Hot today for England (28-30 degrees C) so I have been seeking shade in the 'pantheon' building at the Courts in Holt during my lunch break.
The Courts, built c 1720 and incorporating earlier fabric, was the home of a wealthy local clothier from nearby Bradford-on-Avon, which at the time was one of the most prosperous wool towns in the area. The Courts also served as the village law court where cloth weavers could settle their disputes. It was bought by John Davis c 1797 and it remained in his family until 1900. He probably built the cloth mill next to the house, which, following the decline in the wool trade, was demolished by his grandson c 1888. During the late C19 the house had various tenants.
In 1900 The Courts was bought by the architect Sir George Hastings, who altered the house and laid out the garden, partly covering the site of the former mill. He used the existing stream to create a water garden with various ponds and canals and in 1909 built a Georgian-style conservatory. Hastings also introduced a collection of garden ornaments brought from Ranelagh House in Barnes, London. In 1910 The Courts was bought by the Misses Barclay and Trim, and in 1921 by Major T C E and Lady Cecilie Goff. The latter was a keen gardener, strongly influenced by Gertrude Jekyll. At The Courts, Lady Cecilie created various 'garden rooms' surrounded by clipped yews and box hedges, which in style and layout are similar to the contemporary gardens at Hidcote in Gloucestershire and Great Dixter in East Sussex.
The Courts has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1943. Major Goff's daughter, Moyra Goff, remained the life tenant until her death in 1990.
