COWBRIDGE U3A VISIT THE TALLEST FOUNTAIN IN BRITAIN

Perhaps because it’s not a National Trust property, few people appear to have heard of Stanway House, near Toddington in Gloucestershire, but a group from Cowbridge U3A had the opportunity on a sunny day in May 2017 to take a pre-season guided tour of this Jacobean manor with its impressive gatehouse, currently owned by the 13th Earl of Wemyss.

Fortified by a coffee stop en-route and then an excellent buffet lunch in a Toddington hostelry, some of the party paid a quick visit to the nearby Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway station, where the Dinmore Manor steam locomotive (saved in 1979 from the Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry) could be seen.

Then it was a short journey on to the manor house, for an entertaining and informative tour when we were told about the history of the building and its owners: the estate was owned by Tewkesbury Abbey for 800 years, then for 500 years by the Tracy family and their present descendants, the Earls of Wemyss and March.

The next part of the visit was to the nearby restored water mill, with its massive iron water wheel, which now produces stone-ground flour from wheat grown on the Stanway estate. That the miller enjoyed his job was obvious from his excellent explanation of how the mill was a testament to the practical ingenuity of our ancestors.

Stanway House is also home to the Fountain, which was opened on 5 June 2004. This was operated especially for the U3A party. The single-jet fountain, which rises to over 300 feet (91 m), is the tallest in Britain, the second tallest in Europe, and the tallest gravity-fed fountain in the world. A few U3A members climbed the slope for a closer look at the fountain (keeping upwind of the spray) to find that there was a pair of swans with six cygnets in residence on the lake – one of group had to make a hasty retreat after straying too close to the avian family!

Near to the manor house there is a medieval tithe barn, built around 1370 for Tewkesbury Abbey. It has a stone roof supported by massive base cruck timbers and is now used for events and as a theatre.

The adjacent church of St. Peter is basically 12th century but, unfortunately, was over-restored by the Victorians.

There was even time for tea and cakes at the House before the journey back to Cowbridge.

With its surrounding parkland, wide lawns, wild flower meadows, water features, woodlands and walled garden, Stanway House is as peaceful and beautiful as any in Britain - well worth a visit, especially if the weather is good.

Thanks go to Val Monaghan for organising the trip.

Steve Monaghan