Chastleton House
Summary
 Chastleton
House is one of England's finest and most complete Jacobean houses.
It is filled with a mixture of rare and everyday objects, furniture
and textiles collected since its completion in 1612 by members of one
family, in continuous occupation. The gardens are typically Elizabethan
and Jacobean with a ring of fascinating topiary at their heart. This
house is being conserved rather than restored by the National Trust.
Admission by timed ticket. Advance booking strongly recommended as maximum
number of visitors admitted per day is 175.
Chastleton
House Photo Gallery >>
 The
Gunpowder Plot
The Chastleton estate was once owned by Robert Catesby, one of the Gunpowder
Plot instigators. Catesby mortgaged the property to Walter Jones, and
when Catesby fell on hard times and was unable to keep up payments,
Jones took over the property. Jones pulled down Catesby's house and
built a new, grand mansion, which is the Chastleton House we see today.
The House
Chastleton is a superb Jacobean mansion, little altered from its original
design. The house is approached by way of a winding path down a moderate
hill, with views to an attractive dovecote of similar age to the house.
The lovely 12th century parish church of Chastleton is nestled in beside
the manor, providing a beautiful picture of English country life at
its most idyllic. A small entry gateway gives onto an outer courtyard,
with stables to the left and the house itself to the right. Within the
house a loosely organized route guides visitors through a series of
authentically furnished and restored Jacobean and Tudor rooms.
 An
enormous amount of work has been done to restore Chastleton, but, unlike
many other houses, this restoration has not resulted in a building that
seems more museum than house. Here, the floors bend and buckle with
the wrinkles of aged timber, and the bedrooms are authentically furnished
with period pieces. Though each visitor will find something different
to appreciate, I found the most attractive room in the house to be the
long gallery. This upper floor chamber occupies the entire length of
the house. The roof is, unusually, barrel vaulted, and superbly executed
plasterwork adorns every square inch of the ceiling. Here you can also
see the devastating effect of the deathwatch beetle that has had a good
go at eating away the fabric of the house over the centuries!
Life 'Below Stairs'
One of the most appealing aspects of Chastleton House is the way in
which you can see the real 'bones' of the house. The butler's chamber
on upper floor gives you an excellent view of the roof beams and the
skeleton of the house frame. Descend in turn to the kitchens, which
were in use until the 1950s, and you see the fairly primitive conditions
in which food was prepared for hundreds of years. Look up to see the
blackened grime of centuries on the ceiling of the kitchen; apparently
an early resident declared that it was bad luck to clean kitchen ceilings,
so it was never touched - and it shows!
 Beginnings
of Croquet
A large section of gardens behind the house is given over to two large
croquet lawns. That seems very appropriate, as it was here at Chastleton
in 1865 that the rules of lawn croquet were first codified, so Chastleton
House can claim with some justification to be the 'home of croquet'.
Chastleton for Children
The National Trust has several themed 'Discovery Packs' available to
younger visitors. These packs consist of various tools, such as a magnifying
glass and binoculars that help children answer themed quiz questions
as they go from room to room around the house. Our youngest child, age
5, loved her Discovery Pack, and also enjoyed the 'Secret Room'. There
is also plenty of room in the grounds for children to run and explore.
CONTACT
Chastleton House
Chastleton
nr Moreton-in-Marsh
Oxfordshire
GL56 0SU
Tel. 01608 674355
Email
Web
Parking
There is a small car park about 350 yards from the House. Access via
a gravel path down a moderate hill.
Entry
Entry fee. Free entry to National Trust members
More
See our Chastleton
House Photo Gallery >>
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