The ruins of a once grand and impressive manor house, built by Sir Nicholas Bacon in 1563-8, remain in the grounds of the contemporary Gorhambury House. All that remains of Old Gorhambury is its flamboyant portico and parts of the hall, chapel and clock tower.
The name ‘Gorham-bury’ derives from ‘Geoffrey de Gorham’ who built the first recorded place of residence in 1130 on the site. This unusually large manor house was passed through multiple hands during the next 250 years, finally falling into the hands of the Abbey of St. Albans for over 140 years. After the dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII granted the manor to Ralph Rowlett in 1541. Descending to his sons, the manor was then purchased by Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, 20 years later. He found the old de Gorham house outdated and so set about building a new place of residence. He sourced materials from the old Abbey buildings in St. Albans, which were in process of demolition, and from the previous house he was replacing. The new property, Gorhambury House, was completed in 1668 at a cost of £3,177 11s 9 ¼d. Sir Nicholas had piped water supplied to every room in the house using a system of donkey and windmill to exert the required pressure to draw water from a pond a mile away. However, when the pond ran dry this had to be abandoned for fear of an ‘infinite cost’.
This extravagance is mirrored in the interior of the house which was lavishly furnished. A fine panelled gallery projecting westwards housed a fireplace to the north which was coupled with painted windows to the south and west. The house contained three busts, made in 1568, of Sir Nicholas, his second wife Anne and his son Anthony. Also included were paintings of the family. To further the decadence, a shortened version of the family motto DIU.E.MO.DROIT was placed above the pediment of the elegant portico, complimented with the royal coat of arms. Beneath the pediment contained a plaque with the Roman capitals:
HAEC CUM PERFECIT NICOLAUS TECTA BACONUS,
ELIZABETH REGNI LUSTRA FUERE DUO.
FACTUS EQUES, MAGNI CUSTOS FUIT IPSA SIGILLI,
GLORIA SIT SOLI TOT TRIBUTA DEO.
This translates to the following:
‘When Nicholas Bacon brought these buildings to completion
Two lustrums (5 year period) of
Elizabeth’s reign had passed.
He had been knighted and made Keeper of the Great Seal,
May all glory be ascribed to God alone.’
The reference to Elizabeth I in the inscription can be ascribed to the many visits she made to the house, an occasion which could bankrupt even the wealthiest nobles. For example, one visit took place on 18th May – 21st May 1577 and cost £577 6s 7¼; about one third of the actual cost of building Bacon’s house. The majority of the money spent went on an extensive amount of food consumed over the four days. This included 34 lamb carcasses, 31 dozen chickens and 8 oxen. However, just two years after the visit, Sir Nicholas was dead.
This ushered in a new era of Gorhambury’s history as Nicholas’ ‘poor orphan’ son Francis inherited the estate in 1601 from his recently deceased brother Anthony. Sir Francis Bacon was a statesman, author and philosopher and an admirer of the Hertfordshire countryside. He spent a great deal of money on the house and gardens, employing painters and sculptors to realize his visions for the estate. He enjoyed walking amongst Gorhambury’s oak woods, ‘delicate groves’ and even built a temple of retreat to study the stars and conduct experiments. Even when falling heavily in debt after being fined £44,000 for corruption, Sir Francis refused to sell the house which is testament to his love of the estate. His inquisitive and scholarly mind led to his death in 1626, as whilst stuffing a chicken with snow to analyze preservation properties on flesh, he caught a chill and tragically died. This marked an end of the Bacon’s influence on the estate.
Having had no children, the property was passed to Sir Thomas Meautys, a secretary and friend of Bacon’s, who married Sir Nicholas Bacon’s grand-granddaughter, Anne Bacon. Upon Sir Thomas’ death in 1649 the house was passed to the recently married Sir Harbottle Grimston in 1660, second husband of Anne Bacon. The house was already 100 years old when it was passed to him and thus required some small repairs. These were carried out, along with extensive additions to the Chapel which is evidence of Sir Harbottle’s religious convictions. A new 20ft wall was commissioned, a new window added and a new white Purbeck and black marble floor laid. Much of the new wall was quarried from nearby Sopwell Nunnery which belonged to the Gorhambury estate. Sir Harbottle brought with him the splendid family antiquities collected over the years to Gorhambury. These included a portrait of his ancestor Edward Grimston which was painted in 1446 and is hanging in the National Gallery. He also brought a fine armorial pile carpet, woven in 1570 and believed to be the earliest hand woven pile carpet in existence. This can now be seen in the Great Hall at Gorhambury today.
After Sir Harbottle’s death in 1685, Gorhambury was inherited by Sir Harbottle’s only son, from his previous wife, Samuel. However he died childless in 1700 and so the house was passed to his great-nephew William Luckyn who, as result, became the first Viscount Grimston in 1719. The house fell into further hands over the next 55 years and into disrepair. The structure became unsound with damp and cold starting to seep through. It was clear that the house was no place to bring up a family and so the then owner James Grimston, 3rd Viscount Grimston had plans drawn up for the present Gorhambury house to be built. The building was started in 1777 and finished in 1784. Tudor Gorhambury was left for ruins and slowly declined to the state it is in today.
The site is very peaceful and the surrounding countryside fresh. The ruins themselves are in reasonable condition with fireplaces and original stone window surrounds still intact. The highlight however is the elegant portico which still impresses even to this day. One can see the 18th century Gorhambury house in the distance amongst the trees and greenery which surrounds it. The information at the site is adequate, however further signage would have been welcome to understand what remains fully. The ruins are accessible via a 2 mile path which can be assessed by foot at any time or by car 1 May to 30 Sep, on Thursday’s pm only. Please also bear in mind that the site is undergoing some renovation work and is not able to be visited until mid October 2008.
Sources:
The Grimstons of Gorhambury - Norah King - Published by Phillimore and Co. LTD 1983. ISBN 0 85033 474 8
Picture of the ruins in their entirety.
The extravagent portico.
Close up of the Julius Ceaser carving above the entrance of the portico.
Picture of 18th century Gorhambury.
Picture showing the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
Pictures taken 24th July 2008.
1 comments:
Très bon article, félicitations.
C. Deméautis
http://genealogie.demeautis.free.fr
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