This little village belongs to the estate of Glympton and as a result is pretty much unchanged in the last few hundred years. It’s a secret place, huddled beneath the great house in the traditional way. It sits on a fork in the road surrounded by trees with a small alms house building and around 20 cottages.

There was a manor house here since at least 1550, and since the current house is right next to the medieval church it seems likely that it stands on the original site. There is nothing older than 18th century in the house today, which was built in the early 1700s by the Wheate family after they had aquired the estate in 1633. It was probably to a design by Sir John Vanbrugh, the architect of Blenheim Palace. Sketches of what look like the current house have been found, along with more formal drawings by Vanbrugh to restore and renovate the old building. In 1846 the estate passed to George Barnett, the son of a London banker.

The Barnetts were an interesting family. Curtis Barnett (1696-1746), followed his father into the navy and progressing rapidly through the ranks, becoming a Captain in 1731. He was made Commodore of a small squadron sent to the Bay of Bengal in 1744 to attack French trading vessels. A single action, which resulted in his securing significant prize money, quickly recovered British command of the Bay.

Curtis’s second son Benjamin decided against following in his father’s footsteps and went into banking, becoming a partner in Barnett, Hoare, Hanbury & Lloyd, later to become Lloyds Bank.

In 1770 he married Avice, the eldest daughter of Sir George Wheate, who brought with her the Glympton estate.