St Catherine's Court

St Catherine's Court

St Catherine's Court north front.
General information
Town or city St Catherine
Country England
Completed 16th century
Client William Blanchard

St Catherine's Court is a grade I listed Tudor manor house in a secluded valley north of Bath, England.[1]

The manor of St Catherine belonged to Prior Cantlow of Bath Abbey in medieval times.[2] It takes its name from the church of St Catherine[3] beside the manor house.[4]

The oldest part of the house is Elizabethan. It was remodelled by William Blanchard, who bought St Catherine's Court and its estate in 1594. His initials appear in the plasterwork frieze of a bedroom. In the Victorian period Richard Strutt extended the house and added an orangery.[4]

In 1984, actress Jane Seymour bought the house with her then husband David Flynn for £350,000.[5] After spending £3 million on refurbishments,[6] Seymour spent summers at the house. After her divorce from Flynn and marriage to American film producer James Keach, Seymour rented out the manor as a film set, recording studio and latterly country house estate/hotel for corporate events and weddings. The English band The Cure recorded their album Wild Mood Swings there in end of 1994 and 1995; they came back in the autumn of 1998 to record most of their 2000 album Bloodflowers. The rock band Radiohead recorded most of their 1997 album OK Computer there. English Rock/Electronic Band New Order also recorded part of their 2005 album Waiting for the Sirens' Call there. The property was also rented by Robbie Williams, as seen in the first episode of MTV Cribs.

In May 2007, Seymour was granted a 24-hour alcohol and entertainment licence under new UK regulations, by Bath and North East Somerset council. Neighbours complained the access lane was too narrow and the noise excessive.[7] Seymour won the court battle, but sold the house in November 2007 to an unknown buyer.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "St. Catherine's Court". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  2. ↑ Greenwood, Charles (1977). Famous houses of the West Country. Bath: Kingsmead Press. pp. 77–79. ISBN 978-0-901571-87-8.
  3. ↑ "St. Catherine's Church". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  4. 1 2 BathPast: St Catherine's Court
  5. 1 2 'Neighbour from hell' Jane Seymour sells mansion after row with residents Daily Mail - 6 December 2007
  6. ↑ Bracchi, Paul (2007-08-13). "Why Jane Seymour's country neighbours don't like her manor". Mail on Sunday. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  7. ↑ "Seymour house row goes to court". BBC News. 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-11-12.

Coordinates: 51°25′49″N 2°19′16″W / 51.4304°N 2.3210°W / 51.4304; -2.3210

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