The unfinished mansion
Woodchester Mansion is a Grade I listed house in the Victorian Gothic style.
It is unique because it is unfinished, so offers visitors the opportunity to see how a house of this period was constructed. The principal architect was a young local man called Benjamin Bucknall, and both he and his patron, the wealthy William Leigh, were admirers of the important French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. There is a strong French influence in the style of the house which also makes Woodchester slightly different from other buildings of its type and time. In addition, Leigh was a perfectionist who exerted a strong and active influence on all the work he undertook, so the quality of the craftsmanship in the house is very high.
Before 1845
Woodchester Mansion is situated at the western end of Woodchester Park, in a beautiful valley, with the village of Woodchester at the eastern end. Records of settlement in Woodchester stretch back to Roman times; the remains of a large Roman villa with an outstanding Orpheus mosaic pavement are situated in the village churchyard. Land at Woodchester is recorded in the Domesday Book and the manor of Woodchester had a series of owners in the Middle Ages. In 1564 ownership of Woodchester Park was granted by the Crown to the Huntley family of Frocester.
Spring ParkThe Huntleys enclosed the valley with a wall about 7 miles long to create a deer park, and built a hunting lodge at the western end of the valley in about 1612. This appears to be the earliest record of habitation around the site of the current Woodchester Mansion. In 1631 the lodge was sold to the Ducie family. The Ducies were large local landowners who developed the park over the next two centuries. The original hunting lodge was transformed into a Georgian house called Spring Park Mansion. Exact details of when the house was built and altered are unknown, but in 1750 Frederick Prince of Wales stayed there and in 1788 King George III visited.
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Reel from one of our Trustees and Chair of the Public Programme Committee Carol Ann Whitehead FRSA CMgr CCMI family visit to the Cotswolds.
16 окт 2024
