Churchill Court
Churchill Court is intrinsically linked to Welton Manor and so it is useful to read both histories at the same time. See Welton Manor’s history here.
As the picture above shows, the house now called Churchill Court was built as stables and coach housing for the owners of what was originally Churchill House, now known as Welton Manor.
It is believed that Edward Adams (1623-1653) may have been responsible for the building of the original house that was known as Churchill House (now Welton Manor). A later 17th century map of the Daventry and Welton area (see opposite) shows that the house had remained in the family and was now occupied by John Adams Esq.
Edward Adams had married Ann Berkeley, whose father was Henry Berkeley Esq of Daventry; her uncle Robert, in 1637 ruled in favour of Charles I’s unpopular ship tax which was a factor eventually in the Civil War. He was impeached and imprisoned by the Long Parliament as a consequence!
The Rev Simon Adams (1693-1731) was the son of John Adams, and was vicar of Welton (from 1721) alongside Thomas Dunncombe. He married Ann Clarke – the daughter of John Clarke, and it is likely that this is how Churchill House and the attached stables / coach house came into the Clarke family. A burial record for 3rd January 1817 was for a Mary Clarke, aged 73, resident at Churchill House.
A September 1883 sale advertisement for Churchill House confirms that the stables and coach house were still a part of the property, which was described as a “hunting box”, recording:
“The coach-house and stabling premises adjoin and comprise seven stalls and six loose boxes, large washing house, good harness room, large paved yard with coach house for five carriages, with coachman’s and groom’s room, hayloft and corn rooms over. Also 10 loose boxes in another yard adjoining with cow house, laundry, gashouse etc. Near is a bath house fitted with large tiled cold plunge bath, dressing room adjoining, and a small lake, walled kitchen garden, well clothed and stocked, and grapery. At the west end of the property is a wharf with double cottage and buildings adjoining the Grand Junction canal.”
What is most interesting for the history of the whole property is that this newspaper article confirms that at this point in 1883 the “residence and pleasure grounds and some of the grass land are and have been for many years in the occupation of – Haig. Esq, whose term expires at Michaelmas…” which suggests the property may have been subject to a long-term lease so may not have sold in 1863. (Source: The Times 13thOctober 1883)
The stables and coach house remained intact and a part of the property until well into the 20th century. The picture at the top shows finely shaped arched windows in a stone wall which may have been an earlier part of the structure that was later added to.
The 1901 census records Church House Stables as a separate dwelling and suggests that it was used to accommodate staff attached to the house:
- William Taylor (16) a groom, born in Daventry
- Thomas Surridge (16) a stable helper born in Welton
A sale booklet for the auction of Churchill House on Thursday 28th May 1936 confirms that the stables and coach house were still linked to the main house at this time as it promotes the property with the following description: “excellent range of stabling, garages for 4 cars, groom’s flat.” Click on the image below to read the full brochure.
In 1953 the BBC who had owned Churchill House (now Welton Manor) sold to the Hupfield family, who established the Rugby Plastics Company on what is now Elm’s Dyke. Other parts of the estate had been sold off separately by the BBC. The conveyancing documents relating to the sale were signed by the then Director General of the BBC, Sir Ian Jacob. The Hupfield family continued to own the property throughout the 1960s.
During this period Churchill Court (the stables and coach house) was converted for residential use and lived in by one of the Hupfield’s sons.
After the death of Albert Hupfield in 1968, his widow, Olive, required a smaller property so part of the kitchen garden was walled off and local builder, Frank Emery Senior, built what is now Churchill House opposite the stables and coach house property. See second part of article below.
On 16th January 1969 the main house came back on the market and by this time was firmly established as Welton Manor.
Churchill Court (the old stable block) and Churchill House (1968 building) remained separately owner occupied. However, the property may have been leased at that point as it was in August 1975 that the Hupfields finally sold Welton Manor to a Welton land owner.
The current owners of Churchill Court purchased the property from a family who had lived in the property for some time. Sadly, their lives were struck by tragedy when their young son was left with brain injury after falling into one of the ponds on site. The property was adapted to meet the subsequent needs of the child and all the ponds, the indoor pool and outdoor fountain decommissioned.
The property has been developed since its days as a stable and coach house block by at least two separate builders, but interesting traces remain of its earlier use including possible access to the hayloft, a ceiling entrance leading to the clock mechanism and some original stone window frames and walling.
Churchill House (modern day)
The information below relates to the modern building Churchill House built in 1968 and not Welton Manor which was, confusingly, once called Churchill House!
As referenced above, the house was built in 1968 when the Hupfield family (who founded Rugby Plastics on what is now Elms Dyke in the late 1960s) sold the manor, following the death of Albert Hupfield. At this time his widow, Olive, wanted somewhere smaller to live. Her daughter, Eileen Tull, and sons continued to live in Welton, until the Plastics factory closed to relocate within Daventry early in the 1980s. .
Churchill House was built by Frank and John Emery’s father. It bears a close resemblance to Danesthorpe, a house on Churchill Road, also built by the Emery family, although Churchill House has undergone significant additional work since its construction.
In order to create a designated space for the house, the Hupfield family parcelled off a piece of land from the manor, facing the stable and coach house block, and built the house in the grounds, retaining access rights via the manor entrance.
The current owners believe that Doreen and Peter Miles were the only other residents in Churchill House after the Hupfields finally left Welton which was at the end of the 1970s or 1980. They remained in the property until 2001.
The current owners of Churchill House have occupied the property since 2001.
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