Frampton Court

Frampton Court was built between 1730 and 1733 by Richard Clutterbuck, possibly to designs by the Bristol architect John Strahan who was a pupil of Sir John Vanbrugh. Richard, who had made his fortune as Head of the Customs House in Bristol, had inherited Frampton from his father William Clutterbuck who had been given the Estate by his grandfather John Clifford in 1684.

The house displays a magnificent mixture of Baroque and Palladian architectural styles and is built of fine Bath stone. The principal rooms are at first floor level, no doubt testament to Frampton’s very high water table as well as the architectural fashion of the time. The interiors are described by Pevsner as, ‘lavish… with joinery of the highest quality’. The Hall, Dining Room and Drawing Room are fitted with exquisitely worked oak and pine panelling, and the magnificent oak and holly staircase is accompanied by a very unusual matching dog-gate.

The architectural splendour of Frampton Court is complimented by an outstanding collection of contemporary 18th century furniture and furnishings. The exquisite Frampton Flora watercolours are on display throughout the house. Painted by Clifford aunts and nieces in the mid-19th century, they are a fantastic record of the local flora in and around Frampton, and the artistic talent of the Clifford ladies.