Listed Building record MDO28480 - Hooke Court, Hooke

A country house centred around the remains of a fifteenth-century house, formerly moated, and with part of the moat surviving in the grounds of what has more recently been a school. The original house is thought to have been built for Humphrey Stafford around 1407, but passed to the Paulet family in 1609. There were numerous later additions and alterations, with part of the house being damaged by fire in the Civil War and subsequently demolished.

[ST 53110039] Hooke Court [GT]
Moat [GT] (1)

Hooke Court: The house is of three storeys with cellars. According to Coker, Humphrey Stafford built the house c.1407. and this date may apply to the E. wing.
In the 16thc. the house belonged to the Staffords, passing to the Paulets in 1609 about which time Wm. Paulet probably built the S. part of the S. wing. Damaged by fire in the Civil War and middle part of S wing probably reconstructed about this date. N. part of wing seems 18thc.
Extensively altered and modernised in 18thc. and later.
Moat: The W. and part of N sides have been filled in. The N. arm closely skirted the 15thc. wing (2)
[Similar information] (2)
Objects found in the moat of Hooke Court, and given by Sir Thos. and Lady Salt:-
Dagger of the type called "Misericord" - its date is about 1400 AD. Acc. No. 1944. 23.1.
Key of Md. pattern. Acc. No. 1944. 23.2. (2-4)

The building is known as St Francis School, Hooke Court (a). A well preserved substantial stone building with comparatively modern extensions in the East wing and North wing.
The Western part of the East wing shows traces of blocked in windows and doors.
The south wing has several mullioned windows - See GP
The Moat has been partially filled in recently in the North and a modern swimming bath of concrete has been built into the southern arm. The moat has, in general, been defaced by
gardening. The building is used as a school for boys. (5)

"Hooke Court" retains a number of 17th century features. The moat has been further infilled. OS 1:2500 survey revised. (6)

20/2 II Hooke Court Rough ashlar and slated. 3s. W, front has three-light windows; those of N. half have lights with four-centred heads, those of S. half have elliptical heads. N. wall has buttresses and other traces of mediaeval work. Stone fireplace with Paulet arms. N.W. wing C.15. S.W. wing C.17.
Modern additions. Much modernised interior. (7)

The East wing was demolished c. 1965, leaving only the 17th century South Wing. The only remaining 15th century work is the perpendicular canopy-work built into the south wall. (8)

(No change from Auth 5 regarding the condition of the moat). (9)

The former south and east sides of the moat are occupied by a derelict swimming pool in the former and an ornamental pool in the latter. Theenclosed area (the position of the modern buildings) is raised - forming an island c. 2m above the presumed water level. Photographs contained within the school, and taken at the turn of the century; indicate the existence of an internal 'step' - sandwiched between the moat and the raised internal platform. This was used as a garden walk.
Immediately south of the southern arm of the moat, there are formal garden earthworks. This again takes the form of a 'walkway'; in this case at a lower level than the island and running at an east - west orientation. A leat-like feature (possibly of some antiquity) employsthe line of the path. At its south end a rectangular pool has been constructed. Within this pool, an island is evident. Early
photographs show that access to the island was gained by a causeway on the east side of the pool. This feature is an ideal location for an earlier fishpond.
The house, Hooke Court, remains as described but is now known as and named St Francis School. (10)

Hooke Court. Grade II*. (11)

Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F2 NVQ 14-NOV-71 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<1> 1866, Hutchins History of Dorset Vol 2, 178-83 (Monograph). SWX2155.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1903 (Map). SWX1540.

[ST 53110039] Hooke Court [GT]
Moat [GT]

<3> DOE (HRR), 1950, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Beaminster Rural District 1950, 20 (Scheduling record). SDO17358.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 126 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(2) HOOKE COURT, house and moat, 500 yards N.W. of the church, The House is of three storeys with cellars; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are slate-covered. It belonged to the Stafford family in the 16th century and, according to Coker, Humphrey Stafford built the house, c. 1407; this may apply to the E. wing. It passed to the Paulets (Marquis of Winchester) in 1609 and William Paulet probably built the S. part of the S. wing. The house was damaged by fire in the Civil War and the middle part of the S. wing seems to be a reconstruction of this date. The N. part of the same wing seems to be an addition of the 18th century. The house has been extensively altered and modernised and there are modern additions on the N. and E. The W. part of the S. wing has a three-storeyed main block with a modern central porch; the S. part of this block is of early 17th-century date and has stone-mullioned windows with elliptical heads and relieving arches and is probably that part of the building reconstructed after the fire. The two-storeyed N. block is probably of the 18th century but has modern windows. The S. end and E. side of this wing have been refaced. The N. face of the 11th-century E. wing was divided into five bays by buttresses, the marks of which can be seen on the wall and the base of one of which survives; part of the moulded plinth of the main wall also remains; the outlines of three original windows with pointed heads remain and there is the square-headed outlet of a garde-robe shaft. The base of a mediaeval wall has recently been found running diagonally away to the N.E. of this range. The S. face has no features earlier than the 18th century. The interior of the house has been much altered but in the Dining Room is a reset fireplace (Plate 46); it has moulded jambs and square head with rounded angles and above it is a frieze of three sub-cusped quatrefoils enclosing foliage and a shield-of-arms of Paulet. In the attics are some fragments of loose stonework and some 17th-century moulded plaster-work. In the garden of the house is a 15th-century head of a two-light window.

The Moat surrounded the early house but the W. and part of the N. sides have been filled in. The N. arm closely skirted the 15th-century wing.’

<5> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 18-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<6> Father Brown, 1955, Oral Father Owen 18.5.55 Headmaster (Verbal communication). SDO17859.

<7> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OS71/F4/11 (Index). SDO14738.

HOOKE COURT-THE HOUSE WAS BUILT C. 1407.

<8> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OS71/F4/12 (Index). SDO14738.

HOOKE COURT-THE HOUSE WAS BUILT C. 1407.

<9> Dorset County Museum, Dorset County Museum Accessions Book (Unpublished document). SWX1315.

<10> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 234 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<11> Upton, K L, 1978, The Moated Sites of Dorset, 23 (Unpublished document). SDO14051.

<12> Department of the Environment, 1985, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: District of West Dorset (Parishes of Batcombe, Cattistock, Cerne Abbas, Frome St Quinton, Hooke, Rampisham, Sydling St Nicholas and Wraxall), 56 (Scheduling record). SDO16377.

<14> National Record of the Historic Environment, 195931 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<32> McOmish, D S, Various, Field Investigators Comments DSM, F3 DSM 28-APR-1987 (Unpublished document). SDO16333.

Record last edited

Mar 21 2022 3:07PM