Stonor Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stonor Park |
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View of Stonor House from the south
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| Location | Stonor, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England |
| Built | 13th century onwards |
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Stonor Park is an old country house and a private park where deer live. It's found in a valley in the Chiltern Hills, near Stonor. This is about 4 kilometers north of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England. The house has a private chapel that is over 800 years old. You can also find parts of a very old stone circle on the grounds. Stonor Park has been the home of the Stonor family for many centuries. The current head of the family is William Stonor.
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What is Stonor Park Like?
Stonor Park is tucked away in the beautiful Chiltern Hills. Behind the main house, there's a lovely walled garden. It's designed in an Italianate style, which means it looks like gardens from Italy. This garden is on a hill, so it offers great views.
Around the house, there's a large park. A herd of fallow deer lives freely here. The park is surrounded by woods like Almshill Wood and Kildridge Wood. You can visit the house and garden to explore them yourself.
A Look Back in Time: The History of Stonor Park
Stonor House has been the home of the Stonor family for more than 800 years! Inside the house, you can see many interesting things. These include family portraits, detailed tapestries, bronze statues, and old pottery. The house also has a private chapel. This chapel was built in the 1100s using flint and stone, and it has an early brick tower.
The main house was likely started after the year 1280. This was when Sir Richard Stonor married his second wife, Margaret Harnhull.
During a time called the English Reformation, the Stonor family faced challenges. They chose to remain Catholic when the official religion of England changed. In 1581, two Jesuit priests, Edmund Campion and Robert Parsons, stayed at Stonor Park. They even used a secret printing press there. They printed a book called Decem Rationes.
On August 4, 1581, the authorities raided the house and found the secret press. Campion and Parsons had already left. However, Lady Cecily Stonor, her son John, another priest named William Hartley, the printers, and four servants were taken away. Later, in 1585, Hartley was sent out of the country.
Even with these difficulties, the Stonor family stayed Catholic for many years. They allowed people from nearby villages to attend Mass in their private chapel. From 1716 to 1756, John Talbot Stonor, a Catholic leader, used Stonor Park as his main office.
Because the Stonor family held onto their Catholic faith, they became less involved in public life. This also meant the house was not changed much over the centuries. This is why it still looks so original and well-preserved today!
The Ancient Stone Circle
The house was built on the site of a very old stone circle. This ancient circle is actually how the place got its name, "Stonor." You can still see parts of the circle today. One stone is even built into the corner of the chapel. The stones are a mix of different types, including sarsen stones.
The stones you see now have been moved around over time. Some were repositioned in the 1600s when the landscape was designed. Others were moved again in the 1900s to reconstruct parts of the circle. This site is known as a "folly" in historical records.
Stonor Park on Screen
Stonor Park has been a popular place for filming movies and TV shows. Some of the productions filmed here include:
- The Pumaman (1980)
- The Living Daylights (1987)
- Danny, the Champion of the World (1987)
- The final episode of One Foot in the Grave (2000)
- Endeavour (2019)
- A Christmas Carol (2019)
- Antiques Roadshow (2020)
