Dodington Hall

About this place

Dodington Hall was built in 1485 in the village of Dodington, near Bridgwater in Somerset.

The house is constructed of local red sandstone under a slate roof, with tall chimney stacks rising above its open hall.

That hall retains a decorated ceiling and heraldic glass surviving from the original construction.

The property is listed with Historic Houses, and the current occupants show visitors round the hall themselves rather than operating a formal tour.

History

The hall was enlarged in 1581, extending the original late medieval structure. It later fell into disrepair and was let out as a farmhouse during the 17th century before returning to settled ownership. It now holds Grade II* listed status, reflecting the rarity of its surviving late medieval hall features.

Architecture

Built of local red sandstone beneath a slate roof, the hall is marked by several tall chimney stacks. The parlour wing has its own decorated ceiling, matching the one in the main open hall.

Worth knowing

The cellar below the kitchen still contains the mechanism for a water-driven spit, an unusual survival of early kitchen engineering rarely found intact in English houses.