Ockwells

Ockwells Manor is a timber-framed 15th century manor house in the civil parish of Cox Green, adjoining Maidenhead, in the English county of Berkshire. It was previously in the parish of Bray.

Ockwells Manor by Cecil Aldin

Ockwells is an early example of a manor built without fortifications, which Sir Nikolaus Pevsner called "the most refined and the most sophisticated timber-framed mansion in England". It preserves a superb set of contemporary heraldic stained glass in the hall. Many of its bargeboards and other exterior timbers are run with rich mouldings and carved. Herringbone brickwork provides the infill.

The manor was originally given, in 1283, to Richard le Norreys, the chief cook to Queen Eleanor.^[1] It passed down through the Norreys family, ending up in the possession of Sir John Norreys, Keeper of the Wardrobe to Henry VI, who starting re-building the manor in 1446.

In the windows of the great hall, Sir John inserted beautiful stained glass, proudly showcasing his Lancastrian connections by displaying the arms of his friends at Court:

The Norreys family lived there until 1517. At that time, Sir John's great-grandson, also Sir John, had to surrender the estate in return for a pardon after having murdered a certain John Enhold of Nettlebed. Ockwells was then owned by Sir John's uncle, Sir Thomas Fettiplace. It passed through the Fettiplace family, before being owned by the Day family.

Notes

↑ either Eleanor of Castile or Eleanor of Provence

Sources and external links

Royal Berkshire History: Ockwells Manor

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