The Howse Which Was So Faire

Christopher Smith delves into the mysterious history of Campden House and the man who built it

- Christopher Smith

THE charred ruins of what was the country residence of one of England’s wealthiest men stand proud in a quiet corner of Chipping Campden.

Much is known about the man who built it, but despite its significance in the timeline of the picturesque Cotswold town, Campden House itself remains largely a mystery.

What historians do know is that it was built by Lord of the Manor Sir Baptist Hicks sometime between 1612 and 1615, and was burned down just 30 years later, by order of Prince Rupert during the English Civil War.

There are no formal plans or records, and only a handful of sketches, the earliest of which dates from around 100 years after it was destroyed – meaning that much of what is known about its brief existence is based on “assumptions”, admits the Chairman of the Chipping Campden History Society, Bob Montgomery.

“There is nothing that we can say accurately, ‘that is the house’, nothing exists,” says Bob.

“There are numerous versions of the same print or engraving. Now whether they have been all drawn from one another or whether one artist has taken a look at it and reproduced it from memory, we don’t know, because there are differences.

“Because there is very little evidence so we have to make a lot of assumptions and surmises, and they’re not all going to be right.”

So, what is known about the man who built Campden House?

Sir Baptist Hicks was born in London in the mid-1500s to parents who had Gloucestershire connections.

His father, Robert, a silk mercer (dealer), died when Baptist was just six years old, and shortly after his mother, Julian, married Anthony Penne, a friend of her late husband.