Stanway House | |
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General information | |
Town or city | Stanway, Gloucestershire |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°59′23″N1°54′45″W / 51.98981°N 1.91237°W |
Opened | late 16th and early 17th century |
Owner | James Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Stanway House |
Designated | 4 July 1960 |
Reference no. | 1154381 |
Official name | Stanway House |
Designated | 28 February 1986 |
Reference no. | 1000480 |
Website | |
www |
Stanway House is a Jacobean manor house near the village of Stanway in Gloucestershire, England. The manor of Stanway was owned by Tewkesbury Abbey for 800 years, [1] then for 500 years by the Tracy family and their descendants, the Earls of Wemyss and March.
Stanway House, originally constructed in the late 16th and early 17th century for the Tracy family, is a Grade I listed building. [2] The principal rooms are in a long south-facing range forming an L-shape with the hall, unlike the usual Tudor house plan of a central hall. The north-east wing, remodelled in 1913 by Detmar Blow, was demolished in 1948. The kitchen court was designed by William Burn in 1859. The gatehouse was built in about 1630. The construction includes Guiting yellow stone and some Jacobean mullions and gables. [3]
The current owner James Charteris, then Lord Neidpath, now the 13th Earl of Wemyss and March, has pursued a programme of restoration for a number of years. The house and grounds are open to the public on a limited basis each summer. [4]
The current earl recounted his understanding of the history of the property during a 2016 interview with the publication Cotswold Homes, as follows: [3]
"The estate goes back to 715, we think. It was given to Tewkesbury Abbey by Odo and Dodo, two Saxons who lived in the Winchcombe area. Then in 1533 it was leased to Richard Tracy. Richard had a bee in his bonnet about the fact his father was declared to be a heretic after he was already dead, his body being dug up and burnt. So he became friendly with Thomas Cromwell, who was leading an anti-monastic campaign at the time. Cromwell – who was so powerful at that point - suggested the abbey lease the land to Richard and it was done within four days of Cromwell writing the letter."
Records from 1291 indicate that the estate had three corn mills and a fulling mill used for processing wool from the many sheep owned by the abbey. The latter was converted in the late 17th century to grind corn and is now the Stanway Watermill. [5] Another source states that the work on the House began around 1580 on the ruins of an earlier Tudor house, with construction commissioned by Paul Tracy, Richard Tracy's son. The triple-gabled Jacobean gateway was created by Paul's son, Sir Richard Tracy, in 1630. [6] The water features were probably added by John Tracy who was the lord during 1724–35.
J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, was a frequent visitor during summers in the 1920s, until 1932. [7] The house is the home of James Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss and his wife, drug policy reformer Amanda Feilding. It's also the family home of Fielding's son, Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council’s deputy leader Rock Feilding-Mellen, who was involved in the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. [8] During some summer months, the property is open to tourists. [3]
The gardens are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. [9] The estate brewery, an original Elizabethan feature, has been re-established. [10]
Cutsdean Quarry, which is a nature reserve and designated a Key Wildlife Site (KWS) in the Cotswolds, is part of the Stanway Estate. [11] The estate watermill, just outside the grounds, has been restored to full working condition and produces wholemeal and sifted flour. [12]
In addition to the house, the gatehouse, [13] the entrance courtyard gates, [14] and the tithe barn all have Grade I listings. [15] The ancient tithe barn was built in about 1370 for Tewkesbury Abbey and restored in 1927. [12]
The Long Canal was filled in around 1850 but was restored in the early 2000s, [3] a necessary step to creating the current fountain, which was not an original feature of the estate. [16] The mill pond was dredged [5] and the eight ponds and the cascade [12] were restored at about the same time. [17] [18] [6]
The Stanway Fountain was opened on 5 June 2004 in the grounds of Stanway House. The single-jet fountain, which rises to over 300 feet (91 m), is the tallest fountain in Britain (followed by Witley Court at 121 feet (37 m)), the tallest gravity-fed fountain in the world [17] (followed by the Fountain of Fame at La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia, Spain at 153 feet (47 m)), and the second-tallest fountain in Europe, after the Jet d'Eau, a 400 feet (120 m) high turbine-driven fountain in Geneva, Switzerland. [6] The fountain has a 2 inches (5.1 cm) bronze nozzle and is driven from a 100,000-imperial-gallon (450,000 L; 120,000 US gal) reservoir, above the canal in which it is situated. The reservoir is 530 feet (160 m) above the canal. [3] The 12 inches (30 cm) diameter pipe which feeds the fountain is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long. [19]
The house has featured as a filming set for TV and movies including: Jeeves and Wooster ; [20] Vanity Fair ; [21] The Christmas Candle ; [22] [23] Father Brown ; [24] Emma and The Libertine ;[ citation needed ] and Wolf Hall ; [25] [26] [3] and 'The Clandestine Marriage'.[ citation needed ]
The Cotswolds is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone. It lies across the boundaries of several English counties: mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire. The highest point is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), just east of Cheltenham. The predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring the local stone.
Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
Deerhurst is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, about 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Tewkesbury. The village is on the east bank of the River Severn. The parish includes the village of Apperley and the hamlet of Deerhurst Walton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 906, the majority of whom live in Apperley.
Tewkesbury is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and thus became an important trading point, which continued as railways and, later, the M5 and M50 motorway connections were established. The town gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, a local government district of Gloucestershire. The town lies on the border with Worcestershire, marked largely by the Carrant Brook.
Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries.
The region now known as Gloucestershire was originally inhabited by Brythonic peoples in the Iron Age and Roman periods. After the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, the Brythons re-established control but the territorial divisions for the post-Roman period are uncertain. The city of Caerloyw was one centre and Cirencester may have continued as a tribal centre as well. The only reliably attested kingdom is the minor south-east Wales kingdom of Ergyng, which may have included a portion of the area. In the final quarter of the 6th century, the Saxons of Wessex began to establish control over the area.
Bibury is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the River Coln, a Thames tributary that rises in the Cotswolds. The village centre is 6+1⁄2 miles northeast of Cirencester. Arlington Row is a nationally notable architectural conservation area depicted on the inside cover of some British passports. It is a major destination for tourists visiting the traditional rural villages, tea houses and many historic buildings of the Cotswold District; it is one of six places in the country featured in Mini-Europe, Brussels.
Stanway is a small village and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England, and about 1 mile south of Stanton: both villages are on the Cotswold Way. The parish includes the villages of Didbrook, Hailes, Taddington and Wood Stanway. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 343. It is part of the Tewkesbury Borough Council area.
Dumbleton is a village and civil parish in the Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The village is roughly 20 miles from the city of Gloucester. The village is known to have existed in the time of Æthelred I who granted land to Abingdon Abbey, and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Beckley Park is an English country house located near the village of Beckley, in Oxfordshire, England.
Prescott is a settlement and civil parish in the Cotswolds within the English county of Gloucestershire. There are scattered farms and houses. There may once have been a settlement around the chapel.
Stanton is a village and civil parish in Tewkesbury Borough, Gloucestershire, England. The village is a spring line settlement at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment, about 2.5 miles (4 km) southwest of Broadway in neighbouring Worcestershire. Broadway is Stanton's postal town. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 198.
Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle or Tetbury Castle, was constructed as a medieval stone fortress in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. The property is a mix of manor house, various small buildings, extensive gardens and the medieval ruins of the fortified building. The castle was founded in 1229 by Maurice de Gaunt.
Detmar Jellings Blow was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocracy, and later he became estates manager to the Duke of Westminster.
Abbey Gatehouse is a gatehouse building to Tewkesbury Abbey, in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
James Donald Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss and 9th Earl of March,, also known as Jamie Neidpath, is a British peer and landowner.
Cutsdean Quarry is a 0.83-hectare (2.1-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire, England. The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Didbrook is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanway, in the Tewkesbury district, in Gloucestershire, England, 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Cheltenham. The village lies near the foot of the Cotswold escarpment. In 1931 the parish had a population of 160.
Hailes is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanway, in the Tewkesbury district, in Gloucestershire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of Winchcombe. The village lies at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment. The remains of Hailes Abbey, a Cistercian abbey active from 1246 to 1539, are here. In 1931 the parish had a population of 83.
The Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist at Elkstone in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England was built in the 12th century. It is a grade I listed building.
Media related to Stanway House at Wikimedia Commons