Owlpen Church and Manor

 

Owlpen is the name of the place where I stayed. My apartment was in the top of a tithe barn built in the mid 1400's, around the same time as the main part of the manor house was built. The main house is a grade1 building, meaning that its owners have to keep both the outside and inside period correct. It has been used as a set for many TV and movie productions. I sadly was not able to tour the manor because it is undergoing some repairs. But I met Lady Mander, who with her husband, Sir Mander bought the place in the mid 70's and lovingly restored it, converting several outbuildings into rental cottages. She was very gracious and we had a lively conversation about Utahns and Mormons. She said that the estate has had a fair amount of Utah mormon visitors, Sir Mander had even been to Salt Lake City once. She drew me a map for negotiating the roundabouts between Uley (the little village at the bottom of the lane) and Stow-on-the-Wold, this being the picturesque Cotswold village I wanted to visit on Tuesday. I will go into that trip later, I'm still on Sunday! The little church was built a while later for the personal use of one of the manor's owners. I think it's early Victorian. Here are some pictures I took of the church and manor.

Owlpen Manor, with its church in the background.

Owlpen church

Back of the church

Richly ornamented grave marker.

Church nave.

Ceiling in the nave.

One of two carved stone faces.

One of the many stained glass windows.

There is a lot of mosaic work in the nave, very Victorian and pretty.