Tucked away in the Somerset countryside, our large group holiday homes sit on land that has been lived on for nearly 1,000 years. From a bustling medieval farm recorded in the Domesday Book to the luxury retreats you see today, Manor Farm has a story in every beam, stone, and field.
How Things Are Today
Wend your way along the narrow country lane to the tiny hamlet of Cricket Malherbie and to Manor Farm. At the heart of it is the farmhouse, dating back to 1561, with Beaverbrook 20 to one side and Churchill 20 to the other. We’re now in our third generation of working Manor Farm and have seen a lot of changes since Grandpoppy first came here in 1979.
10 years ago we began our venture into holiday lettings and we have no regrets. Just seeing the big smiles on guests’ faces and hearing their happy laughter is enough to tell us it was a decision well made.
How Things Used to Be
We’ve dug right back to before the Norman Conquest when William the Conqueror gifted the Estate to his brother, Count Robert of Mortain following the Battle of Hastings. It was listed in the Domesday Book as ‘a small settlement in the hundred of Abdick, Somerset, holding 10 households, land for 4 ploughs, 8 acres of meadow, and 80 acres of woodland’.
Spin forward to when the Jeanes family came here to take up dairy farming in this little corner of Somerset. What’s now Beaverbrook 20 was the Grain Barn and the Tie Stalls. The front courtyard was the farmyard, behind it there was a walled kitchen garden. Churchill 20 was then a collection of stables and barns used as wagon sheds and workshops where farm machinery was repaired.
The Grain Barn
The Grain Barn was one of the busiest parts of the farm, used for the storing and threshing of grain and to house farm machinery.
In 2010 the barn was converted to high spec offices, and then in 2017, to the main part of Beaverbrook 20. We retained a lot of the essential character; the oak and elm beams and the window openings were always there, the original Hamstone walls still stand. Skirting boards and windowsills were made of timber from the land, Hamstone gateposts were repurposed to become the fire surround in the movie room. Hamstone is a distinctively honey-gold coloured limestone that’s still quarried at nearby Ham Hill to this day.
The Tie Stalls
Across the courtyard from The Grain Barn are the Tie Stalls, now bedrooms 7-10 of Beaverbrook 20. Cows were tied up in the stalls and milked initially by hand and later, by machine. On the landing of the main barn there’s a picture from this time.
We had a few interesting finds during the works to the Tie Stalls and Grain Barn, among them a Victorian brooch and a child’s shoe. As part of folk traditions, children’s shoes were often hidden in buildings; it was believed that they offered protection from bad luck, evil spirits and witchcraft!
The Wagon Sheds and Stables
To one side of the farm, the old wagon sheds and stables were where the mechanics repaired machinery and did their paperwork. Not wanting to lose the timeless character of these buildings, we incorporated them into the design of Churchill 20; bedrooms 6 and 7 and the pool hall used to be the workshop, bedrooms 8-10 were the stables. The original stone walls and the lintels are still there.
We welcomed the first guests to Churchill 20 in 2021; during the 13 month build we found bits and pieces of old farm machinery, and some interesting old tins and bottles. Most exciting was finding silver coins dating back to 1430 in the fields when we were digging for stone.
The Old Cheese Factory
Believe it or not there used to be a cheese factory here at Manor Farm!
In the late 1980s, Metford Jeanes (Grandpoppy’s uncle) was already making Cheddar when he decided there was a market for good quality cheese made from goats’ milk. He started playing around with the idea, and when he was happy with it, launched his ‘Nanny’s Cheddar’, which he took along and sold on his milk rounds. If only goats’ cheese was as popular then as it is now!
Fruit & Veg in the 1990s
A lot of local people can remember the fruit & veg shop that was here in the late 1990s. Run by a couple from one of the neighbouring villages, fruit and veg from nearby farms and orchards was stacked in wooden crates in what was a relatively small shop – now Bedroom 1 of Beaverbrook 20. Saturday mornings on the farm had never been so busy, as produce was bought and gossip was exchanged.
The Lime Avenue
Before the lane was laid running from just outside of Ilminster up to the A30, the only access to Manor Farm and Cricket Court (the manor house behind the farm) was the carriageway which ran through an avenue of lime trees at the back of where Churchill 20 now stands. Part of this is still visible in the field and it doesn’t take much to imagine the people who lived here and their visitors being driven along the lime avenue, wrapped in furs and woollen blankets on a dark winter’s night.
Nowadays it’s so much easier – straight up the lane and into the car park!
Lord Beaverbrook
A look into the history of Manor Farm wouldn’t be complete without mention of some of the notable people who had associations here. Lord Beaverbrook (Max Aitkin, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, 1879-1964) was a Canadian British media tycoon who established the Daily Express. He served under Winston Churchill as Minister of Aircraft Production from May 1940, and later as Minister of Supply.
Manor Farm was part of Lord Beaverbrook’s West Country estate. It’s believed that he stayed in the farmhouse as well as at Cricket Court, and that he was often visited there by Winston Churchill and General Eisenhower during the planning of the D-Day landings of the Second World War.
The Pitt Family
Wind back a hundred years or so and the estate at Cricket Malherbie was owned by the Pitt family who were related through cousins to two British Prime Ministers - William Pitt, the elder (1708 – 1778),1st Earl of Chatham, and William Pitt, the younger (1759-1806).
A Mrs Pitt was lady of the manor as late as 1875, she lived at Cricket Court and owned Manor Farm. In 1855 she funded the rebuilding of the church opposite the farm where there are memorials to Pitt family members.
And the Future…
So what plans do we have for the future? Our aim is to continue offering high quality spaces for large group holidays and celebrations. In addition to Beaverbrook 20 and Churchill 20 we hope to start work soon on our third luxury holiday house – Kingston. Watch this space.
Plan your group getaway at Manor Farm and experience this unique blend of history and luxury for yourself.