When I was writing the book there were items that I collected that I didn’t use. So, I’ve started to go back through the rather poorly indexed images and see what I could add via this blog.
The first images I found were not about Combe Down at all, but about Bathampton Manor and they’re rather evocative.
Bathampton Manor, was owned by Bath Abbey until the Dissolution when it passed to the Crown and was then purchased by William Crouch. Subsequent owners were Thomas Popham, Edward Hungerford, the Bassett family and the Holders of Claverton. Ralph Allen married Elizabeth Holder in 1736. By 1743 Elizabeth’s brother, Charles, had become “financially embarrassed” and Ralph paid off his debts and purchased the Manor from him – see History of Bath Research Group.
