BREWHAM LODGE
The extra-parochial district of Brewham Lodge
was formerly part of Brewcombe Walk in Selwood forest. (fn. 83) The walk was named after the
shallow valley down which the river Brue flows
from its source near the summit of the Selwood
ridge. (fn. 84) The later name derived from the house
of the keeper of the walk. The district was
roughly triangular in shape, measuring 2.5 km.
from north to south and 2 km. from east to west
at its widest point. Its eastern limit was the ridge
which in part forms the boundary between
Somerset and Wiltshire around the 240-m. (787ft.) contour. From the ridge the land falls
westwards to 110 m. (360 ft.) where the Brue,
which formed the district boundary for a short
distance, joined a tributary, also a boundary,
known in the 16th century as Redmore lake. (fn. 85)
Narrow bands of silty clay and Upper Greensand follow the Selwood ridge, but the
remainder of the district was Oxford Clay. (fn. 86) In
1858 the district, measuring 797 a., was united
with Eastrip to form the separate civil parish of
Eastrip. In 1885 that parish was incorporated
into South Brewham. (fn. 87)
In 1244 the road from Forest Gate, on the
north-western boundary with Brewham, to
Druley Hill in the north-east was probably
known as Schepesnedeswey. (fn. 88) In 1793 it was
turnpiked by the Bruton trust as part of the route
from Bruton to Warminster (Wilts.). (fn. 89)
In the mid 19th century there were two or
three households. In 1871 most of the population
of Eastrip civil parish seems to have lived in the
former Brewham Lodge district. (fn. 90)
FOREST AND ESTATE.
The district originated as a walk in Selwood forest which seems
to have extended into Brewham. (fn. 91) Brewcombe
had evidently been let by the Crown in the 12th
century but before 1181 had been resumed
because of waste committed by Sir Henry de
Careville the elder of Bruton. (fn. 92) It remained royal
demesne until 1631, two years after disafforestation, when it was sold to Francis Cottington,
Baron Cottington (d. 1652). (fn. 93)
In the mid 16th century a quarter of the walk
was set with old oak and the rest with oak, thorn,
maple, birch, hazel, withies, holly, and ash. (fn. 94) By
the early 17th century successive keepers of the
walk were said to have wasted the timber and
very little was left. (fn. 95) In 1540 William Hartgill,
the keeper, was accused of killing both game and
pigs feeding in the wood, (fn. 96) and in the 1550s
Hartgill and Charles Stourton, Baron Stourton,
were in dispute over hunting in the walk. (fn. 97)
Francis, Baron Cottington, who had bought
the estate called Brewham Lodge from the
Crown in 1631, (fn. 98) settled it in 1646 on his brother
Maurice's grandson, also Francis Cottington (d.
1666). The younger Francis was succeeded by
his brother Charles (d. 1697), and Charles by his
son Francis (cr. Baron Cottington 1716, d.
1728). Francis, son of the last, died insolvent (fn. 99)
and in 1764 the estate was bought from the
mortgagee by John Southcote. By will dated
1775 John left it in trust for his brother Thomas
and Thomas's children. (fn. 1) In 1817 Edmund
Southcote sold the estate to Sir Richard Colt
Hoare, who had been leasing it since 1799. (fn. 2) The
Hoare family retained the woodland when the
rest was sold in 1920. (fn. 3)
In 1634 Lord Cottington was given leave to
inclose the estate. (fn. 4) The soil was then said to be
good. (fn. 5) The rental value of the land rose significantly between 1717 and 1800, (fn. 6) presumably
through woodland clearance, and wheat and oats
were grown in the 1790s. (fn. 7) Some 100 a. of
woodland was said in 1717 to have been newly
inclosed, (fn. 8) and in 1753 oak, ash, and coppice
timber were sold but the wood on the estate was
not good and the coppice was old. (fn. 9) In the 1750s
there were 304 a. of arable, 262 a. of wood, and
315 a. largely untilled and used for pasture or
oats. (fn. 10)
In 1800 many fields were under pasture but
still not fully cleared of furze. In 1812 the estate
comprised 167 a. of pasture, 134 a. of arable, and
446 a. of coppice woodland. (fn. 11) In the later 19th
century the south-eastern part of the district was
divided between a narrow band of woodland
known as King's Wood on the top of the ridge
and a much wider band of woodland pasture
known as King's Wood Warren. (fn. 12) The area
remains woodland.
A brickyard may have been established near
the Lodge before 1800. (fn. 13) By 1847 it was producing bricks, roofing tiles, drainage pipes, and
chimney bricks. (fn. 14) It may still have been in use
in 1871 but was not recorded again. (fn. 15)
The king's hall in Selwood forest, mentioned
in 1298, may have stood in Brewcombe Walk.
In the mid 16th century there was a 'pretye'
moated lodge with a tiled roof. The lodge was
sold with the estate in 1631. (fn. 16)
In the 1750s Brewham Lodge had an 88-foot
stone frontage with sash windows, probably of
two storeys and attics. The house included a
wainscotted parlour, a large hall and kitchen, a
new parlour, eight bedchambers, some wainscotted and papered, two staircases, and many
domestic offices. Outside were several farm
buildings and a fishpond, trout river, and two
cascades. (fn. 17) In 1791 the repaired and re-fitted
Brewham Lodge was used by the owner as a
summer residence. (fn. 18) A dovehouse was recorded
in 1812. (fn. 19) The house was said to have been
restored c. 1820 (fn. 20) but was largely rebuilt in the
late 1840s. (fn. 21)
NONCONFORMITY.
In 1799 a room in Brewham Lodge was licensed for use by an
unspecified denomination. (fn. 22)