Whittington Court is an Elizabethan manor house, five miles east of

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England. Adjacent to the house is the Whittington parish church which dates from the 12th century and now dedicated to

St Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

. The origins of the manor site are unclear, but probably date back to

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

times; however, in 1948 the remains of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

were found in an adjacent field. The current building was probably begun by Richard Cotton's son John Cotton in 1556 on an earlier moated site. It was completed in anticipation of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

's visit to the house in 1592 en route to Sudeley Castle. It passed to Sir John Denham by his marriage to Anne Cotton (died 1646); Sir John, who became Surveyor General to Charles II, died in 1669. Whittington Court then passed through the female line to the Earls of Derby, and by the mid-late 18th century belonged to Thomas Tracey, Member of Parliament for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, who died in 1770. The Misses Timbrell and Mrs. Rebecca Lighbourne inherited the property but left no heir, the house passing to Mr. Walter Lawrence Morris and subsequently to his descendants, who adopted the name Lawrence. Alterations and additions were made in the 16th, late 17th and early 18th centuries. In the mid-eighteenth century the estate was sold and became part of the Sandywell Park estate. The kitchen wing was added in 1929. It is a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The interior of the house is

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

and contains two carved overmantels from Sevenhampton Manor - one showing the arms of Lawrence Washington (1602–1652) (the stars and stripes). A barn dated 1614 and stable block are both grade II listed. Since 1972 a disused gardener's cottage at Whittington Court has been the home to The Whittington Press, a fine press which also publishes the journal ''Matrix'' on printing.

References

{{coord, 51, 53, 4, N, 1, 58, 57, W, type:landmark, display=title Grade I listed houses in Gloucestershire Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire Country houses in Gloucestershire Houses completed in 1556 1556 establishments in England