My principal thanks are to the owners for their time and tours of their houses, and meals, teas and coffees. Special thanks to Hugo Rittson Thomas for inviting me to collaborate with him on this volume, and for his wonderful photographs of these dream houses, and for his hospitality on my tours. Also to the Lowsley-Williams family, Nick and Kai Spencer, and John Evetts and Annie Dowty for bed and board.
Thanks also to Helen Griffin of Frances Lincoln for approaching me to write this book, and to Laura Nicolson for her patient, dedicated editing, and to Sarah Zadoorian for proofreading, and to Anne Wilson for a most elegant design. Thanks too to Alexandra Hunt for her support, to Neil Parker, Harriet Salisbury, Susan Palmer, Hannah Kirkham, who support me in my work, and to my wife Sophie, and daughters Georgia and Miranda for their patience, interest and love.
The following publications have been invaluable in the writing of these accounts.
General: Nicholas Kingsley, The Country Houses of Gloucestershire (vol.I), 1500–1660 and (vol.II), 1660–1830, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2000, and Michael Hill and Nicholas Kingsley, The Country Houses of Gloucestershire (vol. III), 1830–2000, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2000; Nicholas Mander, Country Houses of the Cotswolds, Aurum Press, 2008; Alan Brooks, Jennifer Sherwood and Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire North and West, Yale University Press, 2017; David Verey and Alan Brooks, The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire 1 – The Cotswolds, Yale University Press, 2000; Michael Drury, Wandering Architects: In Pursuit of an Arts and Crafts Ideal, Shaun Tyas, 2000; James Lees-Milne, Some Cotswold Country Houses, Dovecote Press, 1987; Victoria Summerley, Secret Gardens of the Cotswolds, Frances Lincoln, 2015; Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, The Manor Houses of England, Laurence King Publishing, 2001; Jeremy Musson, The English Manor House, Aurum Press, 1999.
Individual: Asthall Manor: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol15/pp37–48; Mary Miers, ‘A manor of fact and fiction. Asthall Manor, Oxfordshire’, Country Life, Sept. 23, 2009, pp. 88–95; Broughton Castle, Harry Gordon Slade ‘Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire’, The Archaeological Journal, Vol 135, 1978, on www.broughtoncastle.com; John Goodall, ‘Rooted in the Past’, Country Life, May 8, 2013, pp. 64–69; John Goodall, ‘A Building from the Blue’, Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire, Country Life, May 1, 2013, pp.130–135, Burford Priory, Ancestral Footsteps: The History of Burford Priory, n.d.; Walter Godfrey, ‘Burford Priory’ Oxoniensia vol. IV, 1939, pp.71–88; Campden House, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/middx-county-records/vol4/pp329–349; Chavenage http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol11/pp260-264; Cornwell Manor Christopher Hussey, ‘A Village Reconditioned: Cornwell in the Cotswolds’, Country Life, May 17, 1941; research by Caroline Jones; Daneway, Norman Jewson, By Chance I Did Rove, Gryffon Publications Ltd, 1983; Jeremy Musson, ‘Daneway, Gloucestershire’, Country Life, Sept. 28, 2006 pp. 108–113; Duck End House, Annabel Freyberg, ‘BBC presenter Philip Mould’s Duck End House, Oxfordshire’, The Telegraph, 1 Sep 2011; Duns Tew Manor, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol11/pp209–222; advice from Trevor Edwards of Hawkes, Edwards and Cave; Frampton Court, Jeremy Musson, ‘A Magnificent Appearance: Frampton Court’, Country Life, May 4, 2016, pp.96–101; Hilles House, Clive Aslet, The Last Country Houses, Yale University Press, 1982; Clive Aslet, ‘A Family’s Idyll on the Hill: Hilles House, Gloucestershire’ Country Life, Feb. 1, 2012, pp. 58–63; Hillside Farm, on the village of Adlestrop, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol6/pp8–16; Notgrove Manor, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol9/pp145–155; https://notgroveholidays.com/notgrove-estate; Owlpen Manor, Jeremy Musson, ‘Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire’, Country Life, Sept. 28, 2000 pp. 106–111; https://owlpen.com; May Morris, William Morris and Bernard Shaw, William Morris: Artist, Writer, Socialist (Vol I), 1936, p. 647; Sarsden, privately commissioned reports made available by Mrs Gallagher; Stanway, Lord Wemyss, Stanway House and Fountain, n.d; Sudeley Castle, Lady Ashcombe, Behind Castle Walls, Amberley 2009; Michael Hall, ‘Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire’, Country Life, 1990 Apr. 19, pp. 154–159; Upton House, Jeremy Musson, ‘The Living Classical Tradition: Upton House, Gloucestershire’; Country Life, Sept 13, 2017, pp.110–114; additional research by Rose Hewlett; notes by Mike Hill; Wardington Manor Mary Miers, ‘Fire and Love: Wardington Manor, near Banbury, Oxfordshire’, Country Life, Sept. 17, 2014, pp.104–109; N. Pevsner and E. Radcliffe, ‘Randall Wells’, Architectural Review, Nov 1964, pp. 366–368. Wormington Grange, Jeremy Musson, ‘Neo-Grecian Serenity: Wormington Grange, Gloucestershire’, Country Life, May 7, 2014, pp. 118–123.
My thanks for the inspiration, dedication and knowledge of all the generous homeowners who have shared their homes with such enthusiasm. I simply can’t thank you enough, because each one has filled me with such joy as layers of historical beauty and genius have revealed themselves. It was so stimulating and precious to spend time in them with you.
Further layers have been informed thanks to the deep and significant knowledge of Jeremy Musson, with whom it has been inspiring to work and spend time.
Great thanks to Andrew Dunn and all at Frances Lincoln: Editorial Director Helen Griffin, Laura Nicolson for her editing and Anne Wilson her skilled design. In my studio Alexandra Hunt has made an important contribution.
Great thanks for the help and support during the long hours to my wife Silka, and for her forbearance and commitment.