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A rare and relatively untouched example of a Jacobean country house, Chastleton House was built between 1607 and 1612 by a wealthy wool merchant as an impressive statement of wealth and power. Owned by the same increasingly impoverished family until 1991, the house remained essentially unchanged for nearly 400 years as the interiors and contents gradually succumbed to the ravages of time. With virtually no intrusion from the 21st century, this fascinating place exudes an informal and timeless atmosphere in a gloriously unspoilt setting.
When it acquired Chastleton in 1991, the National Trust adopted a groundbreaking approach to this unique time capsule. From the soot - blackened ceiling in the kitchen, to the peeling 1960s wallpaper in the Library and abandoned slipper bath under the rafters, the house has been kept 'as found' rather than restoring it to its former glory.
Chastleton House can be found in a beautiful Cotswolds setting in the village of Chastleton, near Moreton-in-Marsh, close to the Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire border . The house stands next to the 12th-century village church.
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