The Cottage Stanley Pontlarge

The Cottage Stanley Pontlarge

An atmospheric and historic house, The Cottage Stanley Portlarge is available for short holiday rentals.

Sitting inconspicuously up a narrow lane in the small Gloucestershire hamlet of Stanley Pontlarge, the cottage with its arched and stone-mullioned windows has an ancient, ecclesiastical appearance.

A family home

The Grade II* listed house has been owned by the same family since 1919 and was home to the writer and engineering historian LTC (Tom) Rolt and his wife, writer and activist Sonia.

It actually consists of two Cotswold stone buildings: the larger dates back to about 1387, built by Cistercian monks from Hailes Abbey, possibly as a courthouse. The two were made into one house just after the First World War and little material alteration has been made to the older building since then.

Read Tom Rolt's fascinating architectural history of the Cottage.

Cotswold setting

The house is on the northern escarpment of the Cotswolds in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty. It has a lovely private west-facing garden. Beyond it, rare-breed sheep graze in old fruit orchards that were once so characteristic of this slope of the Cotswolds.

It is a quintessentially Cotswold home, with ancient stone-flagged floors, huge exposed beams and thick walls. Idiosyncratic in style, it has a timeless feel, a place to relax and unwind. Only the sound of the Gloucester and Warwickshire steam train occasionally punctures the rural peace.

The hamlet

Stanley Pontlarge is a cluster of six houses and a small Norman church. Beyond the hamlet and farm buildings, a hill track leads over Stanley Mount to Winchcombe, one-time capital of Mercia and an historic stone town with a fine wool church.

Surrounding area

You can walk out of the cottage directly onto footpaths across fabulous open countryside, making the cottage an ideal destination for walkers and all lovers of the countryside. Alternatively, many of the attractions that the Cotswolds are famous for are within easy reach.

To book The Cottage Stanley Pontlarge, see our Availability & Booking page.