1086
The Domesday Book of 1086 lists the holder of the manor of Halswell as Roger Arundel, whose tenant was Wido.
1285
It descended from Roger to Henry de Newburgh, whose tenant in 1285 was Taunton Priory
de Halswell
1285
Peter de Halswell was the holder in 1285, and held by the feudal tenure of 1/4 of a knight’s fee.
1285
Peter de Halswell was the holder in 1285, and held by the feudal tenure of 1/4 of a knight’s fee.
1303
William de Halswell held the manor in 1303 as 1/8 of a knight’s fee.
1428
William Halswell was living in 1394 and appears to have been the holder in 1428.
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John Halswell
1512-1564
Nicholas Halswell (c.1512-1564), MP for Bridgwater in 1553 and 1563
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Robert Halswell (d.1570), who built Halswell House (Tudor)
1536
Tudor House Built
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Sir Nicholas Halswell (1566-1633), MP for Bridgwater in 1604.
(Son of Robert Halswell)
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Henry Halswell (d.1636)
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Rev. Hugh Halswell (d. 1672), rector of Cheriton, Hampshire and proctor of Oxford University
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Jane Halswell (d.1650) . (Jane married John Tynte of Chelvey Court, Brockley, Somerset)
1667
In 1667 the manor was put into trust for Jane Halswell’s son Sir Halswell Tynte, 1st Baronet (1649–1702), MP for Bridgwater 1679–1689.
Tynte
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Sir Halswell Tynte, 1st Baronet (b. 1649, d.1702). MP for Bridgwater 1679–1689.
1689
On the Baroque Mansion House, above the coat of arms are the Roman Numerals MDCLXXXIX which is 1689. The coat of arms has, at the top, 3 blue lines with a red strike going through it, this is the Arms of the Halswell family.
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Rev. Sir John Tynte, 2nd Baronet (1683–1710), rector of Goathurst, married Jane Kemeys of the Kemeys family of Cefn Mably.He was succeeded successively by his three sons: Sir Halsewell Tynte, 3rd Baronet (1705–30), of Halswell and Cefnmabli, whose two daughters died young;Rev. Sir John Tynte, 4th Baronet (1707–1740), also rector of Goathurst, who died unmarriedand Sir Charles Kemys Tynte, 5th Baronet (1710–1785), who died without progeny leaving Halswell to a niece who adopted the name Kemys Tynte.
1764
Richards was a founder member of the Royal Academy and exhibited there regularly. He was principal scene painter at Covent Garden between 1777-1803 and executed several views of country houses. Halswell House was built for Sir Halswell Tynte in 1689. This view of the house and its park includes around Palladian temple known as the Rotunda, and a horse-drawn garden roller. At the end of the eighteenth century a visitor noted how the park commanded a fine view of ‘…The Channel… the Steepholm rising in the midst of it very boldly, and beyond these mountains of Wales rise one behind the other.’ In 1740 Halswell House was inherited by Charles Kemeys-Tynte of Cefnmably, Glamorgan.
1830
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25/07/1907
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21/11/1908
An original very early issue of Country Life Magazine dated November 21st 1908 featuring a main article on Halswell Park in Somerset, A seat of Mr. C. T. H. Kemeys-Tynte. Eight page write up with black and white illustrations of the property interior and exterior.
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Cefn Mably remained in the hands of the Kemeys Tynte family until 1923. In 1916 the Kemeys-Tynte’s reclaimed the dormant Barony of Wharton through petition to the House of Lords.
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During the early years of the Second World War the Tudor buildings became the home to St Hilda’s school for girls and then, in the latter years, an area of the parkland became an Italian prisoner of war camp.
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After the war the estate was a shadow of its former self. In the 1940s the National Trust was approached to take over the house, but much of the furniture and paintings had been sold and it declined the offer.
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In 1950 the estate was sold and split into several ownerships. The coach house and stables were converted into freehold residences and the house converted into flats. The ‘lawn’ on the east became a wilderness, with the Rotunda and grotto buried deep in saplings and undergrowth. By contrast the ancient oaks, chestnuts, ilex and sycamore in Mill Wood were cleared, many of the garden features were removed, with the rest left to decay and much of the park went under the plough.
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The Halswell estate was finally sold by Lord Wharton and broken up through as series of auctions between 1948 and 1950. The estate buildings and much of the Tudor manor were subdivided into flats, probably saving the house from the destruction that was sweeping through other historic houses from that time until the 1970s.
The Baroque house, too large and draughty for such habitation was left untouched and used as a warehouse. The bulk of the house was bought by a succession of owners who attempted to reunite the fragmented ownership of the estate, the last was a property developer and hotelier who bought Halswell in 2004 and went bankrupt in 2012.
1950?-1982
Mr. Clarence [‘Gassy’] Harris
1982-1993
John Tuckey went into partnership with a local solicitor, Timothy Davey
1993-2007
Mr Amir Khadobai’s Park Investments Company
Strachan
2013
British businessman and art collector Edward Strachan bought the estate in 2013 for £1.125m and has begun a comprehensive process of restoration of the house, outbuildings, gardens and eighteenth-century landscape parkland with the intention of opening the house to the public when the restorations are complete. By the end of 2013 the derelict eighteenth-century lake system called Mill Wood, containing follies, bridges, dams and waterfalls was purchased by the same owner and reunited with the house for the first time since the estate was broken up in 1950. This has been re-planted with trees and the follies are being restored.
HistoricHouses.org
The estate has its origins in the eleventh century with the principal buildings today comprising a Tudor Manor dated from the mid-sixteenth century and a mansion house of 1689.
Originally Halswell and the village of Goathurst were separate entities with the original family living here at least from Saxon times and taking their name from the spring that rises just to the east of the main house. Over the centuries the various lords purchased additional acres of lands, including much of Goathurst.
According to surviving receipts the Tudor house still existing today to the rear of the north range, was built in 1536 for Robert Halswell. Robert Halswell died in 1570 and left the estate to his son, Nicholas, who was then a minor.
The Halswell family played little recorded part in national affairs until Sir Nicholas Halswell became MP for Bridgwater in 1603. He died in 1633, leaving the house to his son Hugh, a clergyman. Dr Hugh Halswell had no male heirs and the estate passed, through his daughter Jane, to his grandson Halswell Tynte; Jane having married John Tynte of Chelvey, another wealthy Somerset Family.
During the early years of the Second World War the Tudor buildings became the home to St Hilda’s school for girls and then, in the latter years, an area of the parkland became an Italian prisoner of war camp.
After the war the estate was a shadow of its former self. In the 1940s the National Trust was approached to take over the house, but much of the furniture and paintings had been sold and it declined the offer. In 1950 the estate was sold and split into several ownerships. The coach house and stables were converted into freehold residences and the house converted into flats. The ‘lawn’ on the east became a wilderness, with the Rotunda and grotto buried deep in saplings and undergrowth. By contrast the ancient oaks, chestnuts, ilex and sycamore in Mill Wood were cleared, many of the garden features were removed, with the rest left to decay and much of the park went under the plough.