Longbridge Manor, Warwick

A Brief History of Longbridge Manor

In the reign of King John (1199-1216) this property belonged to the Friars of Thellesford and the existing rear part of the house dates back to this period. It was confiscated, along with other property owned by the Friars, on the orders of Henry VIII on 26 October 1539.

On 20 September 1540 the Crown granted the property to Thomas Staunton who proceeded to convert the Old Hall into a dwelling house, dividing it into three floors and adding a staircase. The Staunton family (known as the Stauntons of Longbridge) were a branch of the Stauntons of Staunton in Nottinghamshire. The oldest part of this irregular house is a 16th century, timber framed wing, (currently known as the Tudor Wing) which appears to represent the hall range of a house mentioned in an inventory of 1616. This wing and many other additions, including the Queen Anne frontage, were built by the Staunton family who owned the property until 1913.

There is a story that the oak timbers in the Tudor Wing may originate from Henry VIII’s fleet of ships. When a ship became redundant it was often broken up and the seasoned oak used in houses.
There are a number of reports that the Manor has its very own ghost. A young girl, who appears to be about 11 years old, is said to sit on a window sill in the Tudor Wing.

The large Training Room was originally the music room (hence the curved ceiling and the minstrel’s gallery) and was added in 1938. We have information on how the Manor looked in 1959 from
auction sale particulars, in which the Manor was described as: “The Charming Queen Anne, medium sized, country residence. One of the most pleasant and interesting of the smaller country houses of Warwickshire, abounding in character and modernised to provide a compact unit of accommodation.”