Nailsea Court

Nailsea Court
Nailsea Court during a gardens open day in 2009
Location	Nailsea, Somerset, England
Coordinates	51°24′37″N 2°46′55″W / 51.4102°N 2.7819°W / 51.4102; -2.7819
Built	15th century
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Nailsea Court
Designated	13 October 1952
Reference no.	33712
Location of Nailsea Court in Somerset

Nailsea Court in Nailsea, Somerset, England, is an English manor house dating from the 15th century. Pevsner describes the house as "historically highly instructive and interesting" and it is a Grade I listed building.

In 1574 the house was owned by George Perceval, the father of Richard Percivale who was born in the house and later deciphered Spanish documents for Queen Elizabeth about the Spanish Armada. Later owners in the 16th and 17th centuries included the local member of parliament Richard Cole and Nathaniel Wade who was condemned to death for his part in the Monmouth Rebellion. After 1795 a series of owners, who never lived in the house, leased it for use as a farmhouse and it fell into disrepair. In 1906 it was bought by Charles Edward Evans who undertook a major restoration project including bringing in materials from surrounding Tudor manors. After World War II is was converted into flats and in the 1990s into five private dwellings.

The building has been changed and expanded over the centuries. It now consists of a main 3 storey block with two wings. The interior includes fine wooden panelling and plaster ceilings. Some of the original fireplaces survive and many of the rooms include decorative stained glass. It is surrounded by landscaped grounds including a sunken garden and a knot garden. There is a 17th century barn adjacent to the house.

The exact date of construction is not known, but is believed to have started in the 15th century and was definitely before 1574, when the initials of the owner George Perceval, the father of Richard Percivale, were added to the chimney piece in the library. One of his descendants Richard Percivale (or Perceval) contributed to the English response to the plans for invasion by the Spanish Armada by deciphering Spanish documents for Queen Elizabeth. Perceval sold the estate to the Bristol merchant and member of parliament Richard Cole in 1582 and it was passed down to his descendants.