bredenbury court
the history of bredenbury court
In 1726, Bredenbury Court was known as Bredenbury House and owned by Richard West of Stanford. However, just under one hundred years later in 1820, an owning descendant named William West overstretched his financial means. With his bankruptcy came the sale of Bredenbury House. A gentleman and Army Captain, by the name of Charles Dutton bought the house and lived there for a short four years until the passing of his wife, Phoebe.
Records state that in the mid 1800’s, Robert Johnson, a widower from Liverpool, became the next owner of Bredenbury House. According to Census records, he had no occupation other than being a ‘Gentlemen’. He remarried whilst living at the house and kept a staff of three. Following Mr Johnson’s ownership, Bredenbury House then became Bredenbury Court under the new ownership of William Henry Barneby.
W.H. Barneby was a very wealthy man who exercised great generosity. He gave funds to restore the village school and the building of a new church. William Henry Barneby was a descendent of one of the oldest families in Herefordshire – The Barnebys. Whilst living at Bredenbury, William renovated and extended the house by commissioning a notable architect of the time, Thomas Wyatt. This united the separate buildings together as one with the building Wyatt’s red-stone, three storey, Italianate south facade. William lived with family at Bredenbury until the beginning of the 20th century.
The building work did not stop there. On the later ownership of Bredenbury Court by Francis Greswold-Willams in 1901, a west wing and dining room designed by architect Guy Dawber were added. Additionally, the Hall of the house was redecorated with ornate paneling. Records also suggest that a few years later in 1910, Bredenbury Court was a Deer Park for a time. This is still evident from the Ha-Ha surrounding the grounds.
In a complete change of events, Bredenbury Court became a school in 1918 and home to Cheltenham Ladies College for forty years. Then a string of differing Headmasters owned and ran the school independently. Up until the summer of 2016, the school was known as St Richards School, named so in 1968. The additional building of school classrooms in the 1930’s added further property to Bredenbury Court.
And now, in our care, we are so proud to have lovingly and sympathetically restored Bredenbury Court to offer a gorgeous wedding venue in Herefordshire. With thoughtful nods back to it’s past and the keeping of Bredenbury Court’s splendid grounds, first planted by Edward Milner in the late 19th century. With such a rich and diverse past, it is such a joy to now be sharing Bredenbury Court in all its beauty with you on your wedding day – nearly 300 years after first being built.
