–1931) who, already a veteran of the Boer War (1899–1902), had been invalided out of the army during the First World War (1914–18).

A plan of the intended, although never completed, garden at Barrington Court, produced in January 1917 for Lieutenant Colonel A Arthur Lyle by the architects Forbes and Tate — A 1917 plan of the intended, although never completed garden at Barrington Court | © National Trust Images / John Hammond

The Lyle era

Colonel Lyle and his wife Elsie Ronalds Lyle (née Crowdy, 1882–1948), known as Ronnie, wanted somewhere to create a perfect country estate where he could install his fine collection of architectural woodwork and she could indulge her love of gardening.

With their architect, J.E. Forbes, they devised an ambitious project to restore the Court House, convert the derelict stable block into a luxury home and build a new complex of farm buildings and staff accommodation. In 1920, the lease was signed and, having been approved by the Trust, work began.

Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932), the celebrated horticulturist, was consulted about planting schemes for formal gardens and borders. The gardens and the new buildings were inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement, which celebrated history and vernacular crafts. Traditional materials were combined with modern technology and useful components from demolished structures were reused.

It is estimated that Colonel Lyle spent roughly £100,000 on the project, equivalent to about £6m today. The money came from the successful family sugar-refining business of Abram Lyle & Sons Ltd, famous for its flagship product, Lyle’s Golden Syrup.

Colonel Lyle was Sales Director of Lyle & Sons which, by 1920, had been importing raw cane sugar from plantations in the Caribbean for about 80 years. Its existence had coincided with a rapidly growing demand for sugar in Britain.

Lyle left the business in 1921, immediately before it merged with its main competitor to become Tate & Lyle. Lyle came to Barrington Court to live as a country gentleman, just as it would seem Clifton and Strode did before him.

Recent times

In due course, the lease passed to his son, Sir Ian (1907–78), who ran the property while pursuing a career at Tate & Lyle. He kept the estate going, maintaining the farm, adapting buildings, planting trees and hedges and creating a new entrance drive but, by the 1990s, it was no longer financially viable. Sir Ian’s son, Andrew (1945–2025), decided to surrender the lease and Barrington Court came back under the management of the National Trust.

Today the house is empty of contents but still contains Colonel Lyle’s impressive collection of historic panelling and fireplaces salvaged from derelict or demolished buildings in Britain and continental Europe.