Eye Manor

Eye Manor, at Eye, Herefordshire, is a Carolean or Restoration style manor house that was described by Lord Euston as 'The perfect English country house.'

History

The square brick shell resting on a sandstone plinth was finished in 1680, but the panelled interior with its plaster ceilings by the craftsmen who went on to decorate Holyrood may have taken several years to complete.

The original mullioned windows were changed for wooden sash windows when the house was remodelled probably during the seventeenth century. Formerly the home of Christopher Sandford and the Golden Cockerel Press and of the writer Mary Carbery, the house stands on what was once a marsh island, beside a 12th century church, and has a secret passage discovered during the Second World War by Jeremy Sandford. During the war it was the HQ of the local English Resistance who were intended to go underground in case of a German invasion and then emerge to engage in acts of sabotage.

References

* Eye Manor, A souvenir Guide with Historical Notes, by Christopher Sandford, John Roberts Press
* A Herefordshire Childhood, Jeremy Sandford.
* [Times Article on Eye Manor | http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/buying_and_selling/article4824205.ece]