From The Weston Mercury and Somersetshire Herald, Saturday August 3, 1940
Out of the Past
Her Family Owned Weston in King Charles’ Days!
Ninety Years' Old Local Lady Descended From Ancient Lords Of The Manor
Weston Was Sold To Pay Gambling Debts
ROMANTIC STORY OF THE WINTER FAMILY
ON Wednesday of last week there was buried in West-super-Mare Cemetery a lady who, though she never paraded the fact, could trace ancestors back to the ancient lords of the manors of Weston and Ashcombe, who held sway long before the Smyth-Pigotts. It will astonish most Westonians to learn that unknown to them, there had been living in their midst during the past forty years a lady who was a direct descendant of the Winter family which, in Stuart days, rode the local lanes in their lace collars and cuffs, feathered broad- brimmed hats, and beribboned knee breeches. The lady was Miss Ellen Jane Winter, who died at the home of her sister-in-law at 3 Edinburgh-place on July 22nd, in her 91st year. She was the last survivor of seven sisters, all of whom are buried in the local Cemetery.
Their father was Mr. John Winter, of Claverham Court, Yatton, who was a member of the Winter or Wynter famiy which held the manors of Clapton-in-Gordano, Weston-super-Mare and Ashcombe many generations ago.
Miss Wynter, who has just died, came some forty years ago, from Yatton to live in Weston, a district which her forbears once owned. She was a cousin of Brigadier-General Sir Ormonde Wynter and Dr. Essex Wynter, of Newbury. Her only brother [William Arthur, since John Cambridge died aged 16] left a family of two daughters [Constance Mary and Kathleen] and three sons, one of whom was killed in the Great War. [John Seager, William Arthur and Paul Delappe]
AT THE TIME OF THE CONQUEROR.
Through the kindness of a relative. I have just been reading some odd scraps of manuscript about the family's history, and have inspected a genealogical tree which leaves, no doubt as to the Link between Miss Winter and the former lords of the manor of Weston. The study of manorial descent is usually a dry-as-dust topic, but readers need have no fear that I shall bore them with detailed pedigrees. My sole intention is to pick out a few of the more interesting facts about the family as they concern this district.
The Winter family, like many an ancient house, can be traced to William the Conqueror's time. The name was originally de Qwyn Tour and the first of the family, Robert de Belesine, has been described as a notable rebel of Norman times. He thus early established the family's predilection for getting into spots of bother, through loyalty to unpopular causes. Most of the Winters in past centuries were Roman Catholics and Jacobites, and one of them, according to family traditions was involved in the 1715 or 1745 Rising.
For the most part, however, the Winters seemed well content to live their lives in their quiet Somerset retreats. Their association with this part of Somerset began, so far as I can ascertain, in 1592, four years after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. For many, generations before that date the manors of Clapton-in-Gordano, Weston-super-Mare and Ashcombe (the last-named was at one time a hamlet on its own), were held by the Arthur family, who seem to have been descendants of the Earls of GIoucester.
Antiquarians have never been able to settle whether or not Weston-super-Mare is mentioned in Domesday Book. There is a "Westone." but that is thought to have been one of the other many Westons in this part of the country. The manor of Ashcombe, however, Is definitely alluded to in the great Norman survey of 1086, and it is there stated, to have been held by Herluin and "was worth and is worth a hundred shillings." But, of course "a £5 note" went further in those days!
WESTON'S LORD AND HIS SLAVES.
The name of the Arthur family occurs quite early in the records of ancient Weston. In 1492, for instance, there was a dispute between John Payne and John Arthur, lord of the manors of Weston and Ashcombe, regarding the fishing rights at "Ankershed," while two years later this same John Arthur was involved in another dispute with his villeins, who asserted that they were freemen and not slaves of the manor.
In 1595 there was a successful claim made by one of the heiresses of Edward Arthur, lord of the manor, for one-third of the local estate formerly held by her father from Queen Elizabeth, on promise of military service.
The Arthurs lived at Clapton Court, about four miles from Clevedon. The north front of their ancient mansion, with its battlemented square tower, stands to this day. The court-house is believed to have been built by Richard Arthur about five hundred years ago, and the Arthur arms, impaling Berkeley, may be seen over the entrance porch of the tower.
Long before the erection of the courthouse, however, there were Arthurs in North Somerset, for a William Arthur held a knight's fee in Clapton during the Crusades, and his son, who succeeded him, and was a knight in Edward the First's reign, was the father of William Arthur, Constable of Bristol Castle. The manor descended through generations of Arthurs, and at one time it was held solely on the service of a red rose to the King, to be presented on Midsummer Day.
The manor continued in the Arthur family for something like five hundred years, and it eventually passed, by marriage, into the Winter family. William Winter, younger son of George Winter, of Dirham, Gloucestershire, became possessed of the manor of Clapton by marrying Mary Arthur, the only daughter of Edward Arthur, who died in 1592. In right of his wife William Winter became lord of Clapton, and in 1632 the manor of Weston-super-Mare also passed into the Winter family,
A TROUBLESOME WESTON RECTOR.
In 1632 Weston-super-Mare was just a tiny cluster of small farms and fishermen's huts, with a humble little church and rectory. According to one -record of the time, there were 35 families in the place. Ashcombe was hardly much bigger, but Worle, in comparison, was a town.
In the year that the Winters became possessed of Weston, the Rev. Christopher Sadbury moved into Weston Rectory, which is now Glebe House. A few years later this same Rector repeatedly got into hot water. The Civil War was raging, but this did not prevent the Rev. Mr. Sadbury from preaching an indiscreet sermon at Bridgwater, openly declaring the Roundheads as rebels. Furthermore, in 1644, he was accused of giving secret information to the King's troops, and he even imprisoned some of his parishioners in the Rectory, and actively assisted a brigade of the King's Troops to plunder and imprison parishioners, with the result that in 1649 a Committee of Sequestrations considered his conduct and an order of sequestration was made against him for his delinquency.
For some reason the order was never enforced and parishioners signed a further petition alleging that "he was a continual troubler or his honest and well-affected neighbours by vexatious suits in law." His goods were eventually sequestered, but afterwards they were returned and he continued to hold the living until the Restoration.
The manor of Weston remained in the Winter family for nearly a hundred years, and it was eventually sold to Colonel John Pigott, in 1696, by Henry Winter, grandson of the William Winter who acquired the lordship through his marriage. The records merely state that “Henry assigned Clapton and Weston-super-Mare for payment of his debts”, but the family tradition is that the manors were lost as a result of gambling!
ASHCOMBE'S MANOR HOUSE.
Readers of the "Mercury" may recall that, about eight years ago, at the time when the ruined farmhouse was being demolished in Manor-road. I wrote an article on its history, pointing out that it was in fact the old Manor House of Ashcombe, with a crowded story of former occupants, including members of the Smyth-Pigott family.
Whenever there was an important event like an heir's coming-of-age, or a wedding in the Squire's family, a large ox was roasted at this farm, and there were high festal rejoicings. The farmer tenants were also summoned to this old house to pay their rents, and here again the occasion was turned into feasting and merry-making.
The little pen and ink sketch of the farm on this page was made by me just before the house was pulled down to make way for modern villas. Another view of it may be seen in Rutter's "Delineations of North Somerset," published in 1829.
I cannot deal here with the story of the old farm, and I have only mentioned it in passing because it was in this house, or one on the same site, that the Arthurs and Winters must often have stayed when they made tours of inspection of their property.
Their ancestral home was only a few miles away at Clapton and the lord and his lady must frequently have come down to it to collect their dues, settle disputes, and see that the manors were being properly managed. Their visits possibly extended over several days or weeks, during which time, I imagine, the old house at Ashcombe must have seen some colourful sights, for the Squires of those days knew how to enjoy themselves.
A good deal could be written about Clapton Court itself, but I am afraid I must refer, those who are interested to Mr. W. J. Robinson's book on "West Country Manors" for the full story of that house. I have reproduced an old print of the house, lent me by a friend of the late Miss Winter, and there is an excellent photograph of the ivy-clad tower, with modern additions, in Mr. Robinson's book.
ONCE HAD A LARGE BARONIAL HALL.
"Little of this once large and stately mansion now remains," says Mr. Robinson, "and a considerable portion of what now constitutes Clapton Court is quite modern. The north front, however, is still imposing, and retains the stern square tower which stands over the main entrance, clearly indicating its age and its claim to distinction as a place of importance, and as being associated with affluent owners. The old house … now converted into a farmhouse, is only a shadow of its former self… Formerly there was an extensive eastern wing, which included a large baronial hail.
“The square, embattled tower which projects on the north side, and upon which the lapse of more than four centuries has made little perceptible difference, is the great feature of the building. Its ivy-grown walls and Fifteenth Century windows give it an extremely picturesque appearance. . . . The tower contains two rooms, and from the lower room a newel staircase leads to the summit, upon which an old bell turret containing an ancient bell is erected on the south-west side, and from the leads an extensive view is obtained. . . . A beautiful and quaint old archway forms the entrance to the grounds of the Court. This ivy-cad structure is in complete harmony with the peaceful old home."
THE TOMB OF THE WINTERS.
In the little village church nearby there are several memorials of the Winter family. The lady chapel is paved with stones recording the deaths of Winters or Wynters, all dated about 1600. There is a striking and stately monument, presumably in memory of Henry Wynter, on the north wall. It is richly carved in the Renaissance style, and shows Henry, evidently the same who sold the manor of Weston-super-Mare to the Pigotts, kneeling in an attitude of prayer, with his wife similarly poised on the opposite side. Between them is the seated figure of a chubby-faced child, with its right hand resting on a skull and the other holding a bird. At the base of the supporting pillars are lions' heads and other features of the monument include a number of figures in flowing garments, an armorial shield, and angels. Henry is shown in armour and his wife is wearing a close-bodied vest.
At the foot of the monument is to be seen an inscription, "Here lyeth the body of Edmund, sonne of Henry, Esq., who departed this life November 25th, Anno 1672." It will be noticed that there is no surname given, though someone has tried to add "Wynter" afterwards. This omission is curious, but as the slab in the centre of the tomb, which usually bears the main inscription, is left blank, it was possibly thought that when the main inscription was inserted, the repetition of the surname below would be unnecessary. For some unknown reason, the main slab was never inscribed. Either the fathers gambling so depleted the family coffers that there was little left to perpetuate his memory, or his descendants, disgusted with his assigning of the manors of Clapton and Weston to the Pigott family, decided to draw a veil over his existence! History does not enlighten us.
In Clapton Church, among many other interesting things, is a massive rough, though handsome, oak screen dividing the nave and the tower. It had a double-arched doorway under a wide-pointed arch, with a circle overhead containing three spherical triangles. About fifty years ago this screen, which has been described as of great value, and a rare example of English domestic woodwork, stood in the gardens of Clapton Court as a sort of ornamental arch, exposed to all the ravages of weather! It obviously served in bygone ages as the screen leading off the great hall to the cellar, buttery and kitchen. One expert described it as "probably the most remarkable piece of early wooden domestic screen-work in existence." It was given to the church by the late Sir F. P. Wills when he bought Clapton Manor. He later sold it to Lady Smyth, of Ashton Court.
After the loss of the Clapton and Weston manors, the Winters seem to have restored their family fortunes by entering commerce, for John Winter, who was born in 1750, owned a comb factory at Bewdley. He lived in Clare-street, Bristol.
Miss Winter, who was born at Claverham Court, Yatton, over ninety years ago, was - with her sisters - well-known throughout that district in Victorian days. They all took a prominent part in the affairs of the parish. During her forty years' residence in Weston-super-Mare she must often have reflected on what might have been but for Henry Winter's disposal of the local manors in 1696.
R.H.B.
