Summary
Gate piers and lateral piers of the late C18 or early C19 associated with Shapwick Manor.
Reasons for Designation
The gate piers and lateral piers opposite the entrance drive to Shapwick Manor which date from the late C18 or early C19 are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
History
The village of Shapwick formerly belonged to Glastonbury Abbey, and the rectoral income from the parish church was assigned to the abbey’s almoner. The almoner's estate was one of two estates in Shapwick and following the Dissolution it was leased by John Berkeley. In the early C17 it was conveyed to William Bull, a wealthy linen merchant, who is said to have been responsible for the construction of the present house, although the building does appear to have earlier origins. At the end of that century it came into the possession of the Strangways family who, over the centuries, enlarged and altered the house. They owned the property until 1944 when it was sold to Lord Vestey. By 1923 the house was known as Down House, but was later renamed Shapwick Manor. A school was established there in the 1970s and it closed in 2020.
Details
Gate piers and lateral piers of the late C18 or early C19 associated with Shapwick Manor.
Sources
Websites https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol8/pp160-179
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
End of official list entry
