More information : [ST 6770 8420] Acton Court (NR) (1)
Acton Court is mostly a Tudor building: it has a 15thc. chapel
window and a 16th c. gateway. (2)
Acton Court is a remarkably high two storeyed house, apparently
of 16th c. date, which has been little altered. It is of some
architectural interest, but in a state of decay, the greater
part being covered by ivy. Only about a third is still
occupied. The chapel was at the southern extremity, and its
fine pointed window incorporating three ring-foil headed lights
is at the eastern end, at ST 67718418. The gateway is at ST
67768417.
See AO/62/19/1 for photograph of S.W. angle and stairs
projection of house; AO/62/19/2 for dove-boxes constructed
within buttress at N.W. extremity of house; and AO/62/19/3 for
gateway and part of S.E. frontage. (3)
Acton Court (NR) (4)
The manor house Acton Court was formerly the seat of the Poyntz
family. The manor dates back to the 11th century when held by
the Acton family who are thought to have taken possession soon
after the Conquest. (5)
It came into possession of the Poyntz family c.1344 and remained in their hands until temp Charles II. The present building is
still inhabited and in use as a farmhouse, but in a state of
decay, and is of interest as an example of a large early 17th
century dwelling whose arrangements seem to have been a
compromise between the usual medieval and post-medieval
patterns.
The only relics of an earlier date are the fine mid 15th
century floor tiles found in the farmyard in 1974 and an
apparently re-set Perpendicular window in the SE corner of the
house. Apart from this there is nothing earlier than the late
16th or early 17th century in the fabric.
There are clear signs of a wing at the south, of the same width
as that surviving at the north; it is probable that the 17th
century house was built round three sides of a quadrangle. (6)
G.V. II*
Farmhouse, former gentry house. Late C16/early C17, probably
incorporating earlier work. Main block cross passage L-plan (probably remains of U-plan). Grade II*.
Gateway. Late C16. Freestone and rubble. A 4-centred arch with
triple mouldings and a keystone and further moulded flat arch
architrave has highly decorated spandrels with shields and
foliage; frieze above has 3 square moulded recessed panels,
cornice is surmounted by pediment with central coat of arms.
Adjoining flank walls with soldier course coping. (7)
Iron Acton Court. The Poyntz family were lords of the Manor from
1344-1680. Their house was probably rebuilt in the 16th century and
altered in the 17th century. The large courtyard to the east of the
house is entered by a 4-centred archway. The house itself consists of a rectangular block with a north-west wing, and a projecting
stair-turret. The house has not been restored and in 1966 was in a
poor state of repair. (8)
ST 675814. A Survey of Acton Court was carried out in 1985 by B
Williams and J Bryant of Bristol City Museum, with assistance from
RCHME and the Bristol Visual and Environmental Buildings Trust. It revealed that entry to the substantial, but dilapidated early-mid 16th century house had been from the south, through a crenellated outer court, probably over a wet moat. Wings to the north, south, east and ? west of an irregular inner court are largely of 16th century date, possibly the work of Sir Nicholas Poyntz. Earthworks to the north of the house are probably the remains of formal gardens of the same period, and contain traces of a large rectangular structure - possibly a barn. Re-modelling of the house, in the late 16th/early 17th century, provided a new entrance in the east wing. Nearby cart sheds and dovecotes are largely of 18th or 19th century date. (9-11)
ST 687843. Acton Court, Iron Action - a series of garden earthworks
and other remains to the north and west of the house were surveyed by
R Iles in 1985. (See Illustration Card for plan). The house was
built around a small rectangular courtyard and only the east range
survives. A large courtyard to the south may have been the original
entrance and could have had retainers, lodgings and stabling, or it
might be a large enclosed garden. In 1985 the Bristol Visual and
Environmental Trust found a very elaborate sun-dial, dated 1520, it is the earliest garden sun-dial in England.
To the south and south-west of Acton Court is a series of medieval
fish ponds. To the north the earliest earthworks are rig and furrow,
which is overlain by two sets of linear features. There is also a
rectangular area of earthworks which may be the site of some
buildings, and further east, slight platforms, possibly sites of
cottages.
The other features of note are a pond just to the west of the court
and a narrow canal-like feature further west. The pond has a large
embankment on its west side and may be the remains of a moat. The
earthworks are less clear now than on 1946 air photographs due to
dumping. (12)
(ST 68708430) In Autumn 1986, the Bath Archaeological Trust began a
three year programme of excavations, directed by Rob Bell, at Iron
Acton Court. The house, which had recently passed into the care of
English Heritage, is a major example of early Renaissance
architecture. During 1986 and 1987 the excavations exposed
foundations of the destroyed west end of the Tudor house, the remains
of an earlier building on a different alignment, a rock-cut moat
surrounding the house on at least three sides, and a gatehouse in the
south range. A major programme of restoration has begun on the
surviving east and north wings. (13-16)
See Illustration Card for map of scheduled area. (17)
Additional reference. (18)
The garden walls to the south and east were Listed separately at Grade II under UID 1413221 (east walls) and 1413110 (south walls). (24)
Remains of medieval garden and water management features are visible as earthworks on historic aerial photographs and were mapped as part of the Severn Vale NMP project. Located immediately north of Acton Court and centred at ST 67637 84337, small blocks of what appear to be ridge and furrow cultivation within the grounds immediately north of Acton Court may be medieval in origin and appear to have been cut through by a water management system, possibly related to the former moat that contained an earlier demolished manorial site. One cultivation ridge (at ST 67705 84294) immediately north of the court buildings may have been reused to create what appears to be two possible pillow mounds (for rabbit breeding). Early 19th century OS maps indicate that some of the ridge and furrow blocks in the manor grounds were used for orcharding in compartmented gardens. Other bank and ditch fragments mapped within the grounds of the Court may represent remains of the former moat. A subcircular fishpond about 28.7 metres in diameter is centred at ST 67717 84343.A linear ditch and accompanying earthwork bank appear to extend westwards from the boundary of the manor (at ST 67598 84347) WNW for about 178 metres to the bridge where the B4059 road crosses over the railway line (at ST 67428 84404). The Ladden Brook is about 168 metres west of this point, so it may have been that the ditch was connected to the brook as part of the water management system for either the earlier medieval moat, or to provide water for the later medieval rebuilt and expanded manor house. Further curvilinear drainage ditches aligned WNW-SE about 240 metres long were visible in the field west of Acton Court in aerial photographs taken in 1946, centred at ST 67496 84233. Aerial photographs taken in 2010 show those earthworks within the Court grounds remain extant, but those in the fields west of Acton Court have been substantially plough levelled and were barely visible as cropmarks. (25-30) |