September 2007 a team from the television programme Time Team visited Hunstrete to explore stories about the "Grand Mansion" which preceded the current house. It is thought that Francis Popham (died 1779), a descendant of Sir John Popham, started the construction of a 17-bay mansion which was, however, suspended after his death and abandoned after the death of his wife Dorothy (Hutton) in 1797. The construction which had taken place was demolished in 1836, leaving just a line of arches. The main staircase, fireplace and chandelier were used in the restoration of Prior Park in Bath. The excavations undertaken tried to identify whether there was a previous medieval or Tudor manor house on the site. The programme was aired on 17 February 2008, and showed that the "Grand Mansion" was really the addition of a new exterior to a previous building. Other buildings of note Other Grade II listed buildings in the area are a pair of mid-nineteenth-century cottages, and a fragment of an arcade from an earlier large house, dating from c.1700. References External links Map of Hunstrete circa 1900 Villages in Bath and North East Somerset Somerset coalfield