The Tudor Building Boom

The Tudor period brought about many changes in the built environment of Herefordshire. There were several reasons for these changes, but foremost among them were the emergence of a new class of wealthy merchants and the Tudor religious reforms.


Burgher house in Ledbury

During the Middle Ages, some Herefordshire towns such as Ross-on-Wye, Bromyard and Ledbury had been under the control of the church. During the 16th century this changed. The Tudors had not only dissolved the monasteries and chantries, but also seriously curtailed the manorial rights of bishops, including those of the bishop of Hereford. Small groups of wealthy families bought up much of the newly available church land at very good prices. This included woodland and a large amount of timber came onto the market which also aided the building boom. .These families now built impressive houses and started to assert civic control over much of the on-goings in these market towns.

The local oligarchy in Ledbury, for example, consisted mainly of three families, the Skyppes (Upper Hall, SMR# 15269), the Eltons (Lower Hall, SMR#19900) and the Skynners. The New House in Ledbury (SMR# 3779) one of the most impressive black & white houses in the county, was built by Edward Skynner in about 1595. . According to J.Hillaby, the New House was the most important domestic building in Ledbury and clearly symbolised the new order.

Many of the beautiful buildings we see today originated in the Tudor period. Herefordshire boasts a variety of building styles and techniques, but most remarkable are the half-timbered houses, both domestic and civic. In many cases the builders and designers are long forgotten. One exception is John Abel, builder of several market halls in the county, for example, Ledbury Market House.

Picture of Ledbury Market House

John Abel's epitaph is a testimony to a life spent building:

" this craggy stone a covering is for an

Architector's bed;

That lofty buildings raised high, yet

Now lyes low his head;

His line and rule, so death concludes,

Are locked up in store;

Build they who list,

Or they who wist,

For he can build no more.

His house of clay could hold no longer,

May Heaven's joy frame him a

Stronger."

(tomb of John Abel, "the King's Carpenter", died in 1674 and buried at Sarnesfield.)

TFM