 Snowshill Manor
Looking at this traditional stone-built Cotswold house today, it is difficult
to imagine that just over 80 years ago it stood as little more than a
neglected, and near derelict, medieval farmhouse. But the history of Snowshill Manor
began long before that. Prior to the Dissolution of the monasteries, the
manor had belonged to the Abbey of St Mary at Winchcombe for some 700
years, but it was subsequently owned by the Crown, various members of
nobility, and absentee landlords. As a result it was rarely occupied by
the owners, instead being let to tenants and farmers.
The present house is essentially Tudor, built to a typical design of that
period with a great hall. This was drastically altered in the 17th century
to provide a long two-storey building with smaller rooms. One of the few
owner-occupiers of the house were William Sambach, and his son, who lived
at Snowshill Manor during the early 18th century. They too made radical changes,
transforming the house into a three-storey Georgian property. However, upon Sambach's
death, the property again returned to being occupied by tenant farmers.
In 1919 Charles Wade bought the ruinous house and 14 acres of land - all
that remained of the original manor - and set about a major restoration.
As an avid follower of the Arts & Craft movement, Wade was keen
to preserve as much of the original structure as he could. Where he
had to make replacements, he would employ the traditional skills of the craftsmen.
Snowshill Manor was not to become a home, but a place where Charles Wade
could display his growing collections in an appropriate setting. All
21 rooms of the house are packed with his lifetime's treasure-hunting - it
is a veritable 'Aladdin's Cave'. He didn't specialise in any one item
but collected anything that took his eye, from everyday household objects
to Samurai armour, from period costumes to 'bone-shaker' bicycles.
While he was restoring the
house and installing his collections, Wade lived in the old Priest's
House, a converted cottage to the west of the Manor. Dating from the
monastic period initially, it became a brewhouse, and then a farm building.
With Wade's ingenuity, he transformed the building to a habitable state
once again and remained there for the best part of 27 years, living
a simple life among the chaos of his multifarious objects. Further delights
can be found in the well-established gardens, laid out on different
levels with sunken courts, traditional planting, and many unusual features.
Generally, our interests are concentrated on the craftsmanship and architecture
of a building, and to a much lesser degree with the content of properties.
Snowshill Manor is a rare exception, because the fascination of the house is
centred around the collections within. For us it provided a total satisfaction.
The location was picturesque, the gardens romantic, the history and restoration
of the house was amazing, and Wade's extensive collections were so diverse
that they deserved a thorough investigation. As for Charles Paget Wade,
he was an extremely interesting character, if not a little eccentric. |
