I planned a birthday visit out in the middle of June and visited Snowshill Manor in the Cotswolds. The National Trust owns and manages Snowshill Manor (once a monastary), and this property is completely unique to others that I have visited. The reason why it is so unique is that it is essentially a museum and contains collections of hand-made items that collector Charles Wade, who was known as an artist and eccentric, collected during his life. He set up the manor house as a museum of these wonderful items and lived in a modest home next to the manor.
Snowshill Manor became a National Trust property in 1951. The manor house dates from the 16th century, and on the estate are a dovecot, brewhouse, garden buildings, and cottages. The land that the estate is on belonged to Winchcombe Abbey, given by the king of Mercia after Roman rule in 821; Britain was divided up into areas with Mercia being a large kingdom in the middle. In the 1085 Domesday Book, the manor was mentioned, and it was also then gifted by Henry VIII to his wife Chatherine Parr after the monastaries were removed in the mid-1500s.
The manor is located a ten-minute walk down a hilly trail. In the opposite direction, visitors can enjoy a bite to eat at the cafe. The trail contains several viewpoints, and sheep graze in the fields.
There is a walk up to the manor with fruit trees and wild meadows.
The oldest part of Snowshill Manor was built in 1550, and these were the last few rooms explored. Additional rooms were later constructed to the house. Farmers lived in the manor for awhile, but Wade purchased it in 1919 after he saw the estate advertised in a magazine during the war.
The collection that Wade put together contains over 22,000 objects. Amongst the items are the "room of 100 wheels" (bicycles and other items), Samurai armour, toys, clothing, tools, musical instruments, carved bone-made games pieces, cabinets, and a wealth of curiousities. All of the items are hand-made with skill.
Visitors to Snowshill Manor need to book their time to see the manor in advance as it has limited numbers and is not open every day. The first room to see upon entering is the Turquoise Room, which is pictured below. One of the famous samauri statues is also located in this room so that visitors can see it in better light. Apparently, it was used in some promotional material for the estate recently. There is also a carved ship from Asia depicting a brothel ship, which I heard one of the volunteers discussing.
Items made from carved bone are located in a cabinet below.
Everywhere you look, there is something unique to see. It is impossible to see it all during a first visit.
The samauri room was one of the most memorable.
There was a room filled with items of fashion. Wade himself loved to dress up in different outfits to humour his guests.
The original model village that Wade built can be seen on cabinets above.
There were a couple of rooms filled with toys.
This is the room of 100 wheels.
The final interior photographs below are the oldest rooms of the house.
As the manor itself displays the collection built up over a few decades, Wade himself lived in the Priest's House next door. This is a modest home, and it is said to be haunted by a monk. Visitors could only peer through the windows as they are blocked off from entry. Photographs of this modest home are below.
The gardens at the estate were created in the early 1920s with inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement. Wade created a model village to display in the garden, and the original buildings are located inside the manor. Wade built it between 1907 and 1914 and installed it to amuse the daughter of a writer friend. The model village even has its own name - Wolf's Cove. From 2012 until 2018, National Trust volunteers worked at re-creating the model village from photographs, and this was installed at the site in 2018.
The exit is down the hill with the gardens and orchard.
I found Snowshill Manor to be an interesting place to visit. I did find quite a lot of the items to be considered creepy for my tastes. I do like how he saved these items as they would not be here today had he not, and that craftsmanship would have been forgotten.
I think what creeps me out the most about this, other than some of the items themselves, is the personality that they express in the maker. These items were worked by so many different souls in the past, and it feels as though their soul is a part of the item and a part of the house. I am 100% confident that this place is haunted with some of those souls. I would not like to visit alone.
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