Owlpen Manor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Owlpen Manor |
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Owlpen Manor from the south, with Court House (left) and church
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Tudor vernacular |
| Town or city | Owlpen |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°41′1″N 2°17′27″W / 51.68361°N 2.29083°W |
| Construction started | 1450 |
| Completed | 1616 |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Cotswold stone cruck trusses stone tiled roof |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Norman Jewson (1926 repairs) |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name | Owlpen Manor |
| Designated | 23 June 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1152317 |
| Official name | Owlpen Manor |
| Designated | 28 February 1986 |
| Reference no. | 1000480 |
Owlpen Manor is a beautiful old house in Gloucestershire, England. It's a special type of building called a manor house. It was mostly built during the Tudor period (around 1485-1603).
Owlpen Manor is a "Grade I listed building." This means it's considered very important and protected because of its history and unique architecture. It's located in a lovely valley in the Cotswolds, an area known for its natural beauty.
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History of Owlpen Manor
Owlpen Manor has a very long history. Parts of the house date back to around 1270. It was mostly built and changed by the Daunt family between 1464 and 1616. After that, it didn't change much until the early 1700s. At that time, Thomas Daunt IV updated the east side of the house, the gardens, and the church.
Early Beginnings
The name Owlpen (pronounced "Ole-pen") might come from an old Saxon chief named Olla. He may have set up his "pen," or enclosure, near the springs here around the 800s.
Records show that a family called de Olepenne lived at Owlpen by 1174. They owned land and were helpers to the powerful Berkeley family of Berkeley Castle. They held Owlpen as a smaller manor, paying rent to the Berkeleys.
Tudor Family Changes
In 1464, the Olepenne family line ended. The manor then went to the Daunt family when Margery de Olepenne married John Daunt. The Daunts were cloth makers. They made many changes to the old manor house. They added a new ceiling in the great hall in 1523. They also rebuilt parts of the west wing in 1616.
The Daunt family owned Owlpen Manor until 1803.
Nineteenth Century Changes
In the 1800s, the Stoughton family inherited Owlpen. They built a new, bigger house called Owlpen House in 1848, about a mile away. This new house was later taken down in 1955. The old church behind the manor house was also rebuilt in 1828 and 1874.
Saving the Manor in the 1900s
Towards the end of the 1800s, the old manor house became very famous. It was seen as a beautiful, forgotten place, like a "Sleeping Beauty." It had been empty for almost 100 years and was falling apart, covered in ivy.
After World War I, people worried about the house. It was finally sold in 1924-1925, the first time in nearly 1,000 years! A special architect named Norman Jewson bought and repaired it. He was part of the Arts and Crafts movement, which focused on traditional skills and beautiful design. Jewson saved the old house from ruin.
Owlpen Manor was officially named a Grade I listed building in 1952.
Owlpen Today
Today, Owlpen Manor is the home of Sir Nicholas and Lady Karin Mander and their family. Since 1974, they have worked hard to repair the manor house, its other buildings, and the estate. They have also brought back the beautiful gardens and added collections of art and crafts from the Cotswolds.
The manor has special painted cloth wall-hangings from around 1700. These show stories from the life of Joseph. The house also has old Tudor wall paintings, wood panels, and plasterwork.
The manor house and its gardens have been open for people to visit since 1966.
Exploring the Gardens
The gardens at Owlpen Manor are very special. They have terraced levels and trimmed yew trees. Experts say they are some of the oldest continuously cared-for gardens in England. They were likely designed in their current style around 1620.
Famous garden writers like Gertrude Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West admired them. Since 1980, the gardens have been restored and expanded. They now include more plants, a walk around a Georgian mill pond, and a pear lake.
The Owlpen Estate
The Owlpen estate includes green fields and ancient woodlands around the manor. It's managed using organic and sustainable methods. You can still see old strip fields from medieval times on the estate.
Nine historic cottages on the estate are available for holidays. These include a Grist Mill (built 1728), a Court House (1620s), a Tithe Barn (1446), and old weavers' cottages.
There's also a restaurant in the old cyder house, which dates back to 1446. This building was expanded in 2020 to host weddings and other events.
Owlpen in Media
Owlpen Manor has inspired many poems and books. It has also been used as a filming location for TV shows and movies.
Some TV shows filmed here include Most Haunted, Countryfile, and Watercolour Challenge. The holiday cottages and restaurant were even shown on the BBC's Holiday programme.
The manor appeared as Bramscote Court in the BBC's 2008 show Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It was also briefly in Becoming Jane, a film about the writer Jane Austen. In 2017, Owlpen Manor was a main location for the movie Phantom Thread, starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
Famous Quotes About Owlpen
- "The loveliest place in England" – Fodor's Britain Guide, 2002
- "The epitome of the English village" – HRH The Prince of Wales, A Vision of Britain, 1989
- "Owlpen in Gloucestershire —ah! What a dream is there!" – Vita Sackville-West, English Country Houses, 1941
- "The ruinous little old manor-house with its old hanging gardens of the 16th or 17th century, tidy & sweet & splendid ... a paradise incomparable on earth. Only a poet could describe it" – Algernon Charles Swinburne letter to William Morris, 28 October 1894
Literature About Owlpen
- Nicholas Mander, Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire: a short history and guide to a romantic Tudor manor house in the Cotswolds. (current edition: 2006).
- Norman Jewson, By Chance I did Rove (Cirencester, 1951).
