Historian to deliver talk on Victorian estate

Architectural historian Julian Orbach will return to Frome to give a talk to the Frome Society on Wiltshire’s little-known great Victorian estate at Grittleton.

Julian will return on Saturday 21st February, to talk about Grittleton, which spans across the M4 near Castle Combe.

Organisers say, “In 1828, Philip Rundell, silversmith to Queen Victoria, died and left £900,000 to his great nephew, Joseph Neeld. He bought the Grittleton Estate and the manor of Chippenham and devoted his life to rebuilding the house and the villages of Grittleton, Alderton, Leigh Delemere and Sevington, which comprised his estate. Julian will describe the extraordinarily rich high Victorian style of the architecture employed in designing the house, with layers of balconies under coffered ceilings of blue, white and gold, contrasting with the much simpler, but still very generous cottages on the estate, each with a large garden and pigsty.

“Julian knows the area well, as in the 1980s he helped to list buildings in Wiltshire for the then Department of the Environment. Recently, was responsible for revising and rewriting the Pevsner Buildings of England volume for the county of Wiltshire.”

Frome Society’s programme of lectures takes place in the Assembly Rooms at the rear of Frome Memorial Theatre, starting at 2.30pm.

Visitors are welcome but are asked to pay an entry fee of £5. The Society’s talks are proving very popular and to be sure of a seat, it is advisable to book a place through the Society’s website: www.fsls.org.uk

Pictured: Julian Orbach