This house was either built by William Stumpe [Abbey Church] or his son Sir James around 1550. It was built on the undercroft of the 13th Century Abbot's house. Windows that were part of the original building are visible from the north side at ground level. There was a French priest in the Stumpe household who was probably responsible for laying out the grounds and gardens. The porch bears the arms of Sir James and his wife Isabel Baynton. In the 17th Century a low eastern wing was built and a long two-storey range running south from the western corner. This is the only large house in town to have survived from the 16th Century.
Thomas Ivy (d1672) lived in the house during the middle of the 17th Century. He acquired his wealth working for the East India Company but on his return to this country found that his wife had died. In 1649 he married Theodosia Stepkin, a widow who had spurned a suitor favoured by her father after he had been sick in her lap following a bout of drinking. Both parties to the marriage felt wronged by the other and Thomas published a pamphlet Alimony Arraigned. It was said that he was knighted after the King's return but merited a whipping rather. The family coat of arms is still over the chimneypiece.
During the 18th & 19th Centuries the house was divided into separate apartments. Dr Jennings (1818-1900), the Borough's Receiving Officer, lived in the house from around 1850 for the rest of his life. After his death the whole house was bought by Mr. (later Captain of the Lanarkshire Yeomanry and Household Cavalry during WWI) Elliot MacKirdy Scott MacKirdy (1881-1938). The Drill Hall near the base of the Water Tower was pulled down. He enclosed the area of the cloister with iron railings and turned it into a kitchen garden as well as carrying out extensive modifications to the house. Harold Brakspear (1870-1934, an architect from Corsham who worked on most of the area's important historic buildings as well as others further afield such as Windsor Castle) superintended the works. This included the demolition of both extensions with the eastern one being replaced by a two-storey wing with attics similar to the original building. The cellar floor level was excavated by six feet to return it to the same level as in the 16th Century. The house was occupied by the Deaconess Community of St Andrew from 1968 to 1990 to whom ownership passed after the death of Lady Eva Scott MacKirdy (1883-1971), but is now owned by Ian and Barbara Pollard. They opened the gardens to the public in 1998 and these have proved to be a strong attraction for visitors, drawn perhaps not only by the flora but also the Naked Gardeners!
Source: Charles Vernon
