The Pitt family controlled one of the kingdom’s most notorious Parliamentary boroughs from this now compact house
Visitors to old Sarum in Wiltshire, the iron Age hill fort and predecessor to Salisbury that was abandoned in the 13th century, may have noticed an exceptionally pretty house in stratford-sub-Castle, the village that stands at its foot. Built of a silvery coloured stone, it has two broad gables to either side of the front door. only one bay connects the two gables, making this many people’s dream: a compact house that, nevertheless, has a good deal of architecture about it.
The formality is emphasised by two runs of pleached limes, flanking the forecourt (Fig 4). A few yards away, more limes lead to st Lawrence’s Church, so it may come as no surprise that Mawarden Court, the house with the gables, was once the vicarage.
However, all is not as it seems. A plaque on one of the gate piers reveals that this house has been more than a vicarage: the future Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder, the 1st Earl of Chatham, born in 1708, spent his early years here. on investigation, moreover, it appears that the house was bigger at that date than it is now: the centrepiece between the two gables was originally three bays wide, rather than one. in the mid 19th century, the building was reduced with meticulous care and the right-hand gable moved to maintain the balance of the composition.
For the Pitt family, the interest of Mawarden lay in Old Sarum. As a defunct medieval borough, it retained the right to send two members to Parliament, although, by the 17th century, nobody was actually living there. Votes were cast by the absentee tenants of burgage plots, appointed by the lord of the manor. For this reason, it was the most notorious rotten borough in the kingdom.
Denne historien er fra July 04, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 04, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
