| Leigh Court | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Leigh Court. The north east front in 2014 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | English country house |
| Architectural style | Palladian |
| Location | Abbots Leigh, Somerset |
| Coordinates | 51°28′11″N 2°39′33″W / 51.46972°N 2.65917°W |
| Construction started | 1812 (1558 for the Tudor house) |
| Completed | 1814 |
| Demolished | 1812 (Tudor house) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 4 (plus mezzanine on one side) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Hopper |
Leigh Court is a country house which is a Grade II* listed building[1][2] in Abbots Leigh, Somerset, England. The grounds and park are listed, Grade II, on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.[3]
The site was a house of rest for the monks of St Augustine's Abbey, which became Bristol Cathedral. After the dissolution of the monasteries it was granted to Sir George Norton who built an Elizabethan mansion. One of his descendants gave sanctuary to Charles II during his escape to France in 1651. The original house was demolished and rebuilt in the Regency period by Philip John Miles and became the seat of the Miles baronets. The mansion housed a collection of over a hundred paintings representing many Old Masters. In common with many country houses after the First World War, it entered a period of institutional use in 1919 under Rev Harold Nelson Burden (1859–1930) as a psychiatric hospital but was subsequently restored. The estate now offers office accommodation, conference and meeting rooms, and the house has a licence as a venue for civil wedding services.
The Palladian house has a Greek Revival interior which has largely survived the various uses of the building. The grounds were originally landscaped by Humphrey Repton; part of them is now within the Leigh Woods National Nature Reserve. An organic farm has also been established based on the walled garden.
- ^ Historic England. "Leigh Court (1320671)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nhlehospwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Historic England. "Leigh Court (1000407)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2016.