Built between 1607 and 1612, Chastleton House tells an enchanting story. Originally owned by rich wool merchant Walter Jones, the house became the scene of a drug dupping during the Civil War in a bid to save the owners life. Today, the property is owned by National Trust. Visitors can learn about the fascinating history for themselves from 1pm - 5pm Wednesday to Sunday. Entrance for adults costs £12.50. You can find more information about visiting the house and gardens here: nationaltrust.org.uk/chastleton-house

Mr W

July 31, 2017

Beautiful Building!

Nice old mansion.

Translated by Google •

Edvard

May 27, 2018

Chastleton House was built between 1607 and 1612, for Walter Jones, who had made his fortune from the law, although his family were originally Welsh wool merchants. The estate was bought in 1604 from Robert Catesby, although his residence was demolished to make way for the new house and no traces of the original building on this spot remain. The house is built of Cotswold stone, round a small courtyard, called the Dairy Court.

Chastleton House is famous for an episode from the English Civil War in which a loyal wife duped (and drugged) Roundhead soldiers to save her husband. Sarah Jewell, the granddaughter of the last owners of the manor, recalls her childhood reenactments of the scene:

"My sisters and I used to love running around searching for the secret room where Arthur Jones, the grandson of Walter Jones, hid after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Arthur was a Royalist and had been fighting for Charles II but the troops were defeated by Cromwell and Arthur galloped back to Chastleton with Cromwell's soldiers in hot pursuit. His quick-witted wife, Sarah - my childhood heroine - hid him in the secret closet over the porch and although the pursuing soldiers found his exhausted horse in the stables they couldn't find him. Sarah saved Arthur's life by lacing the soldiers' beer with laudanum and saddling up one of their horses for his escape as the soldiers slumbered. My sisters and I used to lie on the bed in the secret room and pretend we could hear the horses galloping towards us. The bed has now gone and the entrance to the room is barred with one of the National Trust's trademarks: a rope."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chastleton_House

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Location: Chastleton, West Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, South East England, England, United Kingdom

Chastleton House

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