LITTLECOTE
HOUSE HOTEL - HUNGERFORD
Tudor Romantic Historic Getaway on the Cotswold Border
Just
a little over an hour from London in the beautiful Berkshire countryside
at
the edge
of the Cotswold, the Tudor and Elizabethan Littlecote House
has been a romantic getaway for almost 300 years. Steeped in history,
the Littlecote House is a charming hotel operated as part of the
Warner Leisure
Group known for its romantic dancing weekend breaks. It was at Littlecote
House in 1535 that serial marry-er King Henry VIII met and wooed the
third of his six wives, Jane Seymour. She didn’t lose her head
like Anne Boleyn whom she replaced, but Seymore suffered the misfortune
to die two weeks after bearing Henry the son he required. She was, however
the only one of his wives to buried with him. Henry was first introduced
to a young Jane Seymour at Littlecote in 1520 by Sir George Darrell,
but Henry wouldn’t fix on her as a marriage prospect for another
15 years. The lovers’ romantic tryst is celebrated in the Great
Hall of Littlecote by a stained glass roundel of royal initials, a lover’s
knot and the face of Cupid.
The
original house was built on the site of a Roman settlement, the remnants
of
which
can still be found on the grounds with a preserved
Roman Mosaic at little Roman Villa found in the 17th Century walled garden.
Littlecote House figured prominently in the English Civil War, taken
over by the civil forces while Oliver Cromwell was planning his purge
of Ireland (see Malahide
Castle). Littlecote features the last remaining
Cromwell Era Chapel in a private English house. Sir John Popham, royal
court
judge
under Queen Elizabeth, who sentenced Mary, Queen of Scots, Sir Walter
Raleigh and Guy Fawkes (tried at Littlecote) to the headsman,
obtained the house in 1590. Popham was a clever fellow who, familiar
with the
road to execution, flowed with the parliamentarian winds in the days
of Cromwell, but was instrumental in bringing the monarchy back in the
form of Charles II, and upon entertaining the king to a lavish dinner
in 1663, earned a royal pardon and fixed his family’s fortune
at Littlecote until the house was bought in 1929 by Sir Ernest Wills.
WWII 101st
Littlecote House played a significant historic role again during World War II, when the house was taken over in 1943 by the 506th Paratroop Regiment of the American 101st Airborne Division for use as a training base, with jump school held north of Ramsbury village at Chilton Foliat Camp. D-Day operations as well as the later Market Garden drops were planned in the library where Colonel Robert Sink had set up his office. A plaque marks the occasion.
Haunted Littlecote
What
old English manor house hotel would be complete without its secret
passages and a ghost
or two. William Darrell, from whom Judge Popham
either bought the house, gained it as a bribe or took it as booty, depending
on which legend you prefer to believe. The even darker legend is
that Darrell had an affair with his neighbor's wife, from which a child
was
born with the help of a blindfolded midwife, who was instructed to see
to the care of the mother, but when the baby was delivered, Darrell promptly
threw it into the roaring fire. The house is said to be haunted by a "Grey
Lady", thought to be the mother, searching for her lost newborn.
William Darrell was said to have been haunted himself by the ghost of
the infant and he wanders the grounds in an area known as Darrell's Stile,
where he died from being thrown by a horse.
Littlecote House Warner Leisure Hotel
As a hotel the Littlecote House represents upscale luxury with two elegant restaurants, the Popham Restaurant and Oliver's Bistro, harkening back to the house's famed inhabitants. One can stay in the historic old rooms of the house itself or a newer wing denoted as Signature and Ambassador Rooms with the most luxurious being the contemporary Royale Rooms. Dinner in the Oliver Cromwell bistro is complementary for one night if staying in the historic rooms. Medieval Banquets are held in the Great Hall once a week for about £40 per person, with entertainment by a certified Jester, though which agency certifies Jesters is a bit of a mystery. The Warner Leisure Hotels Group feature romantic getaway breaks including half-board breakfast and three course evening meals. Rekindle a romance with one of their Strictly Come Dancing Breaks based on the British TV dancing show.
The Littlecote
House is located on the banks of the River Kennet, 2 miles off the
M4 motorway northeast of Hungerford, with lovely countryside
walks and easy reach by car to the nearby Cotswold Hills, Stonehenge,
Windsor or Bath. © Bargain
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These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission. Photos courtesy Warner Leisure Hotel Group.
See Also:
CHURCHILL
CABINET WAR ROOMS
NIDD HALL HOTEL - YORKSHIRE DALES
