A 1,000-year-old Cotswolds estate for sale, with a Grade II*-listed mansion, 190,000 sq ft and its own deer park
Rendcomb Park was originally built as one of the finest houses in Gloucestershire before becoming one of its finest schools. Now, it's set to begin the latest chapter in its story, as Penny Churchill reports.
Rendcombe Park state has origins that pre-date the Norman Conquest and it is true to say that few places in the Cotswolds can match it for the depth of its history. Prominently located on the high ground of the scenic Churn valley, some six miles north of Cirencester within the Cotswolds National Landscape, Rendcomb Park has, over the centuries, passed through a succession of powerful landowning families.
Then, in 1918, it was acquired by the educational philanthropist Frederick Noel Wills, who set out to create a school that would give talented young boys initially (girls from 1972), regardless of their means, access to an exceptional education. Two years later, in June 1920, Rendcomb College welcomed its first pupils.
Rendcomb Park as it appeared in Country Life when put up for sale in 1917.
In July 2026, the school finally succumbed to financial pressures that ultimately proved insurmountable and Rendcomb College reluctantly closed its doors. Consequently, Country Life this week sees the launch onto the market of the 230-acre Rendcomb Park estate, with its Grade II*-listed mansion house, picturesque Grade II-listed stable block, historic parkland, ancient woodland, deer park and playing fields, plus a total of 190,000 sq ft of accommodation. Rupert Sturgis of Knight Frank in Cirencester quotes a ballpark figure of £20 to £30 million for the estate as a whole, although proposals for individual parts will also be considered.
The manor of Rendcomb was owned in the 12th century by Robert de la Mare and remained in the de la Mare family until 1503, when it was sold to Edmund Tame of Fairford. It later passed through the Berkeley family before being acquired by Sir William Guise of Elmore and it remained in the Guise family until 1864, when Sir John Wright Guise sold the historic farming estate to banker Sir Francis Goldsmid, who was MP for Reading.
Sir Francis swiftly replaced the ‘substantial mansion of plain design’ built by Sir John Guise in about 1685, with the present grand, 55,000sq ft, five-storey Italianate mansion designed by London architect Philip Hardwick, built in 1866 by Thomas Cubitt and set in 129 acres of formal gardens and parkland, which together form the core of the present estate.
Contemporary elements added by Sir Francis include the massive stable courtyard with its tall tower, built in the French Renaissance style and completed in 1867, and the Grade II-listed ornamental bridges that carry the south drive over the village road and the River Churn.
Located away from the main campus in the south-east corner of the estate, the 7¾-acre stable complex comprises a distinctive group of buildings centred on the former stable yard.
At its heart is the 10,334 sq ft stable block, a striking Cotswold stone building arranged around a central courtyard. Immediately surrounding the stable block are a number of residential buildings and facilities and, to the east, a further group of four Cotswold cottages is separated by garden plots, all of which adds up to some seven acres.
Sir Francis died in 1878 and was succeeded by his nephew, Sir Julian Goldsmid, who, in 1883, sold the Rendcomb Park estate with 4,775 acres of land to James Taylor, a cotton manufacturer from Bradford. The estate later passed to James Herbert Taylor, who sold off most of the land in 1914. The estate then passed to a syndicate of owners who oversaw its eventual break up.
Dominated for centuries by the big house and estate of the Guise family, in the 20th century, Rendcomb village was gradually assimilated into the 9½-acre central campus of Rendcomb College and, by 1978, the school owned most of the village, with the houses mainly occupied by its employees. A period of expansion in the 1960s saw the addition of purpose-built buildings in the mansion-house grounds, including houses for the headmaster and other staff members.
Rendcomb Park being advertsied for sale in Country Life in 1913 — with the same agent who are handling the sale today.
In 1967, a new Arts block was added. A boarding house was built on the north side of the house in the early 1970s, followed by a new sports hall in the upper village in 1978. The result is a cohesive and active campus, combining built form with open space and landscaped areas.
The final piece of the Rendcomb Park jigsaw is the 76¾-acre park in the quiet northern part of the estate, an area of playing fields, pasture and ancient woodland.
Here, the only buildings are a lone Cotswold-stone cottage set among mature trees, a sports pavilion serving the adjoining playing fields and maintenance and storage buildings that provide operational support to the entire estate.
The Rendcomb Park Estate is for sale with Knight Frank in Cirencester — contact the agent for more details.
