Description
Gatcombe Park is the private country home of the Princess Royal,
situated in England between the Gloucestershire villages of
Minchinhampton and Avening, five miles south of Stroud.
The house and farming estate were bought by Queen Elizabeth II in 1976
for Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. The previous owner was
Lord Butler of Saffron Walden, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge,
and a former Home Secretary, who had inherited the house from his
father-law, Samuel Courtauld. Courtauld had acquired it from the
Ricardo family, owners from 1814 (when the estate was bought by the
economist David Ricardo) to 1940.
The house was built from 1771 to 1774 for Edward Sheppard. It features
Bath stone construction, and comprises five main bedrooms, four
secondary bedrooms, four reception rooms, a library, a billiard room
and a conservatory, as well as staff accommodation. It was renovated
and redecorated for Princess Anne and Captain Phillips, and they moved
into it in November 1977. In 1978 the land was increased by the
purchase of the adjoining Aston Farm. The Gatcombe Estate now covers
around 730 acres (3 km²), of which 200 acres (0.8 km²) are woodland,
and includes a lake containing brown trout. There are considerable
stabling facilities, including a new stable block.
Today the Princess Royal lives in the manor-house with her second
husband, Rear-Admiral Timothy Laurence. Mark Phillips lives in the
adjoining Aston Farm with his second wife.
The grounds host an annual craft fair with around 160 exhibitors, held in October and Now Organised by Living Heritage.
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Gatcombe Park
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