Stonehouse

History

Stonehouse appears in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book of 1086 under its Old English name “Stanhus” – so called, it is believed, because the manor house was built of stone rather than the usual wattle and daub. William de Ow, a cousin of William the Conqueror, owned the manor lands which included a vineyard, and two mills. The name may have evolved from Stanhus to Stonehouse : stān > stone + hūs > house, as an effect of the Great Vowel Shift at the end of the Middle Ages. The original manor house was completely rebuilt in 1601. In 1906, Stonehouse Court was bought by Arthur Winterbotham who completely refurbished it to a design by architect Edwin Lutyens. Mr Winterbotham died in 1936, leaving his widow Caroline living there until her death in 1974, when the house was sold and, after a period as business offices, eventually became an hotel in 1983 as Stonehouse Court Hotel. It is located next to St Cyr's Church near the Stroudwater Canal. Stonehouse Court is a listed grade 2 building. Some of the town's oldest trees are in the grounds of Stonehouse Court. Oldend Hall was occupied by the Beard family from 1661 to the late 18th century. The house was two-storied and largely stone-faced, its entrance front facing north. The half-H plan consists of a central block and two flanking wings extending southwards. The. west wing is structurally timber-framed and dates from the earlier 17th century. The only exposed framing was along the upper story of the west wall; elsewhere the wing has been stone-faced at various periods. The central block has been more drastically altered, but also formed part of the original timber-framed house; the presence of several re-used smoke-blackened timbers in the roof suggests that it may have contained a medieval open hall before it was…