Treasurer's House, Medieval house museum in Martock, England
Treasurer's House is a medieval stone building in Martock with a T-shaped layout, made up of a Solar Block dating to 1250 and a Great Hall added in 1293. Both sections are built from local Hamstone, the pale yellow-brown stone that was quarried in this part of Somerset.
The house gained its name when Hugh, the Treasurer of Wells Cathedral, acquired it in 1227 and connected it to the nearby church as a parsonage. Its stone structure began around 1250, with the Great Hall added roughly 40 years later.
Inside the Solar Block, you can see a 13th-century wall painting depicting the Crucifixion that was hidden beneath layers of limewash for centuries. This religious artwork reveals how the wealthy decorated their private chambers with meaningful images.
This house sits in the village center and is easy to reach on foot, with clear entrances leading through the preserved medieval doorways into its rooms. It makes sense to allow plenty of time to walk through all the spaces and examine the hidden wall painting carefully.
Around 1297, the Chancellor of England, John Langton, used this house to store the Great Seal of the Realm, one of the most important objects in royal administration. This brief chapter shows how a modest village house could temporarily hold an artifact of national power.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
