Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wandering through Stanway, the route passes the Church of St Peter
STANWAY
Church Stanway as it's also known, is little more than a clutch of buildings in the shad-
ow, so to speak, of the Jacobean manor, Stanway House. There's an air of feudalism
about it - the church, the houses, even the trees appear to come under manorial pat-
ronage. In almost 1300 years of ownership, the manor has changed hands only once
(apart from inheritance, that is), so perhaps it's not surprising that the community
should appear so closely knit. As well as the manor and 12th-century Church of St
Peter (with much Victorian reconstruction), note the massive tithe barn, the three-
storeyed Jacobean gatehouse with gables adorned with scallop shell finials, and the
13th-century watermill that once belonged to the abbots of Tewkesbury.
Bear right and follow the lane as it swings first past the fanciful gate-
house of Stanway House, then the church next door. Soon after this, note
through the private gateway to Stanway House, a lovely old tithe barn on
the right, and in the meadow on the left an attractive thatched cricket pa-
vilion set upon staddle stones.
A stile on the right, found soon after passing the entrance to Stanway
House, takes you into parkland which you cross among stately oaks and
chestnut trees. Waymark posts guide the route, for otherwise there are
few signs of a path. Leave the parkland at its north-east corner and follow
the continuing footpath over several fields skirting the foot of the slope.
A broad panorama lies ahead and to the left, while the village of Stanton
draws you on. At last enter the village near a corrugated-iron Dutch barn,
and bear left on a farm drive. This leads to a road where you turn right
