Chavenage House,

Beverston Beverston is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 132, decreasing to 129 at the 2011 census. The village is about two miles west of Tetbury. Beverst ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

is a country house dating from the late 16th century. The house was built in 1576 and is constructed of

Cotswold stone 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 Jur ...

, with a Cotswold stone tiled roof. David Verey and Alan Brooks, in their Gloucestershire Pevsner, describe the house as "the ideal sixteenth-century Cotswold stone manor house". Chavenage is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The estate of Chavenage was sold to Edward Stephens of Eastington in Gloucestershire in 1564. He built the house in the Elizabethan style, adding large windows to the south of the porch, much of the glass being obtained from redundant churches and monasteries in the area. On Edward's death, the estate passed to his son Richard and, on his death, to his second wife Anne, before his eldest son

Nathaniel Stephens Nathaniel Stephens (1589 – 30 May 1660) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War. Biography Stephens was the son of Rich ...

inherited it. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

raised troops and supported the

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

s, and later became a member of

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

's parliament. Cromwell visited Chavenage House, and Stephens supported his planned

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

, and although he was not one of the signatories of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

's death warrant, he is nevertheless said to have died of remorse soon afterwards. It is also recounted that on the day of the Nathaniel's death, his ghost was seen leaving the house in a coach driven by a headless coachman dressed like the hapless king. The house is reputed to be one of the nation's most haunted homes. In 1801 the house was inherited by Henry Wills Stephens who added the billiard room and added panelling and carvings to many of the rooms. The house has been owned by the Lowsley-Williams family since 1891. They employed the architect John T. Micklewaite who added the east wing which includes an oak panelled ballroom. In 1944, the house was requisitioned and housed American troops prior to the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in France.

The house

The house is an Elizabethan house and is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was built originally in 1576 by Edward Stephens. It has an E-shaped plan with a porch at the centre of the east side. It is constructed of rubble stone with a stone slate roof and has two storeys and attics. It was enlarged in the seventeenth century and further extended in the eighteenth century by the Rev Richard Stephens, then again at the start of the 20th century. As these additions are in keeping with the original style and materials, they appear as one consistent building and the new areas are not obvious. David Verey and Alan Brooks, in their first volume of the

Pevsner Architectural Guide The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

to the county, describe Chavenage as "the ideal 16th-century Cotswold stone manor house". The interior has a former open great hall, but this has now had a ceiling installed, with an altered minstrels' gallery over a screen. This is sixteenth century as is the Renaissance style fireplace and the panelling and Gothic fireplace in the dining room. Other notable features of the house are the two

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

rooms Cromwell's and

Ireton Ireton may refer to: Places * Ireton, Alberta, a locality in Leduc County *Ireton, England, a hamlet near Idridgehay in Derbyshire * Ireton, Iowa * Ireton, Nova Scotia * Kirk Ireton, an English village Other uses * Ireton (surname) * Ireton ...

's Room; the

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows in the Great Hall; the Oak Room which has elaborate 1590 panelling. Additionally, there is an

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

wing, featuring a sprung-floored ballroom. Close to the house is the family chapel which is included in the Grade I listing. It has a tower, built as a folly in the seventeenth century, with two stages, stepped diagonal buttresses and a parapet with embattlements. The main fabric of the chapel is eighteenth century and it has an undercover link to the house.

Visiting Chavenage

The house is open to the public on a limited basis. It is also available for use for conferences and functions and as a wedding venue.

Chavenage as a filming location

Chavenage has been used in films and for television programmes, including ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel ''The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Leonard ...

'', ''The Ghost of Greville Lodge'', the first

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

story ''

The Mysterious Affair at Styles ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United ...

''; a 'Gotcha' for ''

Noel's House Party ''Noel's House Party'' is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 26 March 2000 on BBC One, an ...

'', ''The Barchester Chronicles;'' ''Berkeley Square''; ''

Cider with Rosie ''Cider with Rosie'' is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee (published in the US as ''Edge of Day: Boyhood in the West of England'', 1960). It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with ''As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'' (1969) and '' A ...

''; ''

Grace & Favour ''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of '' Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and ...

;

The House of Eliott ''The House of Eliott'' is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott and Louise Lombard as Evangeline Eliott, two sisters in 1920s Lond ...

;

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

and Dracula. '' From 2008 the house featured as Candleford Manor in the BBC's ''

Lark Rise to Candleford ''Lark Rise to Candleford'' is a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels by Flora Thompson about the countryside of north-east Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England, at the end of the 19th century. The stories were previously published se ...

''. Scenes from ''

Bonekickers ''Bonekickers'' is a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It made its début on 8 July 2008 in television, 2008 and ran for one series. It was written by ''Life on Mars (UK TV series), Life on Mars' ...

'', '' Tess of the D'Urbervilles'', starring

Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. Known for his roles in biopics and blockbusters, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Olivier Awards. He ...

and '' In Love with Barbara'' were shot at Chavenage in 2008. Recent credits include

Rosamunde Pilcher Rosamunde Pilcher, OBE (''née'' Scott; 22 September 1924 – 6 February 2019) was a British writer of romance novels, mainstream fiction, and short stories, from 1949 until her retirement in 2000. Her novels sold over 60 million copies worldw ...

's ''The Four Seasons'', the BBC's ''Nightwatch'' and the CBBC's series ''Sparticles''. Two productions were shot at Chavenage in 2013, ''The Unknown Heart'', based on an idea by

as well the historical drama ''New Worlds'' (Channel 4), starring

Jamie Dornan James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model and musician from Northern Ireland. Formerly a character actor, he often portrays solemn, steady characters. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been n ...

. Chavenage is Trenwith House in the new adaption of

Winston Graham Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary ...

's ''

Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was adapted twice ...

'' (2015 TV series), starring

Aidan Turner Aidan Turner (born 19 June 1983) is an Irish actor. He played the roles of Ross Poldark in the 2015–2019 BBC adaptation of ''The Poldark Novels'' by Winston Graham, Dante Gabriel Rossetti in ''Desperate Romantics'', Ruairí McGowan in '' Th ...

References

Sources

External links

{{Commons category, Chavenage House, Gloucestershire
Photos of Chavenage House and surrounding area on geographChavenage House official websiteChavenage House on The Internet Movie Database
Country houses in Gloucestershire Historic house museums in Gloucestershire Grade I listed houses in Gloucestershire