Building record MDO47543 - Little Waddon, Portesham

The manor of East Waddon, little or Gerard's Waddon. In 5 James I it was the property of Mary Gerard, and in 1645, Col. Bullen
Reymes seems to have owned the place and lived here until his death in 1695, when it came to Harry Chafin. The mansion house is small and irregular, but well-built by Harry Chafin. It is now used as a farm house. <1>

The house is called Little Waddon to distinguish it from the large residence Whaddon House. (The owner could give no
information on the antiquity of the house). The house is of two storeys, small and rectangular with stone walls and a slate roof. The walls are partly stuccoed; all the windows are of modern type. The house bears no visible traces of antiquity or of an earlier building being incorporated in its fabric. From appearance it is perhaps 100 to 150 years old.

Hutchins gives the manorial name of Little Waddon and this has apparently caused the appellation of Manor House to be wrongly applied to this building. it is clear from Hutchins description and ground inspection that the Manor House is in fact Waddon house.

In short, the name Little Waddon has no connection with the Manor House, and does not apply to an antiquity. <3>

SY 62538569. House at Little Waddon is of the second quarter of the 19th century and has a slate-covered roof. It is
symmetrically planned with two rooms flanking a central entrance and staircase. <4>

<1> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 2, 763-4 (Monograph). SWX1269.

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

(SY 62548569) Manor House (NR) (Remains of) (NAT)

<3> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 15-APR-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<3.1> Walker, A, Oral: Mrs A Walker (owner and occupier), Little Waddon Guest House (Verbal communication). SDO20357.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 2, 245 (Monograph). SDO149.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 452393 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 14 2023 11:10AM