Inside abandoned 15th century manor house with clothes still in wardrobe

21 November 2023 , 10:57

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The exterior of the property in Wiltshire (Image: mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

Chilling images reveal how this abandoned 15th century manor house was once the home of now deceased conservative MP Horace Trevor Cox who was the last of Chamberlain’s appeasing WW2 government.

Images show the massive mansion with historical photographs left behind, clothes still hanging in the wardrobe, an old school workbook and even a large vintage pram. The property is surrounded by outbuildings, and inside it is still decorated in quite a decadent manner with thick red carpet, a piano and chandeliers in most rooms.

Called Roches Old Court Manor, the building is Grade II listed and dates back to the fifteenth century. It is likely that the manor house was built to replace a mediaeval hall situated on the same site. The name Roche is from the surname of the 14th Century tenants on the land.

There are many period features of the manor house including the kitchen and great hall. The tithe barn on site is also a scheduled monument and is therefore protected from unauthorised change.

Enormous ceilings in one of the outbuildings (mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

The manor house was last sold in 1933 to the Trevor-Cox family. Horace Trevor-Cox was a politician and before his death, aged 97 in 2005, he was the last survivor of the WW2 Chamberlain government who famously appeased Hitler’s Nazi regime until forced into war in 1939. Trevor-Cox was elected into Parliament as a Conservative MP in 1935.

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The property was placed up for auction in 2022 and sold for a staggering £1.5Million to an anonymous buyer. Unfortunately it seems they had no immediate plans for the home, as it still appears abandoned to this day continuing to decay.

A piano in one of the halls (mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

These images were captured by urban explorer Daniel Sims, 34, known online as Bearded Reality. Daniel captured the historic home in Wiltshire, England.

“There were quite a few interesting things about this place. Firstly I noticed dotted around the property quite a few family crests; these buildings, including the old hall, have historic links to the Worsley family. The crest can be found dotted around the house and even depicted on a stained glass window and the Worsley baronets lived in these buildings and surrounding areas between 1680 and 1700.

The home is filled with clutter (mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

Historic images left behind (mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

“I also found a stunning Challen piano and also in this barn area was a slightly boarded up well which I found very interesting inside the property. There were a few taxidermy animals left over including a fish and a mounted deer's head in this area. Upstairs I found some very old photos and art which was interesting to see as well as in another room lots of pictures of various Kings and Queens from the ages. The rooms even though decayed were amazing and you could see why the property was worth so much money. The grandfather clock was amazing and still in good condition.”

A cobweb covered spice rack (mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

The home is of high status and is a listed property that has sadly been left in a state of decay. “Roche Old Court, an unusually high-status farmhouse, appears to have been built in the late C17 as the principal house of a post-medieval farmstead,” said Daniel.

A haunting pram sits abandoned (mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

“The farmstead is shown on Andrews’ and Dury’s map of Wiltshire, 1773 and 1810, where it is labelled as ‘Eyston Farm’. In about 1809, a new manor house, Roche Court, was built to the east of Easton Farm. Outside the area where the barns were was quite overgrown with signs of some renovation work at some point to stabilise some of the buildings. The main house tucked to the side of the property was stunning but had signs of damage over the years. Inside had a lot of signs of decay and with paint peeling holes in the ceilings which would mean a lot of time, effort and money to restore the place to its former glory would need to happen.”

Daniel loves his work as an urban explorer and the unique place it allows him to capture.

The large bedroom with fire place (mediadrumimages/Bearded Reality)

“I love capturing things that people don't generally see, the different odd and amazing things, secondly, the rust decay and everything being overcome with nature is quite exciting to document and capture,” he said. "Since the MP’s death the manor has been left to rot and decay for the past 17 years. The property went up for auction on the 20th of January 2022. This was once in a lifetime opportunity to own a large historical estate. The buyer will be granted ownership of Roche Old Court, which includes the manorial title of Lord of the Manor of East Winterslow.”

Ryan Fahey