Owlpen Manor
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Owlpen Manor is a Tudor Grade I listed manor house of the
Mander family The Mander family has held for over 200 years a prominent position in the Midland counties of England, both in the family business and public life. In the early industrial revolution, the Mander family entered the vanguard of the expansion of ...
, situated in the village of Owlpen in the
Stroud district Stroud District is a district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. The district covers many outlying towns and villages. The towns forming the district are Dursley, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth, Painswick, Stonehouse, ...
in Gloucestershire, England. There is an associated estate set in a valley within the
Cotswold The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Juras ...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The manor house is about one mile east of
Uley Uley is a village and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Elcombe and Shadwell and Bencombe, all to the south of the village of Uley, and the hamlet of Crawley to the north. The village is ...
, and three miles east of
Dursley Dursley is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in southern Gloucestershire, England, almost equidistant from the cities of Bristol and Gloucester. It is under the northeast flank of Stinchcombe#Stinchcombe Hill, Stinchco ...
.


History

The manor house is of medieval origins, incorporating fabric dated by
dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
to c. 1270. It was largely built and rebuilt in the Tudor period by the Daunt family between 1464 and 1616. Since then it has not seen significant development, except for some improvements early in the 18th century, when the east wing of the house, together with the gardens, church and Grist Mill, were reordered by Thomas Daunt IV between 1719 and 1726.


Medieval period

Owlpen (pronounced locally "Ole-pen") derives its name, it is thought, from the
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
thegn, Olla, who first set up his ''pen'', or enclosure, by the springs that rise under the foundations of the manor, about the 9th century. There are records of the de Olepenne family (who may have named themselves after the place) settled at Owlpen by 1174. They were local landowners, benefactors to abbeys and hospitals, and henchmen to their
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
overlords, the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, whose wills and charters they regularly attest as their attorneys and witnesses. They held Owlpen of the Berkeleys as a sub-manor at half a knight's fee and for a rent of 5s. paid to Wotton manor.


Tudor period

In 1464 the male line failed after twelve generations of Olpennes and the manor and lands passed to the Daunt family on the marriage of Margery de Olepenne to John Daunt of Wotton-under-Edge. The Daunts were clothiers who had been settled in Wotton-under-Edge since the 14th century. They later acquired land as
planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...
in
Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
, Ireland, where by 1595 they had their principal estates at Gortigrenane Castle, near Carrigaline, and at Tracton Abbey, near Kinsale, both in County Cork. The Daunts altered the medieval manor house, inserting the ceiling in the great hall (dated 1523) and rebuilding the parlour/ solar block in the west wing (1616). This followed a celebrated law case between the Daunts and John Bridgeman, who had claimed possession in right of his wife, Frances Daunt, following the death of her brother Giles in 1596. He became embroiled in a dispute with her uncle Thomas Daunt over the manor of Owlpen, but lost the case when he was accused of forging deeds before Sir
Edward Coke Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, Chief Justice. The manor was to continue in the Daunt family until the male line failed for a second time on the death of Thomas Daunt VI in 1803.


Nineteenth century

In the nineteenth century, the fortunes of the manor suffered after the Stoughton family, Anglo-Irish landowners from
County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
, inherited by marriage in 1815. They built a new mansion c. 1848, called Owlpen House, a mile to the east of the original settlement, to the Italianate designs of Samuel Sanders Teulon. It was demolished in 1955–6, although outbuildings including the gas works, lodges and stable block remain. The Church of the Holy Cross behind the manor house, of medieval origins, was rebuilt in two phases in 1828 and 1874.


Twentieth century

Towards the end of the 19th century, the old manor became an icon of the Arts and Crafts movement. It was described by contemporary writers such as
Henry Avray Tipping Henry Avray Tipping (22 August 1855 – 16 November 1933) was a French-born British writer on country houses and gardens, a garden designer, and Architectural Editor of '' Country Life'' magazine for 17 years. Early life Tipping was born in the ...
, Christopher Hussey and the poet
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
as an 'incomparable paradise', set in its remote valley as a Sleeping Beauty uninhabited for nearly a hundred years, a picturesque ruin, much decayed and overrun with ivy, and dwarfed by enormous
yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...
s. After the First World War, there was concern for its survival and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings recommended that it should be vested in the National Trust, which however had no funds available for its repair. Finally, in 1924–25, the Owlpen estate was sold for the first time in nearly one thousand years. The future of the manor house was assured when it was acquired and repaired by Norman Jewson, a Cotswold Arts and Crafts movement architect who had worked with Ernest Gimson and the brothers Sidney and Ernest Barnsley (who was his father-in-law) in Sapperton. In 1930, his friend, the artist
F. L. Griggs Frederick Landseer Maur Griggs (30 October 1876 – 7 June 1938) was an English etcher, architectural draughtsman, illustrator, and early conservationist, associated with the late flowering of the Arts and Crafts movement in the Cotswolds ...
dedicated his etching of ''Owlpen Manor'' to Jewson, who had 'saved this ancient house from ruin'. Jewson has documented his repair work in his classic memoir, ''By Chance I did Rove'' (1951, twice reprinted). Owlpen Manor was designated by Historic England as a grade I listed building on 23 June 1952.


Owlpen today

Owlpen Manor is the Gloucestershire home of Sir Nicholas and Lady Karin Mander, and their family. Since 1974 they have repaired the manor house and outbuildings, with the cottages and estate. They have re-created the formal
Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...
gardens and introduced family and associated Cotswold Arts and Crafts collections. The manor contains a series of rare painted cloth wall-hangings dated about 1700, illustrating the life of Joseph, as well as several notable features, including Tudor wall paintings, panelling and plasterwork. Nicholas Mander's father, the third Mander baronet of The Mount, died in 2006. The
Mander family The Mander family has held for over 200 years a prominent position in the Midland counties of England, both in the family business and public life. In the early industrial revolution, the Mander family entered the vanguard of the expansion of ...
gave
Wightwick Manor The legacy of a family's passion for Victorian art and design, Wightwick Manor (pronounced "Wittick") is a Victorian manor house located on Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Owned by the National Trust since 1937, the Manor ...
to the National Trust in 1937. The manor house and gardens have been open to the public since 1966.


Gardens

The formal terraced gardens with yew topiary are listed by Historic England Grade II. Sir
Geoffrey Jellicoe Sir Geoffrey Allan Jellicoe (8 October 1900 – 17 July 1996) was an English architect, town planner, landscape architect, garden designer, landscape and garden historian, lecturer and author. His strongest interest was in landscape and garden ...
, the landscape historian, stated they represented one of the earliest continuously cultivated domestic gardens in England, laid out within late medieval stone walls. They were probably reordered in their present form with their hanging terraces, defining topiary and yew parlour in early Stuart times, about 1620. They were admired as a romantic survival in the 20th century by many distinguished garden writers, including
Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...
, who published drawings, plans and photographs in 1914, and Vita Sackville-West. They have been restored and extended with box parterres, extensive tree planting and a walk around the Georgian mill pond and pear lake, since 1980.


Owlpen estate

The Owlpen estate, for many years managed on organic and sustainable principles, consists of species-rich permanent pasture and meadowland fringed by ancient woodland surrounding Owlpen Manor, and traditional farm buildings and cottages. Strip
lynchet A lynchet or linchet is an Terrace (earthworks), earth terrace found on the side of a hill. Lynchets are a feature of ancient field systems of the British Isles. They are commonly found in vertical rows and more commonly referred to as "strip lyn ...
s on the estate date to medieval times. Nine historic cottages on the estate, including a Grist Mill (1728), Court House (1620s), Tithe Barn (1446), and weavers' cottages, have been available for holiday accommodation since the 1970s. There is a restaurant in the late medieval
cyder Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...
house, dated 1446, which was extended using pole building framing techniques as a venue for weddings, concerts and events in 2020.


Media

Owlpen Manor has been the inspiration and title of a number of 20th-century poems, including verses by
U. A. Fanthorpe Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, Commander of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (22 July 1929 – 28 April 2009) was an English poet, who published as U. A. Fanthorpe. Her poetry comments mainly on social issues. Life and work ...
,
John Burnside John Burnside FRSL FRSE (born 19 March 1955) is a Scottish writer. He is one of only three poets (the others being Ted Hughes and Sean O'Brien) to have won both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same book (''Black Cat ...
and Reginald Arkell. The house is reputed to have inspired scenes in novels by
John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career ...
and
Wolfgang Hildesheimer Wolfgang Hildesheimer (9 December 1916 – 21 August 1991) was a German author who incorporated the Theatre of the Absurd. He originally trained as an artist, before turning to writing. Biography Hildesheimer was born of Jewish parents in Hambu ...
, and more recently in the romantic fictions of Kate Riordan, ''The Girl in Photograph'' (Penguin Books, 2015), and Dinah Jefferies, ''The Tea Planter's Wife'' (Penguin Books, 2015). In recent years, Owlpen Manor has been used as the location for a number of TV feature films, game shows and documentaries. They include '' Most Haunted'' ( Series 4, 2004); ''The Fly and the Eagle'' (a BBC drama about the romance of Bristol poet laureate Robert Southey and Caroline Anne Bowles); ''The Trouble with Home'' (a documentary about the Manders at Owlpen made for HTV West); ''What the Tudors did for us''; '' Countryfile''; ''
The Other Boleyn Girl ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001) is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, loosely based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn (the sister of Anne Boleyn) of whom little is known. Inspired by Mary's life s ...
''; '' Watercolour Challenge''; as well as antiques, cookery, gardening, travel, and art programmes. The holiday cottages and restaurant featured on BBC1's ''Holiday'' programme, presented by John Cole and introduced by Jill Dando. Owlpen Manor appeared as Bramscote Court in the BBC's period drama adaptation of ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' (2008), starring Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne and (briefly) in '' Becoming Jane'', on the life of novelist
Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
. In 2017, the manor house and estate were used as one of the principal locations for the period drama film ''
Phantom Thread ''Phantom Thread'' is a 2017 American historical drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. Set in 1950s London, it stars Day-Lewis as an haute couture dressmaker who ...
'' starring Daniel Day-Lewis and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. A cottage at Owlpen was chosen for the press interview in September 2005 with
Samantha Lewthwaite Samantha Louise Lewthwaite (; born 5 December 1983), also known as Sherafiyah Lewthwaite or the White Widow, is a British terrorist who is one of the Western world's most wanted terrorism suspects. Lewthwaite, the widow of 7/7 London terrorist ...
, a British jihadist known as "the White Widow".


Quotes

*"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 Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
letter to William Morris, 28 October 1894


Literature

* Nicholas Mander, '' Varnished leaves : a biography of the Mander family of Wolverhampton, 1750–1950.'' Dursley: Owlpen Press. 2004. . *Nicholas Mander, ''Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire: a short history and guide to a romantic Tudor manor house in the Cotswolds.'' (current edition: 2006). *Nicholas Mander, ''Country Houses of the Cotswolds'' (Aurum Press, 2008) * Norman Jewson, ''By Chance I did Rove'' (Cirencester, 1951, 1973; Barnsley 1986) *Hugh E. Pagan, ''Owlpen Manor'' (1966, reprinted 1975) *The Rev. John Daunt, ''Some Account of the Family of Daunt'' (Newcastle, 1881; Scarborough, 1899)


References


External links

{{Commons category, Owlpen Manor
Owlpen Manor official website

photos of Owlpen Manor and surrounding area on geograph
Country houses in Gloucestershire Gardens in Gloucestershire Tudor architecture Tourist attractions in Gloucestershire Arts and Crafts architecture in England Grade I listed houses in Gloucestershire Historic house museums in Gloucestershire Stroud District Cotswolds