Darkes
Farm, in Prestbury, Gloucestershire, is thought to have been built in the late
15th Century by the Bishop of Hereford, possibly as accommodation
for hunting parties at a time when Prestbury was described as a woodland area, rich
in game.
During
the Civil War, a Parliamentary army is said to have camped here in 1643 en
route to relieving the siege of Gloucester by Royalist forces, and may have
clashed with them in the village.
It
is believed to have acquired its current name from the Reverend Darkes, who
was, in later years, given the property in recognition of his services to the
parish of Prestbury. For many years,
until well into the 20th century, it was owned by the Parkers, a
prominent Prestbury family. Today it is
a private house, situated at the foot of the Cotswolds on the north-east fringe
of the village.
The
building, the front of which faces almost due north, has three main parts: the central, and oldest, section is
timber-framed, and currently accommodates a sitting room on the ground floor
and two small bedrooms on the first floor.
Some wattle and daub infill between the timbers still remains in one of
the first floor walls, but most are now filled with brick and plaster.
A significant feature of this part of the building is the large stone chimney, and the sitting room still has the period stone fireplace.
A section of the Tudor
moulded fireplace
The
two small bedrooms are a modern conversion of a single upstairs room, and this
has, unfortunately, covered the upstairs fireplace, which was enhanced by
decorative mouldings. Legend has it that one of the mouldings was a plaque
commemorating the occasion when a King and Queen of England, caught while
travelling by severe weather, took shelter and spent the night at the farm.
Three of the mouldings from the dismantled fireplace on the first floor: crown, thistle, Tudor rose
In the corner of the sitting room, a small crucifix is carved in one of the oak beams, marking the location of an old shrine stone, itself no longer accessible.
The small carved crucifix
The
western end of the property consists of a brick-built barn, at one time housing
a cider press (the stone is still situated in the garden), and a principal
supplier of cider to the village.
The cider press stone
After
some years’ use as a garage, the barn is now laid out as living room on the
ground floor with the main bedroom on the first floor, but some of the original
hooks and fastenings remain on the beams.
An old iron hook on a beam
The
eastern section of the property is believed to date from the 18th
Century, and is of stone and brick construction; it currently comprises the
kitchen/breakfast room area on the ground floor and the second bedroom on the
first floor. Above this, some
floorboards and a bricked up window indicate that there was once an attic room.
Both
the western (barn) and eastern sections have been extended by later additions
at the rear of the property, and the original thatched roof has been replaced
with concrete tiles.
The
garden of just under one acre is mostly laid to grass surrounded by trees and
hedgerow, and lies almost entirely to the south of the house. Through it runs a stream, apparently well
known at one time for its crop of watercress, which still grows strongly.
The
remainder of the original farm property is now owned separately. Darkes Cottage, at one time providing
accommodation for farm staff, is occupied as a private house with stables,
while the land, about 4½ acres to the south and west, is now used as
accommodation land by the stables at Darkes Cottage and at Noverton Farm (once
known as Pleydells), the farm further up the hill to the east.
Finally,
as Prestbury is said to be the most haunted village in the country, there is
the obligatory ghost – a young lady stands at the front of the house selling
vegetables.
Illustrations (attached)
Rear
Front
Sitting room
Tudor fireplace
Living room
Beams in barn
Garden
Bibliography
A Portrait of Prestbury by Florence E Jackson. Peter I Drinkwater 1987
Scene Together by Aylwin Sampson. The Windrush Press 1992
Twentieth Century Memories of Prestbury in Gloucestershire
(compiled by Grimster, Powell and Bishop).
Prestbury Parish Council 2000
Prestbury. Our
Heritage: an Architectural Survey. Prestbury Women’s Institute (reference only,
available at Gloucestershire County Libraries)
Last amended on 25 January 2005