Friday 20th October 2023
We are staying for the next few days at the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, attending a meeting of the CCC Photographic Group.
After our reasonably uneventful journey south yesterday, Storm Babet brought heavy rain overnight and throughout the morning leaving some flooding at the site. Nowhere near as bad as elsewhere in the country but other members had to move pitch very early in the morning.
Given the continuing rain, we decided to visit a Nation Trust house where, being indoors, we would avoid the worst of the weather.
Snowshill Manor
Snowshill Manor is a sixteenth century house which was bought by Charles Paget Wade in 1919. A real eccentric, he altered the house extensively and used it to purely house his huge collection of unusual objects. He lived in the cottage next door (known as “The Priest’s House”). Having no heir, he gifted it to the National Trust in 1951 in order to preserve his collection.
A room full of Japanese Samurai warrior costumes on models, provide you with a very uneasy experience:
Charles Wade’s home is known as “The Priest’s House” as he collected a range of religious artefacts and housed them in an upstairs room:
The bathroom was also of interest. With a “thunder-box” and strategically placed foot bath together with a paraffin stove for warmth:
He transformed the garden too, with an orchard and terraced lawn areas:
And constructed a model village, complete with harbour, quay and railway:
Snowshill Village
The village of Snowshill is also quite picturesque with Cotswold Stone buildings:
And the parish church in the centre of the village green;
Visiting with a Motorhome:
Snowshill Manor is owned and managed by the National Trust. No problems with access, but there is limited parking for motorhomes and you are asked to phone ahead to reserve one of the four places allocated for a larger vehicle. When we visited, some smaller units were parked on the car-parking area.
"See-u-Later" 