Babington House is a Grade II*

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

, located in the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

of Babington, between

Radstock Radstock is a town and civil parish on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, about south-west of Bath and north-west of Frome. It is within the area of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. The Radsto ...

and

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

, in the county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Converted to a private members club and

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

by Nick Jones, it is currently owned by Soho House Ltd. Since 1999 it has hosted many celebrity weddings.

History

The village of Babington dates from

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Its name derives from the

Babington family Babington is the name of an Anglo-IrishBurke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1958, 4th Edition by L. G. Pine, Burke's Peerage: 'Babington of Creevagh', pg 42' and English gentry family. The Anglo-Irish branch of the family is still extant today. B ...

, who were once associated with the village,Copographica Genealogica, Vol VIII, John Bowyer Nichols and Son. BABINGTONIA. but it appears to have been for the most part demolished to make way for the house around 1705. The manor was sold by Thomas and Mary Mankham to Joan Elcode, a widow, according to a deed dated Easter 1572. The estate then contained 7

messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

s, one cottage, 10 tofts, 1

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

, 10 gardens, 14 orchards, 300 acres (121 hectares) of land, of meadow, of pasture, of wood and of

furze ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

and carried an annual rent of 4 shillings and of pepper. The estate passed through several hands until it was forfeited to the Crown in 1593. By the late 17th century, the manor belonged to Thomas Pacey who left it to his sister, Margaret. She was married to a

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

alderman, William Crabb, and subsequently passed the manor on to their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, wife of Henry Mompesson of Corston, Wiltshire (1633–1715) who was Sheriff of Somerset in 1698. The current house was built around 1705 for Henry Mompesson, probably on the foundations of an earlier building which would have been owned by the

. It has since been extensively altered and extended, including in 1790, possibly by John Pinch the elder, for Captain Charles Knatchbull, who had inherited it via Mrs Elizabeth Long, a niece of the Mompessons. Babington was inhabited by successive members of the Knatchbull family until the house and immediate grounds were sold following the death in 1951 of Mrs Knatchbull, the widow of Wyndham Knatchbull (1829–1900), a captain of the

3rd Dragoon Guards The 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1751 and the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) ...

. Mrs Knatchbull was better known under her maiden name as the pianist and composer

Dora Bright Dora Estella Knatchbull (née Bright; 16 August 1862 – 16 November 1951) was an English composer and pianist. She composed works for orchestra, keyboard and voice, and music for opera and ballet, including ballets for performance by the dance ...

. In April 1939,

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

broadcast a concert of her playing from Babington House. Adjacent to Babington House is the Grade I

Church of St Margaret, which is owned and operated by the St. Margaret's, Babington, Charitable Trust. The Grounds of Babington House are listed Grade II in the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

Hotel and private members club

In 1998, Nick Jones who had founded the Soho House club in

Soho, London Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

bought the property. He converted it to a hotel, club and wedding venue for the London members of the Soho House club, as well as for new Somerset members. The property is also part-owned by actor

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in '' Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' ...

. In that year, Jones was cautioned by police after eleven Polish illegal immigrants were found working at the hotel. Wedding ceremonies are performed in St Margaret's Church or in the

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very lar ...

. Weddings for non-members are allowed.

Notable weddings held at Babington House

St Margaret's parish church and Babington House - geograph

Fat Boy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

and

Zoë Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show '' Live & ...

, August 1999 * Nick Jones and

Kirsty Young Kirsty Jackson Young (born 23 November 1968) is a Scottish television and radio presenter. From 2006 to 2018 she was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's '' Desert Island Discs''. She presented ''Crimewatch'' on BBC One from 2008 to 2015. Ear ...

, 30 September 1999 * Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal and

Liz Jones Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Puli ...

, 2002 * John Thomson and Samantha Sharp (reception only), May 2005 *

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and Justin Bower, 21 August 2005 *

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and Richard Taggart, 30 March 2006 *

Angela Griffin Angela Mellissa Griffin (born 19 July 1976) is a British actress and television presenter who has been active on British television since the early 1990s. She is best known for portraying the roles of Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap opera '' ...

and Jason Milligan, 31 July 2006 *

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and wife Francesca, 2007 * Richard Bacon and Rebecca McFarlane (reception only), 17 January 2008 *

Danny Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey (born 7 February 1974) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for Supergrass. He briefly toured with Babyshambles in 2010, following their drummer's departure. Ca ...

and

Pearl Lowe Pearl Lowe (born Pearl Samantha Davis; 7 April 1970) is an English fashion and textiles designer, and former singer-songwriter. Career Music Lowe was the vocalist of mid-1990s indie bands Powder and Lodger, which she fronted after a brief ...

, 4 December 2008 *

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

and

Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...

, 10 December 2008 *

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and James Midgley, 3 June 2010 *

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and wife Elaine (reception only), 17 June 2010 *

Amanda Lamb Amanda Lamb (born 19 July 1972) is an English television presenter, property expert and former model who was notable for presenting '' A Place in the Sun'' from 2001 until 2009 and ''You Deserve This House''. Lamb has also had notable appearances ...

and Sean McGuinness, June 2012 *

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and

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, 21 June 2012 *

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and Julia Carey, 15 September 2012 *

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and

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, 2013 *

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and Dominic Tighe, 25 June 2013 *

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and

Millie Mackintosh ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...

, 10 September 2013 *

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and Ben Lunt, 4 September 2014 * Eddie Redmayne and Hannah Bagshawe, 15 December 2014 *

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and

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, September 2015 *

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and

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, 18 August 2016 *Chris Hayden and Mairead Nash, the former drummer and the manager of

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, 22 September 2016 *

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and Tara Ridgway, November 2018

Grounds

To the north of the House are lawns planted with 19th-century specimen

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

and

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

trees and ornamental shrubberies. From here there are views north and northeast across the park beyond the former northwest drive towards the grounds of

Ammerdown House, Kilmersdon Ammerdown House in Kilmersdon, Somerset, England, was built in 1788. It has been designated as Grade I listed building. It was built as a country house with stables and an adjacent formal garden within landscaped parkland in emparked landscape b ...

. Within the grounds a chain of five informal pools lies in a shallow valley about west of the House. The pools are surrounded by mixed specimen trees and shrubberies. A walk on the western side of the pools leads to a kitchen garden southwest of the House.

Architecture

The house of mainly

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...

has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. The 18th-century stable block and coach house have now been made into three separate dwellings. The grounds also contain a listed ice house and two sets of gates, which are Grade II listed.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Babington House
Babington House
Buildings and structures in Mendip District Gardens in Somerset Grade II listed buildings in Mendip District Grade II* listed buildings in Mendip District Hotels in Somerset Country houses in Somerset Grade II* listed hotels Grade II* listed houses in Somerset Grade II listed parks and gardens in Somerset Wedding chapels Country house hotels