Stable Block With Coach House To Shapwick Manor

The stable block with coach house at Shapwick Manor dates from the mid-17th century, likely built for Henry Bull, with alterations and additions made in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It is constructed from coursed and squared lias rubble, with stucco and freestone dressings, and features slate and pantile roofs. The building has coped verges with bases for finials, and on the left side, there is wrought-iron cresting. An octagonal clock turret with a domed lead roof is topped with a ball finial and a bell with a striking hammer, showcasing Jacobean architectural style.

The structure is single storey with an attic, arranged in a 1:5:1 bay configuration. The central bays have 2-light ovolo-moulded stone-mullioned and transomed windows, which feature stopped labels and upper lights that are leaded. To the left, there is a cast-iron casement window. The building includes three door openings: the leftmost is broad with a segmental head and paired plank doors; the next has a 4-centred head in a dressed stone surround with a plank door; and the rightmost is also broad with a 4-centred head in a dressed stone surround, featuring a label and a studded plank door with a concealed latch mechanism on the left jamb.

A two-storey wing projects at right angles to the right, with reserved chamfer stone-mullioned windows on each floor of its inner face. A later addition is set back to the left, featuring a single pitch pantile roof behind a parapet with coping. This section has two door openings with segmental heads and paired plank doors, along with 2-light stone-mullioned windows and an adjacent door opening in a dressed stone surround with a 4-centred head and a studded plank door.

Inside the main block, the floor is laid with lias setts, and there are six 17th-century stalls separated by an arcade of slightly bellied Tuscan columns, with arches that have semi-circular heads and turned pendants. A former windvane, dated 1691, is now missing.