The manor later passed to the De Cricket family and then, around
1328, it was acquired by Sir Walter de Rodney, ancestor of Admiral, Lord
Rodney. The manor was later sold to the Preston family, one of whose
members, Sir Amyas Preston, captured the Admiral of the Galeasses of the
Spanish Armada. He also led an expedition, in 1595, against the Spanish
Main and launched a naval raid on Jamaica.
In 1775, the
estate came into the possession of Captain Alexander Hood (1727-1814),
who became a Vice-Admiral and second in command of the Channel fleet
during the Napoleonic Wars. For more on Hood's career
click here.
In
the portrait at left by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Reynolds may have
employed the marine painter Richard Wright to paint the naval action
in the background. It shows Hood recapturing the British ship
Warwick in the Mediterranean in 1761.
Created Baron Bridport in
recognition of his wartime exploits, he died childless in 1814, the
barony then passing to his great nephew Samuel Hood, who was married
to Nelson's niece Charlotte. Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton were
frequent visitors to the house.
Samuel Hood, 2nd Baron Bridport, was born in 1788. Between 1816 and
1860 he spent over £250,000 on laying out the gardens and grounds at
Cricket St Thomas. He dammed the stream that runs through the grounds,
creating the chain of lakes, and planted a wide range of ornamental
trees and shrubs. The Baron rose to the rank of General and became
Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria. He died in 1868 and is buried
at Cricket St Thomas. His wife Charlotte Mary née Nelson (1787-1873)
also died, and is buried, at Cricket St Thomas.
Their son Alexander Nelson Hood, 3rd Baron and 1st Viscount
Bridport, was born in 1814 at Marylebone, London. In 1897 mounting debts forced
him to sell the estate to Francis James Fry, the chocolate
manufacturer. Hood died in 1904 at Royal Lodge, Windsor
Park but is buried at Cricket St Thomas.
"In those days the estate at Cricket St Thomas gave
employment to the whole of the village. In the house itself there were
over thirty servants kept. My own father worked for Lord Bridport, and
often discussed him with me. He was described as a very hard man, but
this was probably a reflection on his position in life. He does
however appear to have been a very generous man, and the village hall
we have today was given to us by his Lordship on the occasion of Queen
Victoria's Jubilee, hence the name.
After Lord Bridport sold up the estate, and split up the farms,
the place then became the residence of the Fry family, the cocoa people,
and these were the Lords of the Manor in my time. They were a much
respected family, noted Quakers, and very good, and most generous, to
the whole of the village. They took a personal interest in everyone who
worked on the estate or had any connections with them. They were very
much a part of the village, as the war memorial will verify, when among
the names you will find Harold Fry, who fought, and died, with the rest
of the lads.
Harold's brother, Geoffrey, became a politician, and was at one
time private secretary to Bonar Law. There were several daughters, and
they took a very personal interest in the village school. I well
remember the youngest daughter, Miss Connie, also Miss Norah, who was
later to become Mrs Cooke Hurle, and took a prominent part in local
politics. During this period, the Cricket St Thomas estate was like a
public park, where you could wander at will, without fear of being
stopped, or questioned, and if you happened to meet any of the family
they would be delighted to meet you, and ask after your parents,
particularly if they worked on the estate, and perhaps enquire as to
what the future held for you, but always with kindly interest. My
father worked on the estate all his life, and helped carry both Lord
Bridport, and Mr F J Fry, to their last resting place. For this
service, Mr Fry left my father the sum of Ten Pounds, such was his
benevolence. When the Fry family moved away from Cricket, it was a
particularly sad day for the village."
*
The estate passed to two other families before being broken up
in 1919 and sold off into private hands. The
map of the sale indicates
that the whole of the northern part of Winsham parish, from Lue Farm and
Midnell Farm to the northernmost part of the parish adjoining the A30,
including the hamlet of Purtington, was sold. During the latter part of
the 20th century the grounds of the house contained a 46-acre wildlife
park which today is an important conservation centre.
The big estate at Cricket St Thomas had contracted as it passed
down from Lord Bridport to Mr Fry and onto Mr Hall, (my grandfather
worked for them all) and many of the farms passed to private hands. The
game was still jealously guarded by the game keepers. Mr White, Mr Hart
and Mr Bagge come readily to mind, and they were feared almost as much
as the village Bobby. For one period he was 'Tiny' Weaver, a giant of a
man of 6' 7". *
The manor had its own church, dedicated to St Thomas, first
recorded some 800 years ago, with registers going back to the 1560's. The
present parish
church was built in the 19th century. It contains memorials to
members of Hood and Nelson families and has one of the few wooden fonts
in England.
*
=
from "The Winsham I Remember" by WH Paull,
1971.
