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Summary

Former location of demolished or ruined building known as Cope Hall, possibly with medieval origins but last known as a large 18th or 19th century house

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Registered Battlefield 1000026: Battle of Newbury 1643

Monument Type(s):

• MANOR HOUSE? (15th century to Mid 20th century - 1458 AD to 1960 AD?)
• COUNTRY HOUSE (Mid to Late 19th century to Mid 20th century - 1851 AD to 1960 AD?)
• REHABILITATION CENTRE? (First World War to Early 20th century - 1917 AD to 1919 AD)

Full Description

The building called Cope Hall is depicted on historic Ordnance Survey mapping up until the 5th epoch <1>, and Murray's Guide <2> describes it as a 'Victorianized house of earlier origin'. It was sited on high ground in Enborne parish, to the southwest of Newbury. On the First Edition OS map it is shown as an L shaped house at a junction on Skinnersgreen Lane. It has some smaller outbuildings and a garden with a fountain, probably pond, some formal paths and trees.

Some local research has examined post-medieval documentary sources, probably all in the Berkshire Record Office <3><4>. It has been conjectured that Cope Hall might be the site of the original manor house of East Enborne <11>. At one time it was owned by Sandleford Priory, and then St George's Chapel in Windsor before passing to the Craven Estate and then the Sutton Estate <11>.

Cope Hall was within the area of the First Battle of Newbury, being close to 'Round Hill' (MWB16534) where the Parliamentarians placed some guns. Money reports that 'Copped Hall' was mentioned in a terrier of lands held by the town of Newbury in the time of Elizabeth I <5>. A cluster of buildings is shown at the site of Cope Hall on Rocque's 1761 map <6> and Baker's 1775 map of the Manor of Enborne <7>.

The Victoria County History describes Cope Hall as 'unoccupied' in 1924 <8>, although trade directories list occupants from the 1930s to 1963. The house appears to have been demolished in the early 1960s.

Cope Hall was used to house the Women’s Training Colony in 1917 which was set up to alleviate social problems within the Home Front heightened by the First World War. The Colony was founded by a group of suffragettes and public health campaigners who had long campaigned against the double standards governing attitudes and legislation on prostitution, which penalised the woman but left their clients untouched. Dr Helen Wilson, Chairman of the Colony, believed that the First World War had raised the urgency of the problem of prostitution and social problems concerning women, with mass conscript armies making a bad situation worse. The colony recruited ‘women whose lack of character and training renders them ineligible for other institutions’ in order to train them ‘in a sense of responsibility and independence’ as well as ‘perseverance and self-control’, by isolating them and providing work. The WTC was short-lived, closing in 1919 <10><12>.

A feature visible on LiDAR imagery at the same location of the Hall may indicate the preservation of some material or foundations on site <13>.

An early 20th century image of Cope Hall from the road is captured in a postcard, probably by local photographer J W Righton <14>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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