CHARD History Group chairman Chris Brewchorne has taken a council to task after it claimed to have bought a historic former courthouse.

Mr Brewchorne says Somerset Council is wrong to call the 16th century building in Fore Street The Old Courthouse - it is more correctly called Manor Court.

He said: "It's simply an urban myth.

"There's no evidence to support it was ever a courthouse.

"It was actually the house of a wealthy merchant and was built in late Tudor times in 1570-odd."

Mr Brewchorne says Charles I stayed there during the 1640s for a week during the Civil War as the uninvited guest of Portreeve and merchant John Barcroft.

The King issued a peace declaration "from our court in Chard", which may explain why it incorrectly became referred to as a courthouse.

Mr Brewchorne said: "The layout and location of the main room is compatible with it being a living space, not a courthouse.

"A courthouse wouldn't have been built at the rear of a private house with access through a narrow passage, but in a prominent accessible position where justice could be seen to be done.

"There was a separate Assize Hall located in the centre of the road in Fore Street - they wouldn't have needed two courthouses."

He added that this information is contained in a Keystone Historic Building Consultants report commissioned by the former South Somerset District Council.

Mr Brewchorne says there have been concerns about the state of the building for years and that it is "full of rats".

READ MORE: Council buys historic building in Chard.

Somerset Council announced this week that it had saved the historic Grade I listed building, which retains many of its original features, including a first-floor courtroom with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and original plasterwork with figures depicting Justice and Wisdom and scenes from the Judgement of Solomon.

The building had been in private ownership and has been on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register for some time.

Historic England supported Somerset Council's purchase with a grant of £147,000.

Somerset Building Preservation Trust (SBPT) will lease the building to enable it to complete a range of surveys and studies to explore the long-term future of the premises with a view to completing repairs and restoration.

In response to Mr Brewchorne's claims, a council spokesperson said: "Somerset Council’s priority has been to secure ownership of this magnificent building.

"Our next step is to understand more about its history, working with Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust to complete a full range of surveys and studies, to explore the long-term future of the building with a view to completing repairs and restoration.

"We would welcome the support of the local community, including the Chard History Group, as we move forward with this work.”