SLHS Welcombe Manor/Hotel

Middle History

According to British History Online

1. “An estate described as the 'Manor' of Welcombe is the subject of a series of conveyances dating between 1736 and 1794, and from 1760 to 1768 it appears as divided into three parts.
   

2. The local poet, John Jordan, describes his patron, John Lloyd of Snitterfield, as 'proprietor of the estate at Welcombe' at the time of his death in 1777. His son George Lloyd, who lived at Welcombe House and is several times referred to as lord of the manor, died in 1831. From his son, John Gamaliel Lloyd, the estate had passed by 1842 to Mark Philips, a Manchester cotton manufacturer, who died in 1873 and is commemorated by the Obelisk, a prominent landmark on the Welcombe Hills, erected by his brother and heir, Robert Needham Philips in 1876.
   

3. The marriage of Robert's daughter Caroline brought Welcombe, with Snitterfield and Wolverton (q.v.) to the Trevelyans. The present Welcombe House, built by Mark Philips in 1869, was bought by the L.M.S. Railway Co. in 1931 and is now a hotel.”

SLHS Picture & Document Archives..

1. Picture Vaults: Lovely exteriors and lots of unusual interiors: Welcombe Hotel

● A Calendar House

Warwick Road, 1 mile East of Stratford.   Completed in 1869.  Architect: Henry C. Clutton

● These items have aspects that uniquely contribute to national or world history.

History

The Welcombe Hotel continue..

1. “Shakespeare has been responsible for much of the popularity that has come to districts in the immediate vicinity of Stratford. As for the Welcombe, the association is even more intimate and this brief history will no doubt be of interest for that very reason.
   

2. The origin of the hamlet of Welcombe is lost in historical obscurity but traces of its occupation in very early times were found in the form of Anglo-Saxon weapons discovered in the tumulus on which the Garden Wing now stands. Its long history is also attested by the references to it in the patent notes of Edward The view is sometimes put forward that the dingles (deep dells shaded by trees) are old entrenchments dating from early British times. There are a series of irregular Y-shaped trenches in places some forty feet deep and through part of which runs the main drive to the house. It is more probable, however, that they are formed by the action of water in a geographical fault through the heavy red marl of which the subsoil is composed.
   

3. (Old Welcombe House. This stood before the Phillips family layed the foundation stone for the gothic manor in 1869).
   

4. The track that the main drive follows was an old roman salt trail. Roman carts would ford the river from a small garrison at Tiddington and make their way up the track and across the Welcombe Hills to Bishopton.
   

5. At one time part of the Clopton family estate, Welcombe passed during Queen Elizabeth I's reign into the possession of one John Coombe whose two sons, Thomas and John, were well known to Shakespeare. The poet's connection with Welcombe was established by his purchase in 1602 from William and John Coombe of 107 acres of arable land in old Stratford, Bishopton and Welcombe. During Shakespeare's lifetime the hamlet witnessed a struggle between the Stratford Corporation and William Coombe a hard unpopular landlord who decided to enclose the common field of Welcombe. The controversy dragged on for years and finally came before the Privy Council which ordered Coombe to plough up the soil but he maintained his right to enclose his own land.
   

6. From Shakespeare to the present owners, the Welcombe property has passed through comparatively few hands. Shakespeare left the land to his daughter Susanna Hall, who was succeeded by granddaughter, Elizabeth Nash, the wife of Sir Barnard.Lady Barnard, the last direct descendant of the poet, died in 1670. Her trustees sold Welcombe to Sir John Walker, whose daughter and heiress, Barbara, married Sir John Clopton. Thus this parcel of land reverted for a time to its former owners. Unfortunately for the Cloptons, their direct family line, came to an end in 1792 with the death of Mistress Parthriche.
   

7. In 1771 John Lloyd, a fellow of the Royal Society, owned Welcombe and was succeeded by his son George who rebuilt the house in 1815. Then came brother and the brother's nephew Charles Thomas Warde. Warde sold Welcombe Lodge in 1845 to a Manchester businessman, Mr Mark Philips. He demolished the house soon after and lived in Snitterfield. It was nearly 20 years before he started to build the present house, now known as Welcombe Manor House. The commission to design the house went to Henry C. Clutton. Thomas Newby of Manchester, who built warehouses for the Philips family carried out building work, construction took four years and the house was completed in 1869. William Nestfield, who had originally submitted designs for both the house and the landscape, designed the gardens.
   

8. In 1870, Mark Philips moved in but died four years later in 1874. He became an MP and was the main instigator behind the movement to introduce public parks and recreation areas for the enjoyment of all. The obelisk on the Welcombe hills is in his memory.”

A Calendar House

The Welcombe Hotel explain the Grade II listed house thus..

1. “An interesting feature of the building is that it was built as a Calendar House which means that the property has 7 entrances, one for each day of the week, 52 chimneys, one for each week of the year, 12 fireplaces, one for each month of the year and 365 windows, one for each day of the year. This feature infuses luck and prosperity into everyone who stays in the house.”

To return to Master page click on ‘Welcombe’ above.

The house became a hotel in 1931 as one of the `British Transport Hotels', when L.M.S. Railway Company bought the house therefore luxurious surroundings of the building became available to many more people.

In March 1983 the Welcombe became a Venice Simplon Orient Express Hotel. In 1990 the Yamada Corporation of Japan purchased the property.

Today the opulence continues as part of Best Western's Premier Collection, boasting a rich history, stunning grounds and a championship 18-hole golf course.”

1. From:  “The Welcombe History” leaflet.

1. His son, Robert Calverey Trevelyan, sold the property to Sir Archibald Flower.”
   

1. The Restaurant and Bar are named after the Trevelyan Family (see Middle History above and photo right).

Welcombe Hotel groungs

Ro-railer UR7924 at Old Town Station converts from track to road to enable direct services from London

Main lounge

Ro-railer picks up passengers returning to London

From: British History Online: Manors

The Trevelyan Family       (©Welcombe Hotel published with permission)

1. “The mansion remained in the Philips family for years and was left by R.N. Philips to his daughter, Caroline, the wife of the late Rt. Hon Sir George Trevelyan.
   

2. His son, Robert Calverey Trevelyan, sold the property to Sir Archibald Flower.”

The garden before hotel extension built  1929

Bar