Ewelme Manor
Has been described as a Possible Palace (Royal)
There are no visible remains
| Name | Ewelme Manor |
| Alternative Names | Elmes; Newelme |
| Historic Country | Oxfordshire |
| Modern Authority | Oxfordshire |
| 1974 Authority | Oxfordshire |
| Civil Parish | Ewelme |
Part of Ewelme Palace, now house. c.1450 with late C18 fenestration and wing to rear left. Red brick; old plain-tile roof; brick lateral stacks to rear. 2 storeys, 3-window range. 6-panel door with fan-light to C19 red brick porch to centre. 16-pane sashes to all openings. Right return: 2 storeys and attic, angled buttresses to corners. 20-pane sashes to ground and first floor, 4-pane sash to attic gable. Interior: Arch-braced collar-truss roof with sharply curved wind-braces. Last surviving fragment of Chaucer's ancestral home. Enlarged after the marriage of Alice Chaucer to William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk) in 1430. Described by Leland in 1542, "The base court of it is fair and is builded with brick and timber. The inner part of the house is set within a fair moat and is builded richly of brick and stone. The hall of it is fair and hath great bars of iron over thwart it instead of gross-beads." What is now the Manor was part of a self-contained range for the accommodation of guests or retainers. Shown in an engraving by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck of 1729. Truncated and remodelled in 1787. (Listed Building Report)
A medieval manor house and later Tudor royal manor. The 15th century court house is all that remains of Medieval manor house of the de la Poles, the Dukes or Earls of Suffolk, and earthworks of gardens are visible. The De la Poles were an inluential family with links to the house of York. The de la Poles, particularly were accused of conspiracy against the Tudor regime of Henry VII and Edmund the last de la Pole to carry the title was executed by King Henry VIII. Having seized the estate, in 1525 Henry gave it to the new Duke of Suffolk, Charles Brandon, who was married to the King's sister Mary. In 1535 he claimed it back in exchange for lands elsewhere. Henry seems to have used Ewelme as a lesser private house to which he could retreat or use as a base for hunting
By the time of James I much of the house had fallen into ruins: most of the manor house was demolished in the 17th century, although a range survived until at least 1729. (PastScape)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law
Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SU643914 |
| Latitude | 51.6181793212891 |
| Longitude | -1.0714099407196 |
| Eastings | 464350 |
| Northings | 191490 |
