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Great Chalfield Manor House

Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

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When Nicholas Tropenell acquired Great Chalfield Manor House in 1452 it may have been fortified and moated. The moat still exists as does the gatehouse and the remains of a defensive tower. Before his death in 1488 Tropenell turned it into the perfect late medieval house that is now in the hands of the National Trust.

A two-storey entrance porch leads to a screened cross-passage with a gallery above that has masks through which the open hall can be observed. At each end of the hall are cross-wings with oriel windows on the upper floor.

The group of buildings here includes the church of the little parish of Great Chalfield, mill, barn and cottages.

In the English Civil War in the 1640s, it was garrisoned by Parliamentary troops- up to 200 men and 100 horses- who were supported by a levy that was imposed on the settlements of the Hundreds of Bradford, Melksham (the latter including Trowbridge) and Whorwellsdown.

The house has been used for filming Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl and Poldark.

The parish church of All Saints is situated within the Manor House grounds and has a small gothic bellcote on its west end with a crocketed spire.