Elmore Court
. Elmore, ENG, GL2 3NT GB / ENG
Location Description
At Elmore Court there is a very rare and strong heritage which dates back to 1274 and before... Anselm Guise, the present owner, has the weight of continuous family ownership here for nearly 750 years! Here’s a very potted history. The Guise family has owned the land at Elmore since 1274. The family had arrived in England nearly 200 years earlier with William the Conqueror and originally settled in what is now called Aspley Guise in Bedfordshire. They were granted Elmore by a man named John De Burgh, whose father was a senior figure in the court of Henry 3rd. The Rent was set at ‘The Clove of one GillyFlower’ each year! The family lived at Elmore but kept property in Bedfordshire until around 1540. It is around then that the oldest part of the house dates. In 1638 they bought land and built a very fine house at nearby Rendcombe and in 1661 Christopher Guise was knighted as the 1st Baronet of Elmore. Later on, in 1783, the direct line came to an end when Sir William Guise died without a son and heir. Fortunately a cousin, who had by chance married into a family called Cooke and by proxy become owner of a lovely house, Highnam Court was able to inherit everything. His name was John and our Anselm is directly descended from him. Sir John Guise had children and the eldest, Berkeley, inherited all the estates in 1794 at the age of 20. Napoleon was causing trouble in Europe and his younger brother went off to fight and it seems that Berkeley meanwhile probably had a very good time. He built the dining room and the house was then purely used for parties and gatherings. Sadly he died without children in 1834 however his brother, now General John Wright Guise, inherited but had to sell Highnam and Rendcombe due to huge debts and once again Elmore Court became the family’s primary residence. The General’s son, Sir William Vernon did an enormous amount of work at Elmore and his legacy is what was here before we did the most recent works. He added all the areas to the rear of the house and created enduring aspects such as the beautiful stained glass in the Hall window. Elmore Court then employed a great deal of people and was typical of our imagination of country houses with all the upstairs / downstairs goings on that one might expect. From then until after the First World War things continued relatively unchanged. Anselm’s father, Sir James Guise, his Aunt and late Uncle were all born into this way of living and remember being sent for at dinner time in their best clothes. Or being upstairs with matron!
Location Category
- HOUSES - Mansions / Estates
- HOUSES - Period Homes / Historic
- HOUSES - INTERIORS - Bathrooms
- HOUSES - INTERIORS - Bedrooms
- HOUSES - INTERIORS - Living Areas
Architecture Style
- Architectural
- Georgian
- Victorian
