Stanway House Travel Guide

Stanway House stands as one of the finest examples of Jacobean architecture in the Cotswolds, built gradually over generations beginning in the late 16th century and completed in the early 17th century. The house is constructed of distinctive honey-colored Guiting stone, a rich golden ashlar that glows warmly in sunlight and has become synonymous with Cotswold character. The elegant facade features a magnificent full-height oriel window and reflects the architectural sophistication of the Stuart period, with the south front containing all the principal rooms. The great hall is extraordinarily light and airy, featuring an enormous bay window and a raised dais where manorial courts were held until around 1800. Inside, visitors encounter fascinating period furniture, including unique Chinese Chippendale day beds from approximately 1760 that originated from the Wemyss family seat in Scotland.

The jewel-like gatehouse, built around 1620 by Richard Tracy, is probably the work of local stonemason Timothy Strong and represents a masterpiece of Jacobean design. Constructed from the same mellow Guiting Yellow stone, it features a distinctive silhouette topped with a row of scallop shells—symbols both of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and of the Tracy family crest. Standing at the entrance to the village, the gatehouse immediately announces the architectural quality that defines Stanway. The village itself has remained remarkably unspoiled, consisting of just the church, the great house, a few cottages and barns, and the recently restored working water mill, all faced in the same golden ashlar stone. This preservation is largely due to the village being held by only two families since the 16th century: the Tracy family for 500 years and, since 1817, the Earls of Wemyss, a noble Scottish family who continue to reside here.

The ancient tithe barn, built around 1370 for Tewkesbury Abbey, stands as a building of accidental beauty adjacent to the gatehouse. Constructed of coursed rubble masonry with a gloriously undulating stone slate roof, it was restored in 1927 by architect Sir Philip Stott for the Earl of Wemyss. Inside, seven bays are spanned by impressively massive rafters that speak to centuries of craftsmanship. The barn originally housed the tithes owed by tenants to the abbots of Tewkesbury Abbey, and today it serves as a stunning venue for celebrations. Nearby, the parish church of St. Peter offers views of the house from its churchyard and contains 17th-century pulpit panels and a notable brass lectern that may have survived the Reformation.

The glory of Stanway's water gardens is the spectacular single-jet fountain that rises to 300 feet 10¼ inches—the highest fountain in Britain and the highest gravity fountain in the world. Opened in June 2004 and engineered by David Bracey of The Fountain Workshop Limited, this engineering marvel plays at 2:45 PM and 4:00 PM for half an hour each time, creating an unforgettable spectacle. The fountain stands in a formal canal on a terrace above the house, part of an 18th-century water garden probably designed by Charles Bridgeman, one of Britain's greatest landscape gardeners. The garden rises in a series of dramatic terraced lawns and features a striking pyramid that once stood at the head of a 190-meter-long cascade descending to the formal canal—a cascade that exceeded in length and height the famous example at Chatsworth.

The estate encompasses 23 acres of beautifully maintained parkland and gardens that subtly combine to create an enclave of very English and almost magical harmony. Specimen trees and avenues line the grounds, and a high walk along the hillside above the cascade reveals splendid park trees and magnificent views across the vale of the Severn. The medieval pond in the lower garden, recently restored, has enhanced the beauty of the setting. North of the house stands a cricket field provided for the village, complete with a thatched pavilion built by John Oakey of Winchcombe. The pavilion is timber-framed and clad with larch poles, raised on twenty-five staddle stones—mushroom-shaped feet originally used to protect granaries from vermin and now serving as garden decorations.

What distinguishes Stanway from many grand estates is its lived-in quality and the commitment of its owners to preserve rather than commercialize. The Wemyss family, who have owned the property since 1817, continue to reside here and have undertaken careful restorations, including the gradual reinstatement of the 18th-century water garden and the addition of the spectacular fountain. The house has been altered and enlarged over the centuries—notably in 1859 by W. Burn for the Earl of Wemyss and again in 1913 by Detmar Blow—yet these changes have been undertaken with sensitivity to the original character. Today, Stanway remains a Grade I listed building and an outstanding example of how a historic property can be maintained as a family home while remaining open to visitors during the summer months.