Woodchester House

Woodchester House is a large country house built in the mid-18th century, with alterations made in the early 19th century. It is constructed from limestone ashlar and coursed rubble limestone, featuring ashlar chimneys and a Welsh slate roof. The house is three stories tall and has a central stair hall plan.

The front facade has five windows, with the middle floor showcasing 12-pane sash windows that have triple keyed architraves and bracketed sills. The ground floor is more elaborately designed with eared architraves and cornices, while the upper floor has plain 6-pane sashes with thick glazing bars and voussoir lintels. The central doorway is pedimented and features a keyed entablature supported by rusticated Tuscan pilasters, with small-paned glazed doors. A modillion cornice with a blocking course adorns the top of the building.

On the south side, there is a central 15-pane sash window on the ground floor with a stone lintel, alongside a later segmental arched 12-pane sash window to the left. The rear of the house includes a central Venetian stair window with thick glazing bars, and various later 12 and 16-pane sashes, except for early 18th-century casements on the ground floor, which may be part of an earlier structure. Attached to the north side are single-storey outbuildings.

Inside, the hall is designed as a wide corridor running from the front to the rear of the house, featuring two fine Doric doorcases that lead to the principal rooms. These doorcases have elaborated architraves and 8-panel fielded doors. The open well staircase has three turned balusters per tread, with open scroll-enriched strings and wreathed handrails, complemented by matching dado panelling. The upper floor rooms include panelled closet screens.

During the mid-19th century, while owned by the Wise family, who were the proprietors of Woodchester Mill, the house was frequently visited by the poet A.E. Housman, who found inspiration in the surrounding valley landscape for his early poetry.