Is This The Homeliest Cotswolds Manor House?

At the approach of Waterton House – ruling over its bucolic surroundings in shades of dark Cotswolds stone – you might expect to be intimidated: by its size, its history, its grandeur. And, while there’s no denying its enormity, legacy or beauty, intimidation is not the feeling experienced by those who come to stay. Or so says owner Vas: ‘It’s a home,’ she insists. ‘A wonderful, wonderful home. It’s not one of those country retreats that you just come to every now and again.’

Discover Waterton House

Sitting on the fringes of Ampney Crucis village, close to the Cotswolds capital and beloved market town of Cirencester, Waterton House is enveloped in rolling Gloucestershire countryside. Complete with Elizabethan-style stone quoins and large mullioned windows which sit beneath the gabled stone tiled roof, the home is done up in the Arts-and-Crafts style pioneered by famed artist and former local William Morris, whose old home sits just a few miles away. 

Having lived in South Wales before the move, Vas and her husband first fell in love with this corner of the country while staying in the nearby Lucknam Park Hotel. Exploring properties in the surrounding areas, this home was ‘love at first sight’. ‘We made the visit and as we approached the house along the bend of the drive, I suddenly took one look and thought: “Oh my goodness, my husband’s going to buy this house.” You know when you have that feeling about something? Before we even stepped into it I just knew.’ Following the inevitable purchase, the couple carried out sensitive restoration work on the unlisted property, before moving in a little under a year later in 1992. 

The History 

Built in the late 1800s, Waterton House was completed in 1901 and featured in the third of Nicholas Kingsley’s three volumes on Gloucestershire’s manor houses. Though it was originally built as a dower house for the Cripps family (a family of landowners and politicians who owned the nearby Ampney Park Estate) it’s not known whether the dowager ever actually lived here. 

Shortly after her move, Vas met a lady in the village whose grandmother had worked as a maid in the house during the 1930s. Inviting her over, Vas learnt more about the history of Waterton – discovering how the home’s past owner, Captain Orred, would present his daughters to the queen at court, learning about his 12 footmen and his 15 or so gardeners. His former maid would sort all 17 fireplaces in the home and be called upon to present herself to the Captain with the rest of the staff every morning in the library. During the visit, she rediscovered the spot of her old bedroom on the very top floor and the green baize doors which separated the kitchen and staff quarters from the family’s living areas – a line that the former lady would never cross, but where Vas seems to spend most of her time with the dogs and grandchildren. 

Following Orred’s time as head of the estate, Lord Lloyd took ownership in the 40s. Used as a farming estate, prep school and WWII officer recuperation site during the 50s and 60s, by the 70s Waterton House had become the home of some actors – including Peter Wyngarde, best known for British TV series Jason King in which he played the eponymous womanizer turned sleuth. Following this strange interlude, in the 80s Waterton House was bought up by the Mapelli Mozzi family, whose son Eduardo is now married to Princess Beatrice. 

Step Inside

While much of the decor is Vas’s own, the skin and bones of this Arts & Crafts home has hardly been touched. ‘We’ve always strived to choose furniture, ornaments and decor that suit the house,’ she says. ‘You hear nowadays – which is a bit sad – how a lot of people go into these manor houses and then rip the heart out. They put in something that is not really part of the look, or a terribly up to the minute kitchen – which is lovely, but we believe in maintaining and keeping that Arts and Crafts feel that it would have had in the 20s, 30s and 40s.’

Despite a couple more contemporary pieces, the house gives the overall impression of stepping back in time. With its south-west facing drawing room, north-facing pantry, and breakfast room which looks out to the south-east, it boasts the solid build and clever design of any good Edwardian home. Inside, there is an Aga, an original iron cooking range, and a wine cellar, alongside large open and intricately carved fireplaces with stone hearths, oak panelled walls and staircases, window seats and low hanging beams. 

Designed in one with no add-ons, Waterton House has 11 to 12 bedrooms set over two floors, including a double-aspect master bedroom with a large fireplace and bay window seating area. While the drawing room and its large bay windows is Vas’s favourite spot, the grand double-height hall (which can hold a 15ft Christmas tree) is a crowd pleaser. Other key features include the working staff bells you can ring from every room (complete with names of past custodians), the butler’s pantry, dining room, library, billiard room, a stable yard ripe for renovation or horse holding, plus a separately owned cottage – not included in the listing – originally built for the cook of the house in 1912.

In Vas’s very first Christmas in Waterton, she had 22 guests over and since then the gatherings have only gotten bigger and better – with nearly 100 guests present at one Christmas-do and 300 in attendance at her daughter’s wedding which was held on the croquet lawn. Designed so that the rooms all open onto each other, Vas explains that it is the perfect spot to entertain. ‘They’ve got some incredible country manor houses in the Cotswolds, but they’re all a little bit warren-y and they’ve got very low ceilings and one room runs into another,’ she says. ‘Whereas here, as you step in, it just oozes this feeling of the grandeur of those days when people entertained more than they do nowadays.’ Another aspect that surprises guests is the lightness of the house, streaming through its many large windows. ‘There is something very magical about the whole thing. When guests of ours come from overseas, they always say “Oh my goodness it’s like Charles Dickens.”‘

Outside, the 25 acre grounds boast hard tennis courts and a heated indoor swimming pool, as well as formal gardens bordered by a stone ha-ha, a croquet lawn, barbecue area, rose walk, kitchen garden surrounded by beech hedging, a sunken summer garden, west facing terrace, large numbers of old trees (including an orchard brimming with fruit) and visiting deer. Inspired by the scenery, Vas has taken to writing children’s stories about the surrounding countryside and the creatures who inhabit it. 

Enjoying all the local Cotswolds pursuits – from polo and racing, to point-to-point and market towns – for Vas, this is ‘Cotswold living at its best’: ‘I know the north Cotswolds has become very popular for those reasons that we all know, but this is the true Cotswolds.’ With easier access to London and Heathrow than the north of the area, and close to towns and cities such as Bath, Oxford, and Stratford-upon-Avon, it’s, as Vas puts it, ‘a home for a balanced lifestyle’. 

Waterton House is on the market for £6.95m. Find out more at search.savills.com