Stanway

Stanway is a small estate village at the foot of the Cotswold scarp, dominated by the great Jacobean gatehouse of Stanway House — widely considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the Cotswolds. The gatehouse, with its three curved gables and elaborate stonework, dates from around 1630 and opens onto a chestnut avenue leading to the house itself, which is open to visitors on certain afternoons in summer. The whole composition of gatehouse, house, tithe barn and church is a definitive statement of Cotswold Jacobean architecture.

The village is largely owned by the Earl of Wemyss and March and has a deliberately preserved character that reflects careful stewardship over many generations. The medieval tithe barn near the house is one of the finest in the county. The cricket ground adjacent to the house lays claim to being one of the oldest continuously used cricket grounds in England, with a thatched pavilion that is itself worth the journey.

Stanway House's gardens include the tallest single-jet gravity fountain in Britain, reaching over 90 metres when operating. Footpaths from the village lead up onto the escarpment towards Hailes Abbey and across the high wolds towards Winchcombe. Stanway is one of a cluster of exceptional small villages in this part of the northern Cotswolds that also includes Stanton and Snowshill — all three can be connected in a single excellent half-day walk.