Combe Cottage - Combe Lane
Combe Cottage - Combe Lane


Combe Cottage was built in 1855. Around this time, the Rev Charles Palairet, a wealthy man who was living in Bratton, devoted himself to restoring St James’s Church. In 1851 he was signing the churchwardens’ accounts as Officiating Minister and continued to do so until 1856. During his time in Bratton he helped villagers pay for repairs and improvements to their cottages and particularly approved of slate roofs. Under his influence, many of the thatched roofs in the village were replaced with slates and Combe Cottage, along with the adjoining Church Hill Cottage, was built with a slate roof. The present owners understand that they may have been built to provide housing for the curate and verger respectively. This would certainly be in keeping with the grand restoration of the chancel and other projects going on at the time at St James’s church. Both cottages are stone-built in similar styles with steeply pitched roofs and dormer windows.

In a conveyance dated 30th May 1885, the Rev Palairet sold Combe Cottage to Mr Edward Scull. The house changed ownership and more land was acquired in the intervening years. The last purchase of land took place at auction on 1st August 1929 in the Jubilee Hall, Bratton, which featured Luccombe House as Lot 1.

In 1951, Combe Cottage was purchased by Graham Parsons and his wife Gladys and heavily modified. Graham inherited the family firm of builders of the same name whose family home is now Westbury Library. His wife Gladys was a surgeon in the 1920s when only a handful of women were qualified in this role. When they became infirm in later life, a ground floor extension was added. When Mrs Parsons died in 1995 the present owners added a second floor to this to restore balance to the building and in 2000 built a large wildlife pond in the paddock below the house.


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Bratton History Association.

The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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