Whenever recession looms, the Cotswolds is the first port of call for buyers seeking a safe haven for their families and their assets. Vendors deprived of the traditional spring selling campaign are making up for lost time by launching their houses on the market in July, as this week’s bumper issue of Country Life shows.
One such house is Grade I-listed Poulton Manor, in the heart of the village of Poulton, five miles east of Cirencester on the southern edge of the Cotswolds. It’s for sale at £2m via Savills.
Described by former Country Life Editor Marcus Binney as ‘a perfect William-and-Mary doll’s house’ (Country Life, May 27, 1976), the exquisite, late-17th-century, small Cotswold-stone house, which ‘speaks more of an exalted yeoman than of the lord of the manor’, has remained almost unaltered since it was first built.
Much of the charm of Poulton Manor lies in its simplicity. Each floor has two rooms at the front and two at the back, with the hall and landings in the centre and the staircase behind; as a result, almost all the main rooms have windows in two walls.
The house stands in two acres of enchanting gardens and woodland in the centre of the village, with some 4,200sq ft of symmetrical living space over three floors, including three reception rooms and the kitchen on the ground floor, three bedrooms and a bathroom on each of upper floors and a playroom in the cellar.
The sale includes a one-bedroom guest cottage, with a further cottage available by separate negotiation.
Little is known about the history of the house, partly because the village of Poulton is close to the borders of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and, over the centuries, passed back and forwards between the two, before finally being incorporated into Gloucestershire in 1844.
At the same time, it also changed between the Dioceses of Salisbury and Gloucester, further obscuring its history. Recorded in Domesday as Poltone, then held by Earl Roger, the village was the site of a small Gilbertine priory (the only purely English monastic order), traces of which survive to the south of present-day Poulton.
After the Dissolution, the manor was granted to John Paget and the present house is variously attributed to Paget or Peter Mills, one of the surveyors appointed to supervise the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire.
In the 1930s, it was bought, ‘in a forlorn state’, by the Cartwright family, who apparently renewed the roof and replaced the ground-floor mullions.
After the war, Poulton Manor was acquired by Sir David Gamble, who sold it to Mr and Mrs Anthony Sanford in 1964. Mr Sanford, an architect, replaced the manor’s brick chimneystack with a more appropriate one in stone.
Otherwise, apart from repointing, little has changed from that day to this.
Poulton Manor is sale through Savills at a guide price of £2m — see more pictures and details.
Where to live in the Cotswolds: A guide to choosing the perfect spot
Where in the Cotswolds should you move to? The answer will depend on what is more important to you and
A no-compromise forever home has come up for sale in the Cotswolds
Buying a house is always a compromise, or so goes the received wisdom. Sometimes, though, you come across a place
Seven gorgeous Cotswolds homes for sale at under £500,000
Cotswolds properties can cost millions — but they don't have to, as these gorgeous homes show.
A Cotwsolds cottage with huge barn ripe for conversion, set in a village so pretty it was used for filming Downton Abbey
Down House is a gorgeous Cotswolds house full of charm and potential, with an orchard, paddock and scope to make
-
The transformative renovation of a Grade II-listed property with an 'unusual footprint'Having inherited this fine London townhouse, the new owner asked Sims Hilditch to help refresh the interiors, resulting in a youthful, yet elegant kitchen.
-
‘One of the most effective pieces of propaganda ever made’: the Bayeux Tapestry heads to Britain for the first time in almost a millenniumA historic agreement between this country and France sees the 225ft-long tableau — which may have been made in Britain but has been in France since 1077 — arrive at the British Museum in Autumn 2026.
-
The Good Life 2025? A development promising 'Britain's greenest homes' blends zero carbon, organic allotments and a touch of luxury in the Kent countrysideHartdene Barns, sitting on a disused dairy farm in Kent, is a vision of what sustainable living one day mean for all of us.
-
Breathtaking views and gardens that run down to the water's edge at this delightful home in CornwallThe Garden House in Polruan sums up the appeal of waterside living. Penny Churchill steps inside.
-
A 500-acre estate that spent 11 centuries in the same family, for sale for only the second time in its historyIn the beautiful hills of north Wales the Garthewin estate has come up for sale, including a great country house once restored by the architect who created Portmeirion. Penny Churchill takes a closer look.
-
'The city has always held an important creative space within our design studio': A luxury townhouse in Tokyo, courtesy of Aston MartinA new four-storey property in the Omotesandō district is the first single home private residence by the British ultra-luxury performance brand.
-
The Mediterranean Magic of MaltaWith historic charm, picture-perfect beaches and a welcoming approach to newcomers, Malta represents an appealing option for Mediterranean property hunters. Holly Kirkwood reports.
-
Four country houses with their own tennis courts, as seen in Country LifeIf Wimbledon has put you in the mood for more tennis, Annunciata Elwes is here with a selection of homes with their own tennis courts.
-
The majestic New Forest estate formerly owned by a billionaire adventurer — famous for driving 'the world's fastest kettle' — has come up for saleGreat estates in the unspoilt setting of the New Forest are always a welcome sight on the market, and Newton Park is a wonderful example with a sad story to tell. Anna White tells more.
-
A Hampshire Manor for sale that dates back to the days of Alfred the Great, with the most beautiful staircase we've seen in yearsThe ten bedroom property features an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa complex and stables, and it was restored by the same architect who worked on Downing Street.
