Cricket House by wjames
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
Cricket St Thomas manor house known as Cricket House, has 14th century origins, but was rebuilt and considerably modified at the beginning of the 19th century for Sir Alexander Hood. The name Cricket St Thomas is not related to the game of cricket, but is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "crue" meaning hill or ridge. The estate is mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086 where it is described as "Land of the Count of Martin" paying tax to the King for six hides, or about 720 acres. It also had two slaves, six villagers, five smallholders and a variety of livestock - all valued at 100 shillings.
The house was used as "Grantleigh Manor", the setting for the T.V. series 'To the Manor Born' which aired from 1979 to 1981.
The grounds of the house, known as Cricket Park were designed by D.D(David)Davis a noted horticulturist at the start of the 19th century and later turned into a wildlife park. They also became home to Crinkley Bottom, a theme park created by Noel Edmonds. The project was short-lived and was later abandoned.
In 2009 the house was added to English Heritage's Heritage At Risk register due to development pressures from various businesses connected with the estate.

Comments (21)
Excellent capture
beautiful house!
Beautiful capture and info!!
I love the old English homes and gardens. An excellent capture and thank you for the history !!
Beautiful shot, house and garden!
This is a very fine shot of this house Wally and great information. Sorry I 'jumped the gun' yesterday!
The grounds certainly add to the charm what a beautiful place.
Lovely capture!
Beautiful capture and great info! :)
Nice shot for beautiful house.
excellent info. Wally, and a wonderful picture of the house showing off its beautiful proportions to the letter.
Lovely place and home:-)
Thank heaven for the demise of Crinkly Bottom.
I could handle living there very easily. Great shot.
bonne photo!
We used to watch "To the Manor Born"...seems we spent most of the time in the gatehouse but I do recall the estate owner (a grocery chain owner) landing his helicopter on the lawn near this lovely old manor. Nic pic showing off some of the gardens.
got a long history on this house. wonderful shot
Beautiful house and garden with a rich history. Wonderful to see. Excellent shot.
Beautiful capture
Excellent capture! I love the landscaping...
PURE BEAUTY