Cothelstone Manor

After Oxford, I took the Great Western Railway line towards Bath and Bristol, and so passed on into Taunton, Somerset, where I taxied in to my family's old ancestral home, Cothelstone Manor. I stayed there two days, researching family documents and exploring the manor house, church, and estate. There was an aura of stability, quiet, and grandeur about the place which had all the inviting spirit of a fairy tale. My bedroom on the second floor, with its stone-framed windows was a childhood dream come true. As I was the only guest in the house, I took my breakfasts in the great dinning room and had the manor all to my self. The master and mistress of the house gave me the kindest welcome and opened the family records to me. The Manor has only been in the hands of two families since 1066; Stawell and Jeffries (the Reynolds family intermarried into the Stawell family). The manor house, built in the Tudor period, was shelled by cannon fire in the English Civil War but later restored in the nineteenth-century. Its distinctive red sand stone had a warm and inviting feel. My grandmother Reynolds discovered the place during here 15-year work on family genealogy, but never visited. I carried the memory of Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds back with me.

 North wing to the right (destroyed by Parliamentarian cannon fire and later restored) and the South wing to the left

 Looking out from the north wing to the hill-side from which Blake under order from Cromwell placed their cannon.

 South wing; my room was on second floor to the left.

 Stawell coat of arms

My first impressions...

 

 

 My bedroom window

 The railing over the entry hall.

 Over the entry hall

 Windows in the hall overlooking the church. I just loved going up and down the stairs.

 Unfortunately, Christmas decorations were out, so I didn't get the full historic experience, but oh well.

 The great hearth in the hall. The lady of the house kindled a fire for me.

My first experience in the great hall...

 Curled up before the fire with a book of family history...

 The moon through the great latticed windows. The stone is original to the Tudor period...

 The entry door into the hall