Bibury Court


Bibury Court is a Grade I listed Jacobean country house in Bibury, Gloucestershire, England.
The River Coln flows to the south of the property.

History

The house was built between 1560 and 1599, and was first extended in 1633 for Sir Thomas Sackville. Later additions have since been made and the 16th-century building now forms the north wing. The Sackville family including their heirs the Cresswells owned it until 1816 when it was sold to Lord Sherborne. Thomas Estcourt Cresswell had the interior remodelled around 1759.
Sir Orme Clarke Bt CBE bought the house in the 1920s along with most of the surrounding Bibury estate from Lords Sherbourne and lived there with his wife Elfrida. The House was sold by the Sir Humphrey Clarke Bt in 1963 following the death of his mother but he, and later his son, Sir Tobias Clarke Bt, retained the Court Estate until the 1980s. The Northern portion of the estate known as Kilkenny Farm was sold to S. J. Phillips & Sons Ltd who had been tenant farmers to the Clarke family. The house was converted into a hotel in 1968, and back into a private home in 2015.

Architecture

The house and outbuildings are of Cotswold stone. The entrance walls and gateway date from the early 18th century. The 16th century house now forms the north wing. The east front has a symmetrical centre with the north and south wings to either side.
The estate includes over of woodland, of pasture and over of arable farmland, making a total of.
The buildings on the estate include a 17th century Mill House and 18th century dovecote. The mill itself contains the original machinery over the mill race and a pump to supply water to theNew Barn. The Court Farmhouse dates from the 17th century. The stables are from the early 19th century, although another former stable block from the late 16th century has been converted into a bar.