A merry bus load of members and guests made their way from Cowbridge on 12 September en route to Chavenage, a 16th century Cotswold grade one listed manor house in Gloucestershire, a trip organised impeccably as ever by our member Val Monaghan.
Our first stop was Tetbury, a lovely market town deep in the heart of Cotswold ‘royal’ territory, where we had some free time. Not being market day, the town was relatively quiet and easy to meander around the church, various shops, including lively delicatessens, lots of antique shops, and tea rooms. There is even a shop called “Highgrove” which is selling goods associated with the King’s estate which is about 2 miles away, with Gatcombe Park in the other direction.
Visitors however did need to have deep pockets as the price of goods in some of the shops was quite steep e.g. a silk square scarf was priced at £595.00 – needless to say I don’t think many of these were purchased!
Back on the bus we travelled the short distance to Chavenage itself, which reputedly is one of the nation’s most haunted homes. This Elizabethan estate has been owned since 1891 by the Lowsley- Williams family who bought the estate from profits made from the industrial revolution. This still remains very much a family home and the tour was conducted by various members of the family itself, which made it very personal.
We were treated to a Cotswold tea (in the family dining room no less) of sandwiches, cakes and scones, all made on the premises by Joanna Lowsley-Williams who welcomed us warmly. We then visited the family church which was the first point of the tour which was in the main conducted by Caroline Lowsley-Williams, who gave us a running potted history of the house and estate. Caroline’s brother George joined us to inform us that during WW2, cartographers planned the Omaha beach landings for D-Day in Chavenage.
The estate has 24 miles of unspoiled views with no 20th century accoutrements such as telegraph poles, electricity pylons, or motorways visible; this along with the fact that the house retains many of its original features makes it hugely popular with TV and film makers. Well known programmes made there have included Poldark, Wolf Hall, Tess of the D’Urbevilles and the upcoming series Jilly Cooper’s ‘Rivals’ which has been backed by Disney no less!
In fact on the day of our visit, the BBC were filming an upcoming version of Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ which meant that at one point, we were held ‘hostage’ in the Billiard room until they had finished filming along the corridor ! Caroline has certainly missed her vocation as her commentary, as well as being very knowledgeable, was hugely entertaining – I’m sure she would give all the visiting actors a run for their money!
Caroline mentioned that Philip Mould, the renowned art dealer of BBC’s ‘Fake or Fortune’ fame, recently visited the house in a private capacity to view a number of Chavenage paintings, potentially for the programme. We’ll watch this space with interest!
The extensive grounds contain the requisite folly, along with many species of trees, some of which have been aged to 200+ years which provide a magnificent setting for this lovely old historical house which was a real treat to visit.
We finished the tour and returned home to Cowbridge tired but happy after a great day’s outing.
VJ