Fretherne Court

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Fretherne Court

Fretherne Court was a large residential sporting mansion and deer park estate of about 676 acres in the Severn Vale, Gloucestershire, near Fretherne. It belonged to the Darell family, who were Barons of Richmond Hill.

History
Fretherne Court was built around 1864 by Sir Edward Tierney, 2nd Baronet, who also enlarged Fretherne Church from one aisle to three. A memoir by Sir Lionel Darell describes the renovations, including new reception rooms, a ballroom, billiard room, water towers and halls, and a chapel inside the front entrance hall. Nurseries were on the second floor; the kitchens were large, and there was no electricity, central heating, or modern bathrooms at that time.

Auction and decline
Fretherne Court was sold in 26 parcels at an auction by Bruton Knowles at the Bell Hotel in Gloucester on 6 September 1919, following the death of Sir Lionel Darell, 5th Baronet. His son, Sir Lionel Darell, 6th Baronet, known as the Ratcatcher Baronet, explained that the estate had to be split among seven surviving children and his mother. The auction literature described the mansion as having a handsome elevation facing south and east, fine views over the Severn, a carriage drive, well-timbered grounds, a picturesque lodge entrance, a walled kitchen garden with glasshouses, and stabling for 16 horses and a garage for 5 cars. The mansion was demolished in the mid-1920s, and much of the valuable materials were sold for local renovations.

The Darell Arms
Sir William Lionel Darell built a pub in Fretherne named The Darell Arms, replacing the House Inn on the same site. It was built in mock-Tudor style with two ornate gabled ends. The pub closed around 1990 and is now a private residence.

See also
The Darell baronets of Richmond Hill.