What's on in Gloucestershire

Stanway House

Jun - Aug 2009; not Mon or Sun (annual)

Cost: House and Fountain £6; concessions £4.50; under 14s £1.50; family £14
Garden Only £4; concessions £3; under 14s £1; family £9

Hours: Tue & Thu 2pm-5pm; Sat (garden only; July only) 2pm-5pm

Pictuesque Stanway House in Gloucestershire is a beautiful place in which to spend a leisurely Cotswold afternoon.

The house was built between 1580 and 1630 of mellowed Cotswold stone and stands today as a reminder of a period of English building when things were built to last. Recently the owner has improved the visiting experience by restoring the 18th-century water garden. A rather majestic 70-foot single jet fountain has also been installed.

The house once belonged to Tewkesbury Abbey, as the existence of a surviving tithe barn built in 1375 testifies. The barn would have been used to store the produce the Abbey demanded from the peasants and although it lacks the wooden interior aisles found in Great Coxwell, it is still very impressive.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s when Henry VIII destroyed the power of the English Church and they were forced to relinquish their extensive properties and wealth, the house was leased to a Richard Tracy MP, who redeveloped it. Since further renovations in 1630 it has remained untouched.

Children enjoy playing in the landscaped gardens, where they can feed the ducks and muck about beside the cascade and three ponds. A wonderful walk from beside the house leads to Wood Stanway, one of the most beautiful and unspoilt villages in Gloucestershire. Or walk in the opposite direction up the very steep Stanton Banks, which undulate up to a ridge behind the house to a place called Stumps Cross. From the top, on a clear day it is possible to see all the way to Wales. From Stumps Cross you can descend to Wood Stanway and then walk back to Stanway House through the Vale.

For pathfinding ease, we suggest you buy the Ordnance Survey map Outdoor Leisure 45N.

Stanway House

• Health & Leisure
• Bodysensual
• Leisurebreaks