Swainston Manor is an English country house, lying to the east of

Calbourne Calbourne is a village in the civil parish of Calbourne, Newtown and Porchfield, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is located 5 miles (8 km) from Newport in the west of the island. The village takes its name from the stream that passes thr ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

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 b ...

. It is now a hotel.

History

Swainston Manor was originally a

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 w ...

on a site dating back to 735 CE. Eight centuries ago, it became the location of a palace built by the

Bishops of Winchester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. It has a 12th-century chapel on its . Most of the present building was constructed in the 18th century, but an attached hall dates from the 13th century. Warwick the Kingmaker reportedly dined at Swainston Manor. It is a Grade II* listed building. Swainston is derived from its original name, "Sweyn's Town". It was founded by king Sweyn Forkbeard of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, whose son was

King Canute Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norw ...

. The parish of Calbourne was at one time dependent on Swainston Manor. The poet

Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

also visited Swainston a few times. It is claimed that he wrote "Maud" on its grounds. He also wrote "In the Garden at Swainston" after the death of his friend and Swainston's owner, Sir John Simeon. The house was severely damaged by incendiary bombs during World War II. The church on the site, however, was untouched. Swainstone was one of the locations for the King James School during the 1960s. Other locations for the school included Newport and Cowes.

In literature

Swainston features, as "Swaynestone", in

Maxwell Gray Mary Gleed Tuttiett (11 December 1846 – 21 September 1923), better known by the pen name Maxwell Gray, was an English novelist and poet best known for her 1886 novel ''The Silence of Dean Maitland''. Life Tuttiett was born and brought up in ...

's 1886 novel ''

The Silence of Dean Maitland ''The Silence of Dean Maitland'' is an 1886 novel by Maxwell Gray (the pen name of Mary Gleed Tuttiett). Set in a fictionalized Isle of Wight, particularly around Calbourne, it concerns an ambitious clergyman who accidentally kills the father ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{Alt text missing, England Country houses on the Isle of Wight Manor houses in England Grade II* listed buildings on the Isle of Wight