{{Short description|Grade I listed historic house in Pangbourne, Berkshire, United Kingdom}} {{Infobox historic site |name = Bere Court |image = Bere Court Pangbourne Berkshire Beard And Co 1866.jpg |caption = Bere Court in 1866 |type = Country House |coordinates = {{coord|51.470762|-1.1140995|display=inline,title|format=dms|type:landmark_region:GB}} |gbgridref = SU 61630 75016 |locmapin = Berkshire#England |location = Pangbourne, Berkshire, England |architect = |architecture = Georgian |built = 13th century |built_for = |rebuilt = 18th century |restored = |restored_by = |demolished = |cost = |original_use = |current_use = |owner = |website = |designation1 = Grade I Listed Building |designation1_offname = Bere Court and Bere House |designation1_date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1951|10|24}} |designation1_number = {{Listed building England|1213565}} }} '''Bere Court''' is an English country house. It is a historic Grade I listed building. The house is located southwest of Pangbourne, Berkshire where it was once the manor house.
==History==
The house was originally built in the 13th century as the manor house for Pangbourne. The only remaining parts of the original house are the medieval cellars.<ref name="Pevsner">{{cite book |last1=Tyack |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Bradley |first2=Simon |last3=Pevsner |first3=Nikolaus |last4=Brindle |first4=Steven |title=Berkshire |date=2010 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, Conn. |isbn=9780300126624 |page=425 |edition=New, rev. |ref=Pevsner}}</ref>
Pangbourne came under the control of the Abbots of Reading and the house became one of their main manors.<ref name="RBH">{{cite web |last1=Ford |first1=David Nash |title=RBH: History of Bere Court, Pangbourne, Berkshire |url=https://berkshirehistory.com/castles/bere_court.html |website=berkshirehistory.com |access-date=18 February 2024}}</ref>
In his role as Abbot of Reading, Hugh Faringdon was residing at Bere Court in 1539 when he was arrested for high treason during the dissolution of the monasteries, ostensibly for providing funds to rebels. While he was taken to the Tower of London, apparently his death sentence was passed without a formal trial, and he was hanged, drawn, and quartered in the courtyard of Reading Abbey on 14 November 1539.<ref name="wainewright">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07518a.htm Wainewright, John. "Blessed Hugh Faringdon." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910.</ref>
In 1613 the house was acquired by Sir John Davis, who had been part of the Duke of Essex's Rebellion in 1601, had been convicted, and sentenced to death, but then pardoned.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ford |first1=David Nash |title=RBH Biography: Sir John Davis Senior (1560-1625) |url=https://berkshirehistory.com/bios/jdavis.html |website=berkshirehistory.com}}</ref>
The estate was purchased in 1671 by John Breedon, onetime High Sheriff of Berkshire. The current form of the house is his family's work. It was remodeled over the course of the 18th century into its current red brick Georgian design.<ref name="Pevsner"/>
During the time the Breedons owned the house they occasionally rented it out. One of the renters was George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough who had been born at nearby Bill Hill.<ref name="RBH"/>
The Breedons finally sold the house in the 1890s. As of 2024 it was a private residence.
==See also== *Pangbourne *Pangbourne College *Reading Abbey
==References== {{Reflist|}}
==External links== * [https://berkshirehistory.com/castles/bere_court.html Royal Berkshire History – Bere Court] * [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1213565 Historic England – Bere Court and Bere House]
Category:Grade I listed houses in Berkshire Category:Country houses in Berkshire Category:West Berkshire District