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Sydenham House (anciently Sidelham, Sidraham, etc.) is a seventeenth-century
.
According to the
accessed June 2018. Following the Norman Conquest, it was one of the 107 Devonshire landholdings of
Sydenham House (anciently Sidelham, Sidraham, etc.) is a seventeenth-century 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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
located in the parish of Marystow in Devon, England. The Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
building is situated about thirteen miles south-west of Okehampton
Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...
, on a estate. It was built by Sir Thomas Wise (d.1629) between 1600 and 1612, incorporating an older structure. It was partially destroyed by fire in 2012. The gardens are Grade II listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
{{R from move ...
{{R from move ...History
According to the Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, immediately before the Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
of 1066 the manor of ''SIDREHA~'' was held by the Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
magnate Brictric, a great landholder in Devon and more widely in England.Open Domesday Online: Sydenhamaccessed June 2018. Following the Norman Conquest, it was one of the 107 Devonshire landholdings of
Juhel de Totnes
Juhel de Totnes (died 1123/30) (''alias'' Juhel fitz Alfred, Juhel de Mayenne, Judel, Judhel, Judael, Judhael, Joel, Judhel de Totenais), Latinised to Judhellus filius Aluredi, "Juhel son of Alured") was a soldier and supporter of William the Con ...
(died 1123/30), the first Anglo-Norman feudal baron of Totnes and feudal baron of Barnstaple, both in Devon. Juhel's tenant was a certain William. On his banishment by King William Rufus
William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...
, Juhel's property was confiscated, and Sydenham later became the seat of the ''de Sydenham'' family, which as was usual took its name from its seat, whose overlord
An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or ...
s were the subsequent feudal barons of Totnes.Thorn, part 2 (notes), 17:8 In the 13th century Book of Fees
The ''Book of Fees'' is the colloquial title of a modern edition, transcript, rearrangement and enhancement of the medieval (Latin: 'Book of Fiefs') which is a listing of feudal landholdings or fief (Middle English ), compiled in about 1302, bu ...
''Maurice de Sideham'' is listed as holding lands in ''Parva Sideham'' ("Little Sydenham") (which adjective was used to distinguish it from Sydenham Damerel
Sydenham Damerel, previously South Sydenham, is a village, parish and former Manorialism, manor in Devon, situated 4 miles north-west of Tavistock.
The village lies 1 mile east of the River Tamar which forms the border of Devon with Cornwall, a ...
, also in Lifton Hundred) from Reginald de Vautortes, feudal baron of Totnes, and is recorded by Pole (d.1635) as holding ''North Sidenham'', this manor, in 1242. The ''de Sydenham'' family was succeeded by that of ''de Mauris'', from which it passed by marriage to Trevage,Risdon, p.219 and thence to the Wise family, which later was also seated at Mount Wise, Plymouth.
Part of the house dates from the fourteenth century, and is said to have originally formed a quadrangle or "H", but in the reign of Elizabeth it was built into the shape of an "E", and is a very perfect example of Tudor domestic architecture. Sir Thomas Wise (c.1576–1630), Knight of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
, of Sydenham, was Sheriff of Devon
The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
in 1612 and in 1621 served as a member of parliament for Bere Alston
Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. The village is reported to have a population of 2,259 (2021 Census)
History and geography
With a population of a ...
in Devon. He much beautified the house, and added such height and such a great amount of granite to it that his contemporary Risdon (d.1640) Risdon remarked: "as the very foundation is ready to reel under the burthen". A story is repeated in many histories of Devon, including Lysons (1822), that during the Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
this Sydenham was captured in 1644 by Colonel Holborne. However it appears that the house which was in fact garrisoned and taken was Combe Sydenham, in the parish of Stogumber in Somerset. However, within the last forty years a sword and other weapons, also seventeenth century horseshoes, have been found may be taken as a proof that fighting of some sort did take place at the Wise seat. It is quite likely that King Charles II, when Prince of Wales, did come here, as he is known to have spent many weeks in the vicinity.
His son was Thomas Wise (c.1605–1641), of Sydenham, Sheriff of Devon
The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
in 1638 and in 1625 a member of parliament for Callington
Callington () is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston.
Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had increased to 5,78 ...
in Cornwall and for Bere Alston
Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. The village is reported to have a population of 2,259 (2021 Census)
History and geography
With a population of a ...
in the parliaments of King Charles of 1625, 1626 and 1628 to 1629, and for Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
twice in 1640. The son of the latter was Edward Wise (1632–1675) of Sydenham, thrice MP for Okehampton
Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...
, who was predeceased by both his childless sons, and whose sole heiress became his only daughter Arabella Wise, who married Edmund Tremayne (1649–1698) Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.732, pedigree of Tremayne of Collacombe in the parish of Lamerton on Devon, to which family passed Sydenham.
Architecture and fittings
Sydenham House has four separate entrances, each opening on to a court or garden. Access to the front-entrance, commonly called the Green Court, is through an iron gateway, and above the central door are sculpted the Wise arms. Most of the windows have eight rounded granite mullions and small leaded panes of glass, and in some the original glass survives. Two windows in the front date from the reign of Charles I (1625–1649) and have unusual fan-shaped lights. Over the large granite open fireplace in thegreat hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...
is engraved the date "1656", when the house underwent repair after damage, caused, it is said, in the Civil War. In making alterations to the kitchen chimney in about 1888, a little hiding-place, or priest's room, was found opening out of it, and in it was an oak table and the remains of a chair; and since then large and small unsuspected rooms have been discovered, and it has been said that in the largest a troop of cavalry could lie hidden. A secret passage leading from the house towards the river was found, bearing out the legend "that the Lady Wise of the day escaped with a large party by a secret passage near the river, and got into the woods undetected by the soldiers who were round the house." There is oak panelling in most of the rooms, and in the dining-room, the panelling is inlaid with an ivory-like substance. Secret passages exist to this day in the walls, which are of immense thickness, in some places being seven feet thick. There are three oak staircases, the main one being carved with figures standing at the angles, and another having newels. In the so-called "King's Room" there is an ancient bed, with old red silk curtains and the Prince of Wales's feathers
The Prince of Wales's feathers are the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne. The badge consists of three white ostrich feathers encircled by a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the German motto (, ...
over it, in which Kings Charles I and Charles II are reported to have slept.
Grounds
Sydenham stands in a valley on the banks of the River Lyd. It is overshadowed by woods on a hill-side that is steep and fairly high. At the foot, there is a rushing stream which is crossed by a bridge exactly opposite the front of the house. A wide lawn slopes away from the house, and a very small straight rivulet runs through it just a foot or two from the path. At the foot of the slope, there is a tiny lake, which, though very narrow, divides the lawn from end to end, and beyond the water the ground rises gradually.Sources
* Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p. 349, ''North Sidenham''References
: {{coord, 50.6331, -4.2240, display=title Grade I listed houses in Devon Grade II listed parks and gardens in Devon Country houses in Devon Manor houses in England