Clifton Maybank
Encyclopedia
Clifton Maybank is a hamlet in west Dorset
, England
. It is perhaps best known for Clifton Maybank House, a country house with surviving Tudor fabric.
as Clistone, held by William Malbank, a tenant of Hugh, Earl of Chester
in 1086, and it is from Malbank that the 'Maybank' suffix derives. Clifton Maybank is also mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
of 1001.
Writing in 1811, Samuel Lewis stated that the village had 60 inhabitants and that the church at Clifton Maybank had "been in ruins for a century". In 2001, the village had a population
of 63.
near Bridgwater in Somerset held properties in and around Clifton Maybank during the fifteenth century. When John Horsey (1479–1531) died, he was buried at Yetminster parish church, near Clifton Maybank. His son, Sir John Horsey
substantially increased the family's wealth and power. Little is known of the Horsey family house at Clifton Maybank at this time, but it is known that the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt
died while staying at the house in 1542. Sir John died four years later in 1546. Soon after this his oldest son, Sir John Horsey
, made Clifton Maybank his principal residence and began a major and expensive rebuilding process on the house, using the local Ham stone. It has been described as "one of the most spectacular of the group of contemporary houses in the district, which included Barrington
, Melbury
, and Montacute
." The Horsey family fortunes entered a period of slow decline, and in 1786 much of the house was dismantled and sold - one main front of the building being transferred to Montacute House and the early 17th century lodge was removed in 1800 to Hinton St George
.
After decline in the 18th century the buildings became a working farm, but were then restored in the late 19th - early 20th century. The house itself was reconditioned in 1906-7 with additions on the north and east sides. The present house is thought to have been the east wing of the original building, of which the main block extended to the west from the middle of the existing wing. The south front of the present house is original and was formerly of two storeys with attics (as was the front transferred to Montacute). The door in the modern porch incorporates some late 16th-century woodwork. The west front may have been redesigned after the 1786 demolitions, but the central gable has a reset oriel window with Tudor roses and horses' heads (for Horsey). An early 16th century detached building to the southeast has also been remodelled: it originally extended further northwards. No depiction of the original building is known. The house was the country home of the art historian Professor Michael Jaffé
.
There is archaeological evidence of the pre-1650 landscape in the grounds of Clifton Maybank House.
Clifton Maybank House is Grade I listed and the gardens are also of note, although they are not listed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is perhaps best known for Clifton Maybank House, a country house with surviving Tudor fabric.
Clifton Maybank settlement
Clifton Maybank is recorded in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Clistone, held by William Malbank, a tenant of Hugh, Earl of Chester
Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester
Hugh d'Avranches , also known as le Gros and Lupus was the first Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.-Early career:...
in 1086, and it is from Malbank that the 'Maybank' suffix derives. Clifton Maybank is also mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
of 1001.
Writing in 1811, Samuel Lewis stated that the village had 60 inhabitants and that the church at Clifton Maybank had "been in ruins for a century". In 2001, the village had a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 63.
Clifton Maybank House
The early history of Clifton Maybank (sometimes named Clifton Maubank or Clifton House) is obscure. The Horsey family of HorseyBawdrip
Bawdrip is a village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The village is on the south side of the Polden Hills about north-east of Bridgwater. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 498. The parish includes the hamlets of Bradney and Horsey...
near Bridgwater in Somerset held properties in and around Clifton Maybank during the fifteenth century. When John Horsey (1479–1531) died, he was buried at Yetminster parish church, near Clifton Maybank. His son, Sir John Horsey
John Horsey (died 1546)
Sir John Horsey was a knight of Henry VIII and Lord of the Manor of Clifton Maubank. He was also a friend of the poet Thomas Wyatt.He was born the son of Sir John Horsey and Elizabeth Turges...
substantially increased the family's wealth and power. Little is known of the Horsey family house at Clifton Maybank at this time, but it is known that the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt (poet)
Sir Thomas Wyatt was a 16th-century English lyrical poet credited with introducing the sonnet into English. He was born at Allington Castle, near Maidstone in Kent – though his family was originally from Yorkshire...
died while staying at the house in 1542. Sir John died four years later in 1546. Soon after this his oldest son, Sir John Horsey
John Horsey (died 1564)
Sir John Horsey JP was a knight of Henry VIII and Lord of the Manors of Clifton Maubank and South Perrott....
, made Clifton Maybank his principal residence and began a major and expensive rebuilding process on the house, using the local Ham stone. It has been described as "one of the most spectacular of the group of contemporary houses in the district, which included Barrington
Barrington Court
Barrington Court is a Tudor manor house begun c. 1538 and completed in the late 1550s, with a vernacular 17th-century stable court , situated in Barrington, near Ilminster, Somerset, England...
, Melbury
Melbury House
Melbury House in Melbury Sampford near Evershot, Dorset, has been the seat of the Strangways family of Dorset since the estate was sold in 1500 by William Bruning to Henry Strangways. The present house was rebuilt after 1546 by his son, Sir Giles Strangways , using ham stone from a quarry nine...
, and Montacute
Montacute House
Montacute House is a late Elizabethan country house situated in the South Somerset village of Montacute. This house is a textbook example of English architecture during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic to the Renaissance Classical; this has resulted in Montacute being regarded as...
." The Horsey family fortunes entered a period of slow decline, and in 1786 much of the house was dismantled and sold - one main front of the building being transferred to Montacute House and the early 17th century lodge was removed in 1800 to Hinton St George
Hinton St George
Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside of Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 404....
.
After decline in the 18th century the buildings became a working farm, but were then restored in the late 19th - early 20th century. The house itself was reconditioned in 1906-7 with additions on the north and east sides. The present house is thought to have been the east wing of the original building, of which the main block extended to the west from the middle of the existing wing. The south front of the present house is original and was formerly of two storeys with attics (as was the front transferred to Montacute). The door in the modern porch incorporates some late 16th-century woodwork. The west front may have been redesigned after the 1786 demolitions, but the central gable has a reset oriel window with Tudor roses and horses' heads (for Horsey). An early 16th century detached building to the southeast has also been remodelled: it originally extended further northwards. No depiction of the original building is known. The house was the country home of the art historian Professor Michael Jaffé
Michael Jaffé
Professor Michael Jaffé was a British art historian and curator. He was Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England for 17 years, from 1973 to 1990.-Life:...
.
There is archaeological evidence of the pre-1650 landscape in the grounds of Clifton Maybank House.
Clifton Maybank House is Grade I listed and the gardens are also of note, although they are not listed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.