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hendford house / manor hotel

26 Hendford

 

The Manor Hotel in Hendford, with its fine Georgian five-bay Ham stone elevation and recessed five-bay stable block, was built in 1776 and was originally the private house, known as Hendford House, of local glover John Daniell the Elder. The Daniell family came from East Coker and John later became a merchant banker setting up what became eventually known as Yeovil Old Bank.

His son, John Daniell the Younger, took over the business and the family home in 1797. On his death in 1819 his daughter Elizabeth Clarke Daniell inherited Hendford House. She married the Rev. Arthur Johnson of Rampisham, Dorset, in 1829.

In 1827 Hendford House was advertised, offering vacancy of the building on a fully-furnished rental basis. The benefits of the house included "stabling for five horses, a coach house, saddle house and every requisite building." Further, with the house was offered "a good pew in Yeovil church and a seat for the servants."

Rev Arthur Johnson sold the house to Henry Penny of Yeovil, gent, in 1833. In 1840 Penny, in turn, sold it to Frederick Greenham, Esq., - described as 'a gentleman' and a Town Commissioner.

Hendford House was allegedly (Hayward, 1987, p74) attacked by the mob during the famous 'Reform' Riot in Yeovil during October 1831. However there is no evidence to support this claim. Hayward states that the mob attacked John Greenham's Hendford House - even though John Greenham never lived there and his son, Frederick Greenham, didn't purchase it until 1840, nearly a decade after the riot and two years after his father's death.

What is rarely appreciated today is the extent of the grounds of Hendford House, known as Hendford Park. To discover today the extent of the estate you would need to start walking down West Hendford, from by the Three Choughs then proceed all the way to today's Horsey Lane, carry on down Horsey Lane, past the police station and almost to the Railway Hotel, then back up Hendford back to the Three Choughs - you would then have walked the perimeter of Hendford Park! See the map below.

Hendford Park was essentially comprised of three fields; Hendford House and its garden (Parcel 334), Higher Park (Parcel 335) and Lower Park (Parcel 336). The 1846 Tithe Apportionment recorded that all three parcels were owned and occupied by Frederick Greenham. The Apportionment recorded that the house and garden measured 2a 0r 0p, Higher Park was used as pasture for grazing livestock and measured 1a 0r 26p and Lower Park, also used as pasture, measured 4a 2r 0p - the total acreage of the park being 7a 2r 0p (for details on historic land measurement (ie acres, roods and perches) click here).

Following the death of Frederick Greenham in 1877 and his widow Mary Ann in 1888, Hendford House was sold in 1889 to Yeovil solicitor James Bernard Paynter of Hendford Manor (the sale documents are shown below) for £4,100 (around £400,000 at today's value). Paynter offered the house to the Corporation "provided it was used for public purposes and bought at once" which, apparently, the Corporation declined.

Hendford House was for a time owned by Dr Alridge Russell but by 1898 it was owned by sisters Caroline and Henrietta Hinuber. Just over ten years later it was taken over by Edwin Brewser as a boarding house.

It didn't become a licensed hotel until 1927. In the Yeovil Guide of 1962 the Manor Hotel and the Mermaid Hotel were the most expensive hotels in Yeovil with Bed and Breakfast from 25/- per night (about £48 at today's value). For comparison the Three Choughs Hotel was 22/6 per night, the Pen Mill Hotel was 16/-, the Elephant & Castle Hotel was 15/6 and the Globe & Crown was cheapest at 14/6 (about £13.50 at today's value). By 1970 the prices were still the most expensive at the Manor Hotel with Bed & Breakfast from 45/- to 55/- per night (£50 to £63 at today's value), lunch at 14/6 (about £19) and dinner at 16/6 (about £22). Again, for comparison, Bed & Breakfast at the Three Choughs Hotel was 42/- per night with breakfast only at 9/6 and tea from 3/6, the Preston Hotel was from 32/6 per night with lunch at 12/6 and dinner from 14/6, the Butchers Arms was 25/- for a single and 45/- for a double room per night and the Elephant & Castle Hotel was cheapest at 21/6 (about £29) per night.

It is now owned by Greene King of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

 

maps & Aerial photograph

 

E Watts' map of 1806 shows John Daniell's extensive grounds, known as Hendford Park, extending from his house, Hendford House (today's Manor Hotel) at top right and extending the length of today's West Hendford (marked here incorrectly as Salt-house Lane - it was actually called Horsey's Lane but Watts got the names confused on the map) all the way down to today's Horsey Lane at extreme left.

 

This section of Bidder's map of Yeovil of 1843 shows the extent of Hendford Park - the grounds of Hendford House - that extended south from the house itself (seen at top right) all the way to today's Horsey Lane all but filling the space between today's West Hendford, seen running from top right to lower left, and Hendford, running down the right hand side of the map. At the bottom, in the land marked as 'Mr R Tucker' was Hendford Lodge, the lodge to Hendford House.

 

This aerial photograph looks southwest and was taken in 1935. It shows the full extent of what had been Hendford Park. At bottom left is Hendford House / Manor Hotel with Hendford running along the left side of the photograph to the large clump of trees which is today the site of the police station. West Hendford runs from centre bottom to top right and today's Horsey Lane runs across from top right to top left.

 

gallery

 

This photograph dates to about 1880 - nearly 50 years before Hendford House became the Manor Hotel - but indicates how little had been built at that date. The photograph, by local photographer Adam Gosney, was taken from roughly where Maltravers House stands today. At lower left, behind the trees, is the Hendford Manor coach house and the roof of Hendford House, the Manor Hotel as was to be, is just right of centre.

 


From my collection

Probably the first advertisement placed by the newly-opened Manor Hotel in a Yeovil Guide of the late 1920s.

 


Courtesy of Betty Barber (née Bird)

The Manor Hotel, probably photographed in the late 1920s or early 1930s.

 


This photograph features in my book 'Yeovil From Old Photographs'

The Manor Hotel as seen in a postcard from the 1930s.

 

.... and seen from the air in this photograph of 1953.

 

Photographed in 1960 by Charrington & Co Ltd's surveyors as part of a 'stocktaking' exercise of photographing Brutton's pubs prior to the brewery takeover.

 


From the Cave Collection (colourised), Courtesy of South Somerset Heritage Collection

And little changed in this photograph from the 1960s.

 

The Manor Hotel's advertisement in the 1970 Yeovil Guide.

 

Now simply called The Manor in 2012.

 


This photograph features in my book "Yeovil In 50 Buildings"

The Manor Hotel, the former Hendford House, photographed in 2017.

 


This photograph features in my book "Yeovil In 50 Buildings"

The former stable block is now accommodation. Photographed in 2017.

 


This photograph features in my book "Yeovil In 50 Buildings"

The  conservatory is a relatively new addition. Photographed in 2017. 

 

The 1889 sale documents of Hendford House when James Bernard Paynter of Hendford Manor purchased the property and its grounds.

 

owners / licensees

 

1936 – Licensee not named (1936 Yeovil Directory)
            listed as Manor Hotel
1938 – AJ Croft (1938 Yeovil Directory) listed as
            Manor Hotel. AJ Croft was at this time also
            running the Mermaid Hotel in High Street.
1939 – Licensee not named (Kelly’s 1939 Directory)
            listed as Manor Hotel (fully licensed)
1940's - Miss R Penson-Harris - Proprietor (advert
            opposite)
1947 – Licensee not named (1947 Yeovil Directory)
            listed as Manor Hotel
1949 – Licensee not named (Kelly’s 1949 Directory)
            listed as Manor Hotel
1951 – Licensee not named (1951 Yeovil Directory)
            listed as Manor Hotel
1957 – Licensee not named (1957 Yeovil Directory)
            listed as Manor Hotel
1960 – Licensee not named (1960 Yeovil Directory)
            listed as Manor Hotel
1965 – Licensee not named (1965 Yeovil Directory)
                                                                                  listed as Manor Hotel
1968 – Licensee not named (Kelly’s 1968 Directory) listed as Manor Hotel
1969 – Licensee not named (Kelly’s 1969 Directory) listed as Manor Hotel
1970 – Crest Hotels Ltd (Kelly’s 1970 Directory) listed as Manor Hotel (The)
1971 – Crest Hotels Ltd (Kelly’s 1971 Directory) listed as Manor Hotel (The)
1972 – Crest Hotels Ltd (Kelly’s 1972 Directory) listed as Manor Hotel (The)
1973 – Crest Hotels Ltd (Kelly’s 1973 Directory) listed as Manor Hotel (The)
1974 – Crest Hotels Ltd (1974 Yeovil Directory) listed as Manor Hotel (The)
1987 – Licensee not named (Denton’s 1987 Directory) listed as Manor Crest Hotel