In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Littlecott like this:
LITTLECOTT, a tything in Enford parish, Wilts; on the river Kennet, 3½ miles NW of Hungerford. Pop., 52. Littlecott Park belonged to the Dayrells or Darells; and passed, in the time of Elizabeth, to the Pophams. The mansion was built, in the 15th century, by the Dayrells; and remains almost unaltered. ...
The great hall measures 46 feet by 24, and is hung with cross-bows, buff-jerkins, steel caps, and other armour of Cromwell's soldiery; the gallery is 110 feet long, and contains family portraits, including those of Judge Popham and Nell Gwynn: another apartment contains the chair of Judge Popham and a curious instrument of torture called the finger-stocks; and another contains a piece of needlework representing a tesselated Roman pavement, which was found in the park in 1730, measured 41 feet by 33, and exhibited a variety of decorated devices. A strange story, respecting a barbarous infanticide, is associated with the house at the time of the Dayrell, and with some extant features in it; and has been told by Aubrey, by Scott in a note to ''Rokeby, ''and by many othersWilliam of Orange stopped at the house in December 1688, when negotiating with James II. at HungerfordPickedfield, which belonged to the Littlecott domain, was purchased by government, in 1803, for the forming of an Ordnance depot; but it was repurchased, after time, by General Popham; and the magazines, storehouses, and other buildings erected on it, were taken down.
Littlecott through time
Littlecott is now part of Kennet district. Click here for graphs and data of how Kennet has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Littlecott itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Littlecott, in Kennet and Wiltshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21516
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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