Sheldon Manor

Sheldon Manor is a Grade I listed manor house located in Chippenham Without. The building comprises multiple phases of construction spanning from around 1300 to 1911, with stone rubble walls and stone-tiled roofs. It rises to two-and-a-half storeys.

The south front features a two-storey porch with coped gable, capped by an early 18th-century pedimented sundial. The porch contains a first floor two-light window with cusped Y-tracery. Ground floor angle buttresses have one set-off and saddleback coping. A double-chamfer pointed archway opens to a quadripartite vault with heavy chamfered ribs springing from angle shafts with moulded caps. Inside the porch is a double chamfer pointed inner doorway fitted with an oak door in a moulded frame, possibly from the 15th century and reused. On the west side of the porch sits a two-light window with trefoil heads and a deep inner reveal, with a single light above. The porch was possibly built in 1282 for the Gascelyn family.

The main house behind the porch was rebuilt after 1659 for W. Forster, except for the east range which may date from the 15th century. The south end of this range was probably the "chamber east of the hall" built in 1431 for T. Hille, a tenant of the Hungerford family. This range features a south gable east of the porch with coped edges and a tiny attic light. A two-light first floor window has cusped heads; the plain chamfered ground floor window is three lights. The east side of this range was refenestrated in 1911. Chimney stacks include one side wall stack with two diagonal shafts, a ridge stack with two shafts, and a north end stack.

The main circa 1660 range forms an L-plan with a rear north gabled stair tower, a south front gable, and gable ends to west and east. The rear angle of the L is filled with paired north gables, probably added after 1711 for W. Norris. A massive triple-shaft rear wall stack serves the main range.

The south front of the circa 1660 range features moulded coping to the gable and a three-light ovolo-moulded attic window with hoodmould. Three windows on the main floors have mullion and transom windows with continuous dripmoulds stepped up over the outer two windows to form a symmetrical gable composition. The outer four windows are recessed with cyma-mouldings; the inner two are ovolo-moulded.

The west gable end has a three-light ovolo attic window and two windows to each main floor. The first floor contains one blank panel and one blocked mullion and transom window with cyma-mouldings. The ground floor has one blank panel and one 20th-century mullion and transom window. A dripcourse runs over the first floor and steps up as a hoodmould over the ground floor.

The early 18th-century paired north gables have a first floor west side mullion and transom window with continuous dripmould, coped gables, and an ashlar corniced end wall stack to the right gable. Flush quoins are present. The first floor features cyma-moulded mullion and transom windows with hoodmoulds; the ground floor has ovolo-moulded two-light windows with hoodmoulds.

Set back to the left is a circa 1660 stair gable with moulded coping, a two-light attic ovolo-moulded window, a three-light first floor ovolo-moulded window, and a three-light landing level mullion and transom ovolo-moulded window, all with hoodmoulds. To the left, projecting, is the north end of the 15th-century range. At the north-east angle of the house is a 1911 two-storey kitchen wing with broad dormer gables to north and south and a triple east end diagonal stack. Leaded lights are throughout the building.

Interior features include the circa 1300 porch, which has an arched-braced coupled-rafter roof to the first floor room. The circa 1660 main range contains a fine open well staircase with rusticated closed string, newels with openwork finials and pendants, and flat balusters with Ionic type capitals. The drawing room has introduced panelling and a Tudor-arched fireplace. A first floor west room features introduced early 18th-century fielded panelling, a shell corner cupboard, and an original bolection moulded fireplace.

The 15th-century east range has a ground floor south room with an introduced Tudor-arched fireplace and linen-fold panelled door. The dining room contains massive beams, introduced linen-fold panelling, and a Tudor-arched fireplace. The north end room has a large original timber lintel fireplace and a massive centre beam.

On the first floor, the south end library contains a three-bay arched-braced collar truss roof with windbracing, partly reconstructed in 1911, and an introduced Tudor-arched fireplace. The room to the north has a Tudor-arched fireplace. The north end room features a bolection moulded fireplace dating to around 1700.