Draycot House
| Draycot Cerne | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Church of St James
|
|
| Location | Draycot Cerne, Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, England |
| Nearest city | Chippenham |
| Coordinates | 51°30′23″N 2°05′44″W / 51.50639°N 2.09556°WCoordinates: 51°30′23″N 2°05′44″W / 51.50639°N 2.09556°W |
 Location of Draycot Cerne in Wiltshire
|
|
Draycot Cerne (Draycott) is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) north of Chippenham.
The parish was referred to as (Medieval Latin:) Draicote in the ancient Domesday hundred of Startley when Geoffrey de Venoix ("the Marshal") was lord and tenant-in-chief in 1086. The morpheme dray is common in England's place names, yet unused elsewhere in the English language, so is considered an ancient Celtic word. By the 14th century, the old village was known as Draycot Cerne, in part to differentiate it from similarly named villages in other areas of England. The suffix Cerne is the French surname of the lords of the manor.
The ancient parish of Draycot Cerne comprised three manors: Draycot Cerne, Knabwell (or Nables) and a detached part at Avon, near Kellaways. The old village of Draycot Cerne (also known in the 19th century as Lower Draycot), close to the church and Draycot House, was removed by Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley after 1865 and Upper Draycot was renamed Draycot Cerne. All of the cottages and farms of Draycot Cerne were on the Draycot Estate, belonging to Draycot House.
The parish of Draycot Cerne, together with Seagry parish to its north, was added to Sutton Benger civil parish in 1934. In 1971 all land north of the newly built M4 motorway, including part of the former Draycot parish, was transferred to a recreated Seagry parish.
St James's Church was built around 1260. It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
The benefice was united with Seagry in 1939 but in 1954 the union was dissolved, and for church purposes the village is now within the parish of Kington Langley.
A medieval manor has occupied the site since the 14th century. Old Draycot House was probably built for John Long in the mid 15th century. The house was extensively re-modelled, over the years, by the Long family. In 1773–75 Sir James Tylney-Long (1736-1794) added a new south front, and east and west wings around the core of the medieval manor. Further work was undertaken in 1864, after Lord Cowley's inheritance. The house was demolished in 1952-4.
...
Wikipedia