'I rented it from the parents of a friend — they were perfect landlords who charged peppercorn rent': Sir Nicholas Coleridge on his first house in the country
Sir Nicholas Coleridge's first foray into country life was in a picture-book cottage in a charming Cotswolds village.
Where was it?
I rented a stone Cotswold cottage in the village of Notgrove, on a Gloucestershire estate between Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach
A quick description
It had three bedrooms, a garden large enough for a badminton net and a defunct night storage heater in the kitchen. We were there from 1985–88.
What made you rent it?
I was dating a first-year Oxford student and, being eight years older, my strategy was to lure her out of university for weekends and pack the cottage with friends older than myself, so I appeared more age appropriate. It worked. Georgia and I have been married since 1989.
Two decades on from Notgrove, and two decades before today, Nicholas Coleridge and wife Georgia pictured attending his book launch party for the new book 'A Much Married Man', at Dartmouth House on May 4, 2006 in London.
How did you find it?
I rented it from the parents of a friend. The Aclands were perfect landlords who owned the whole village and charged a peppercorn rent. In those pre-mobile, pre-wifi days, a red telephone box on the village green was used to organise social outings.
Any grumbling about the landlords?
Periodically, Liz Acland would ride past our front garden on her giant hunter and observe that Japanese knotweed was dimly visible between the flowers. I can’t recall doing much about it. Years later, they generously sold us their beautiful mahogany circular dining-room table for a small charity donation, and we have used it ever since at our house in Worcestershire.
Favourite aspect?
The walks — either across the fields to Turkdean in the hope of spotting rock legend Steve Winwood, who lived there, or to The Plough Inn in Cold Aston.
Sir Nicholas Coleridge in his official portrait as Provost of Eton.
How did you make the cottage your own?
We arrived to find it fully furnished by our predecessors — every plate, pillowcase and log basket provided. When they eventually collected it, we got to know the antique shops and markets of Cirencester and Tetbury. Most of the mirrors and Turkish rugs we bought then are still with us 40 years later.
Why did you move?
The cottage had fulfilled its covert purpose and we became engaged in Calcutta and married in St George’s Hanover Square. We handed back the keys with the happiest of memories. Occasionally we take a detour through Notgrove and think: ‘That was cold but fun’.
Sir Nicholas Coleridge is Provost of Eton and chair of Historic Royal Palaces and The King’s Foundation. You can read his Consuming Passions interview with Lotte Brundle here.
This feature originally appeared in the September 2, 2026, print edition of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
