Although this has been a single dwelling since the 19th Century, it comprises a Medieval Hall with a Tudor rear wing and a terrace of 4 houses greatly altered during the 18th and 19th Centuries to the north with a 19th Century service wing. The site has a varied history. The earliest known use was as an Abbey hospitium (guesthouse). The merchants' banqueting Hall, now the garage, was built around 1490. This hun a 3-bay roof (formerly 4) with collar trusses and chamfered arch braces forming continuous arches, wind braces to the lower 2 registers and a through diagonal ridge beam.
William Stumpe, the wealthy clothier who bought the Abbey at the Dissolution, lived in the Hall whilst building Abbey House. He built the southern rear wing for his home and stone from the Abbey was used in its construction, a trefoil window is an example. King Henry VIII after hunting in Braydon Forest arrived uninvited for a meal. Stumpe had apparently already eaten and had to use his employees' food for the King and his retinue. He must have looked after them well as he kept his head!
Charles I later stayed here during the Civil War. It is suggested that the parliamentarians set out to capture him but he was rescued in the nick of time by Prince Rupert coming from Cirencester. The 1647 'bird's-eye' map of the town shows an enclosed courtyard at the back of the Hall and a possible representation of this, prepared by David Stirling, North Wiltshire District Council's Conservation Officer, is reproduced. Robert Jenner may have built almshouses here in 1641 and probably these were the North and East Ranges shown on the plan. Part of these was demolished in 1825, the remainder later. A workhouse was established here from the 18th Century until 1838. It seems that this started in the Tudor wing (later the stables) but expanded to include the Hall, probably due to unemployment following the end of the Napoleonic War. problems in agriculture and the failure of Francis Hill's new factory at the Town Bridge. By 1838 a new workhouse for 24 parishes around the town had been built on the Bristol Road.
Prior to 1803 the northern part of the terrace was a post house known as the Salutation Inn. Until recently there was a right of way from the garden of Tower House to Holloway, maybe allowing access for travellers with their horses to the rear courtyard of the inn. There is a basement and well under the present living room in the northern wing. Folklore suggests that a secret tunnel ran from there to Nuns Walk by the town wall but no trace of this has been found
The tower was added in 1834 by Dr. Player (1756-1864) for astronomy. This was built over the 4th bay of the old Hall. A gateway was made in the street side of the hall with a large opening on the east side to allow coaches to enter. It seems that the Handy family (lawyers who lived in Gloucester Street) owned the property from at least the early 19th Century although it was occupied by Dr. Alfred Jeston (1800-1869) after Player's death. Around this time it is likely that the doctor's surgery was established with its entrance underneath the tower. When Jeston died it was bought at auction in 1870 by William Thompson. By then all of the extensions to the northern part were complete. Dr. Richard Kinneir (b1842) started as Dr. Jeston's assistant but took over and finally bought the premises for £1,650 in 1897. Barbara Kinneir scratched her name on the glass of one of the bedroom windows.
The property was purchased by Arthur Heaton in 1919 whose widow sold it in 1929. Dr. Battersby ran the practice from then but after he was called out on a cold night he caught pneumonia and died. He was followed in 1938 by Dr. Willie Winch who is remembered for making his rounds in a 2 door open Bentley accompanied by his Siamese cat on the front seat! He was not particularly enamoured of the National Health Service and had many private patients. Despite this, having discovered a gravely ill farm worker he brought him back to health and he became the house's gardener. Dr. Winch moved and he used the house as a Nursing Home with staff living at Eastgate House two doors away. A number of rich eccentric residents were attracted by this facility including an ex Indian Army Brigadier who would demand champagne and sandwiches during the night. Mentally ill patients could, as an alternative to being committed to an asylum, lodge with a General Practitioner and one such lady with her keeper resided here.
Before World War II the tower became a post used by the Observer Corps. The Observer Corps was originally established in 1925. During the late 1930s it was greatly expanded along with other civil defence activities. In Malmesbury 6 part-timers were enrolled on 30 March 1939 in the Observer Corps of Special Constables. Whilst on duty they wore a blue and white brassard. During the war another 24 Observers were recruited. The Head Observer was Stan Hudson.
The tower of Tower House was designated as post Ml, M2 was at Chippenham and M3 at Marshfield. Dr. Winch strongly objected to the disruption Caused as access to the tower was originally through the house close to his bedroom. An electricity supply was installed (no doubt arranged by Ron Young of Wessex Electricity who was an Observer) and a canvas screen erected around the viewing platform. The first winter of the war was bitterly cold and a more permanent screen was built to protect the Observers. This was made of blocks with half of the platform open and the other half forming a covered shelter for 2 men. The Post Instrument was in the centre of the open viewing platform. This instrument was used to help determine the height, direction, speed and range of any aircraft seen. That information would be relayed by telephone through the Observer Corps 23 Group Operation Room in Bristol to the Filter Room at the RAF's Group 10 Headquarters, Rudloe Manor.
Complete and continuous observation was maintained throughout the war. Two Observers would be on duty at all times. No 1 was responsible for watching and listening for aircraft whilst the No 2 would identify them and report the information to Group using the telephone headset that he wore. He had to be proficient in aircraft recognition and was provided with silhouette drawings of many types of aircraft. To begin with the Corps did not provide training in this skill and it was only after individuals across the country started the Royal Observer Corps Club that it was taken seriously.
The police were at first responsible for the administration of the Corps but from 9 April 1941 it was reorganised, given the prefix Royal, new uniforms issued and the link with the police broken. The first uniforms were coveralls to wear over civilian clothes but during 1942 these were replaced by RAF style battle-dress. Nationally during the war there were 39 Observer Corps Groups which each controlled 30-50 posts. There were about 34,000 personnel in all.
At the end of the war the Royal Observer Corps stood down but was reactivated in 1947. By the 1950s the emphasis was on preparing for nuclear war. The tower was renumbered M4. It along with other posts at Minety Ml, Highworth M2 and Toothill (Swindon) M3 was directly linked to 3 Group Headquarters in Oxford. A new underground bunker was built in 1962 off the Swindon Road not far from Maunditts Park Farm. The tower was still used and personnel climbing the stairs early on weekend mornings would often disturb the occupants of the house. Following another reorganisation in 1968 and the end of the ROC's responsibility for plotting aircraft both Malmesbury sites were closed. The Head Observer of the time, Bert Vizor and his colleagues then operated from Kemble airfield (post J3, Group 3) and later South Cerney. The Corps was disbanded on 31 March 1992.
In the middle of the war the interior of the tower had been improved with the new access from the garage. The wartime shelter on the roof was retained until the ROC lease expired. Later the shelter was dismantled and the wall reduced in height. Also during the war a governess originally from Alsace Lorraine known as Fraulein (but after the war Mademoiselle!) Rauch used the stables for a small kindergarten. Later the school moved to bigger premises but she continued to live there with her son for about 10 years. Having no bathroom she had to come into the house to bathe.
Dr. Winch did not wish to have a partner and would employ doctors as associates to help with the residents. However he spent more and more time in Guernsey and first employed Dr. Michael Pym as a locum in the winter of 1955. Three years later whilst suffering from mumps he decided to retire and sold the house and practice to Dr. Pym for £5,000. As mortgages were not readily available Dr. Winch gave him an interest free loan.
There were still a number of private patients including the Earl of Suffolk who expected to be seen even when he arrived without notice. The practice was expanding and Dr. John Rycroft became a partner. Unfortunately there was insufficient room in the house to provide the better facilities that modern medicine required. Several redevelopment schemes were considered until in 1979 the practice moved to Laystalls (so called because it was that place where dung collected from the streets was kept). Cross Hayes (now occupied by the Investment Centre). Tower House was sold to finance the move and for a time the old surgery was used for an antiques business by Mrs. Fidler. In the late 1980s A. Nielson. who ran Athelstan Coaches, owned the house and ran a guest house. Andre Ptaszynski, the theatre impresario, lived here for a year until 1992 when it was sold again.
Until the 1990s Tower House was the last property in the town that paid a Quit Rent to Jesus College, Oxford. This was a charge made to release the house owner from feudal duties but it is not clear how this connection arose.
Source: Charles Vernon
