Owlpen Manor

Owlpen Manor: The tree-clad Cotswold Hills rise and fall into steep valleys in this forgotten undulating area between Dursley and Nailsworth. Here nestling below the woods, is the remote hamlet of Owlpen; Manor House, Church and a few scattered cottages and farms, all extremely idyllic.

The infant River Cam that makes this steep valley, has its source in Owlpen Park high above Owlpen Manor, which can trace its origins back to 1450, and spans the Tudor period to 1616.

Built of mellow, now weathered Cotswold stone, the first house on this site is attributed to the de Olepenne family, who were of Saxon ancestry, but it is to the Daunt family, who purchased the site in the 15th century, that we must thank for today's beautiful building.

The interior contains a fine Tudor Great Hall, Jacobean wing and Georgian parlour, plus exhibits which include painted cloth and wall hangings. The terraced formal gardens have clipped yew trees, a fine watermill and a court house dating from early in the 17th century, plus a tithe barn.

Privately owned, Owlpen Manor presents the magnificent facade of a small English Manor House, which has been fully inhabited since 1450, and now open to the public at certain times, accompanied by a fine fully licensed restaurant.

The adjacent church is Victorian. Owlpen village was devastated by the collapse of the cloth industry around 1830 and decline was inevitable.

Location: In Owlpen hamlet, east of Uley near Dursley, off B 4066, Mid Gloucestershire.

Rated for a visit: 7/10.