Pickwick Manor

Details

CORSHAM PICKWICK ST 86 70 (south side) 4/314 Pickwick Manor 20.12.60 GV II*

House, C14 to C15 origins, mostly rebuilt c1664 for W. Wastfield Sr with additions 1711 for W. Wastfield Jr, restored and altered 1920 by Sir H. Brakspear for himself. Rubble stone with stone tiled roofs and C19 plain tiles to front roof slope, moulded copings to end gables of main range, west end and two rear wall stacks. Two and a half storeys. Main front c1664, has 4 coped gables, 2-light attic windows with hoodmoulds, 7 first floor mullion-and-transom 2- light windows, dripcourse over ground floor with 2 original mullion-and-transom windows to right, door and three C18 twelve- pane sashes to left in bead-moulded flush surrounds. Moulded plinth. Six-panel door in large early C18 bolection-moulded frame with panelled piers each side under scrolled brackets to large shell hood. East end wall has 2 dripcourses, similar attic window, 2 similar first floor windows, one blank and ground floor 12-pane sash with timber lintel to right over blocked opening. West end has lower wing, possibly part of C15 house, raised and altered 1920. North-west wing, enclosing forecourt, is possibly C14 to C15 domestic range, the north end converted to barn in C17. South end is 2-storey with north end stack on ridge. East side first floor 2-light ovolo-moulded window and heavy chamfered 2-light medieval window much restored. Ground floor door and medieval 4-light timber mullion window, chamfered mullions. Barn beyond has similar 4-light window, mullions chamfered with broach stops at half length, and 2 blocked openings, all with timber lintels. Heavy cornerstones at north end, upper 2-light ovolo-moulded window with hoodmould. West side of barn has dormer gable and 3 doors. Heavy floor beams with run-out stops to chamfers. Three and a half bay tie-beam-and-collar roof. Rear of 2-storey section has small moulded pointed single light. South front of main range has central stair tower with 2 early C18 bolection-moulded windows over 1920 two-bay flat porch. Original rear door in moulded architrave with 2-light window to right within. To left is projecting wing of 1711, 3-window, two and a half storeys with off-centre gable and parapet. Three-window range of 18-pane sashes in bolection-moulded surrounds with moulded string courses over each floor and one 12- pane similar attic window. Sashes are all of 1920. To right of stair tower, large projecting wing remodelled and raised 1920 original 3-light mullion window to ground floor west, matching windows elsewhere 1920 or reused. Interior: Tudor-arched fireplace in entrance hall, full-height stair with closed string, carved balusters and square newels. Moulded flush square-headed fireplace in subdivided room west of hall. Fine fielded panelled rooms to ground and first floor of 1711 section. Bolection-moulded fireplaces. North-east upstairs room also has bolection-moulded fireplace, Tudor-arched fireplace to upstairs north-west room. Upper room in west wing has stone fireplace with jambs curving out as for stone hood, probably late medieval, but with flat lintel and carved shelf, possibly C17. North-east ground floor room has late C18 style decoration and fireplace. House belonged to Keynes family c1560, was bought by W. Wastfield 1639 and by R. Neale 1774. (H. Brakspear, Corsham, n.d. 25-6 (reprint Wilts.Arch.Mag.43 511- 39).

Listing NGR: ST8626170527

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

315342

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Brakspear, H, Corsham, (), 25-26
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine in Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, Vol. 43, (1869), 511-539

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.