Our Blog - August 2025 - England trip - Old Soar Manor

This one was a bit hard to find as it is on this tiny little alleyway with no real parking. It is considered a knight's house and is one of the few remaining dwellings built in the time of King Edward I. Built in 1290, it was built as a fortified manor house for the Culpepper family. In the time of King Edward I, thieves and robbers roamed the countryside and the landowner had to protect themselves. So the house was designed so that it could be defended by the family and their servants. Certain things were specifically designed for defense, like the door at the top of the stairs opens outwards, so that if an attacker got into the house, the door couldn't be pushed in.

The ground floor didn't really have anything to look at, so we headed up that spiral stone staircase to the first floor. Up there, there are 3 rooms which were the private quarters for the family. The great chamber is also called the solar, because it is where the sun can shine in, lit by several windows. Chairs weren't really standard but there is still part of a built-in window seat. There would have been a doorway from this room into the original great hall, kitchen, and pantry, but that section was demolished to build a new house.

The nearest church was 4 miles, which in that time was a long way. By having their own chapel, they could avoid a long and troublesome journey. There would have been an external staircase that would allow the chaplain to enter without going through the house. Two decorative features remain: a corbel with fine carving that had a statue or candlestick, and a 14th-century piscina, a niche that would have been filled with water.

The "garderobe" is really a toilet. There was a stone-lined shaft that led to a pit below, which would be cleaned out from time to time. Sometimes, clothes and furs were stored in the same room since the smell was supposed to keep moths away (ugh ... can you imagine how bad people smelled bad then??). I didn't bother taking a picture there, as it is just a square room.