The Manor and former coach house, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire

Summary

Remains of a C14 abbey chamber, converted into a dwelling and altered and extended in both the C18 and C19.

Description

Remains of a C14 abbey chamber, converted into a dwelling and altered and extended in both the C18 and C19.

MATERIALS: constructed primarily of brick in Flemish bond the dwelling has a sandstone lower storey on the north elevation and a stone canted bay to the west. The roofs are covered in slate.

PLAN: The Manor has a principal linear range running west-east with an adjoining range projecting to the south and east. The southern range has a hipped roof with central gable on the south elevation.

EXTERIOR: the building’s C14 remains are contained within the north range with the sandstone block lower storey visible from the north elevation. The sandstone projects slightly from the rest of the brick building and is capped with lead. This elevation has two large stacks with the upper sections constructed of brick in stretcher bond. This north range of the building has a gable roof with brick parapet to either end. Openings have been created within this elevation to house early-C19 sash windows. A casement window is the only exception to the left of the ground floor. To the left (east) is a later single-storey brick block.

The principal (west) elevation has a projecting gable with large canted bay ground floor window with tall mullion windows. Above is a stone balustrade with cusped trefoil detail and two six-over-six sashes. A further three-over-six sash is located above on the second floor. To the right (south) is the building’s principal entrance with six-panelled door with gothic glazed fanlight above. A further sash window is located to the south of the door on the ground floor, with two sashes above. This southern range containing the entrance door has a dentilled brick cornice and a deep stone plat band just above ground level.

The southern range has a central brick gable to the south elevation, with a central stone tablet containing a coat of arms at the apex. To either side of the gable is a deep brick stack. The south elevation has a symmetrical composition and has been intersected by a flat-roofed single-storey range. The window openings are all under rubbed brick flat arches with the ground floor windows six-over-six sashes (including the single-storey range), the upper floor windows are three-over-six.

The east elevation has a blind window and further entrance door at the south end, within the single-storey range. To the right (north) is the west end of the southern, hipped-roof range, with a single opening to either floor containing casement windows under flat brick arches. To the north both the earlier north range and later southern block are visible and there are a variety of roof styles and later additions, including a lean-to building attached to the north elevation of the south range. From the west and east elevation, several inserted iron ties with square pattress plates are visible in the timber-framed north range.

INTERIOR: the north range of the building contains a C14 three-bay collar-purlin roof structure with two of the original trusses surviving. The gable-end trusses have been lost. The roof structure is without tie-beams but has moulded braces which meet to form a pointed arch. The roof structure is unusually without crown-posts, and instead has small carved blocks which carry the moulded collar-purlin.

C14 timber framing also survives within the basement of the building, with a wall plate, studs and arches of a door-head visible.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: a former C19 brick coach house is located to the east of The Manor, and has a large ground-floor opening on the south elevation with a wide, brick three-centred arch. A further opening with segmetal brick arch is above, both openings have late-C20 glazing inserted with the ground floor in use as a shop (2022). The building has a gable roof with dentilled cornice and is oriented roughly north-south. A projecting brick entrance door and further window openings are located on the west elevation.

History

An abbey at Burton was founded by Wulfric Spot in 1002, originally dedicated to St Mary and St Modwen. The Manor is situated to the south of the main claustral site and may have originally been constructed as a domestic ‘chamber block’ by Abbot John of Ibstock in the C14. The chamber block was likely adjoining an open hall which has since been rebuilt. Dendrochronological analysis of The Manor’s roof and cellars indicate a felling date between 1331 and 1360 supporting a C14 construction date. The abbey was abandoned during the dissolution of the monasteries in the C16, with the buildings subsequently passing into the ownership of the Paget family. In the following centuries, the former abbey was poorly maintained, with the majority of the buildings left to decay.

The former monastic building was remodelled in the C18 as a dwelling and then again in the late-C18 or early-C19 and became known as The Manor. The building was also extended to the south at this time and a new bay window was added to the west elevation. The south extension with hipped roof housed the building's new principal entrance before a further single-storey range was built to the south in the C19. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1884 indicates that there was once a conservatory attached at the south-west end of the building, which had been demolished by the time of the second edition map which was published in 1901.

Reasons for Listing

The Manor, containing the remains of a C14 abbey chamber, converted into a dwelling and altered and extended in both the C18 and C19, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* the Manor retains significant C14 remains from its construction as part of Burton upon Trent Abbey including a three-bay collar-purlin roof structure, timber-framing within the basement, and a sandstone lower storey on the north elevation;
* the building’s conversion to a dwelling in the C18 has been executed with care in order to conserve the earlier remains and has quality in its own right with successful brick and stone ornamentation.

Historic interest:
* the building is one of only a few surviving remnants of the Benedictine abbey at Burton, founded in 1002, and is an important survival of the town’s history.

Group value:
* the building has group value with the adjacent The Abbey, which also contains remains of Burton’s Benedictine abbey.

External Links

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