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Stonor Park

stonor-park
Henley-on-Thames

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Inhabited by The Hon. William Stonor, his wife Lady Ailsa Stonor and their three children, Stonor Park is one of the oldest family residences in the UK and generations of the Stonor family have lived there over the last 850 years. The historic building, with its 250 acres of sweeping grounds and beautiful gardens, was constructed on the site of an ancient stone circle, which dates to the late Neolithic age.

Not only does Stonor offer the chance to escape into the great outdoors, with its parklands, nature walks and cycling trails – the house is full of history and recently hosted the flagship BBC programme, the Antiques Roadshow, where the long-standing series aired two episodes in 2021, which were filmed at the estate in summer 2020.

Highlights of the house include The Gothic Hall, 12th century chapel and dramatic long gallery, as well as a quick trawl through the archives of the 29 generations of Stonors who have lived at the great house, including Cecily Stonor, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London for hiding the priest St Edmond Campion during the reformation.

The historic estate also has an extensive events calendar, which includes Antiques and Vintage Car Boot Fairs, Medieval Jousting and music events for all the family during the summer months.

Walking & Cycling

The Stonor Valley offers a beautiful park landscape with a wide selection of walks and cycle path to explore.

Footpath & Walking: 

• Shakespeare’s Way; this path starts from Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon and leads all the way to The Globe Theatre in London.
• Chiltern Way; this walk circles the Chiltern hills and leads you through four counties.

Cycling Routes:

• The Henley Loop; this 26 mile loop encompasses the whole of Stonor Valley.
• Stonor to Christmas Common; this route leads you through Queens Wood and along the Bridleway.

Park & Gardens

The picturesque parkland of Stonor is embedded in a valley within the heart of the Chiltern Hills. Visitors have the possibility to explore three different garden landscapes;

 • The 17th century Pleasure Garden; this garden landscape consists of Renaissance ponds, fountains as well as a secluded Japanese style hideaway.
The Old Kitchen Garden features beautiful plum trees in spring and a variety of May-flowering irises, peonies and heritage roses in summer.
The Arboretum is the perfect place for a relaxed stroll, enjoy the cherry-blossoms in fall or explore the variety of mature and young trees along the hazelnut avenue.

Tumblestone Hollow

In 2021, Stonor Park opened Tumblestone Hollow, a vast adventure play area, which has been designed to fire the imagination.

Sitting harmoniously in Stonor’s parkland, there’s high level walkways, climbing nets, look-out decks and bridges across multiple levels which are connected by a gnarled central tower. Inside, a double spiral of steps takes adventurers from ground level to a look-out deck, providing views across the whole playground, with a zip wire and smaller toddler-friendly area too. You can view a video of the playground on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/BnNw1qkubic

Along with the playground’s launch, Stonor Park also released its first children’s book written by children’s author, Amy Sparkes. The Legend of Tumblestone Hollow is a picture and story book based around characters that live in and around the playground. Following its success, it went on to release the second book in the series, The Moon Witch And The Thief in December 2021. Both books can be ordered on the website: https://stonor.digitickets.co.uk/tickets and bought at Tumblestone Hollow.

Tumblestone Hollow also holds seasonal trails and events throughout Easter, summer and Halloween.

Food and drink

To help families make a day of it and relax in comfort, there’s plenty of seating and picnic tables located outside the playground, with The Rumble Hut serving authentic wood-fired pizzas. Made by its Italian chef, Sal, using tomatoes and plenty of mozzarella, other toppings include mushroom, ham, ‘nduja, roasted vegetables and goat’s cheese – there’s even a Nutella pizza! There’s also gluten free options available.

Or for Italian soft-serve ice cream and American-style milkshakes, try The Jumble Hut next door, which also serves hamburgers using organic Longhorn Beef, or loaded hand cut fries with organic cheese from the Nettlebed Creamery.

Visitor Centre

The friendly staff at the visitor centre will welcome you on arrival with tickets, information and a welcome map. It also serves a selection of hot and cold beverages and snacks.

Gift Shop

The gift shop is located next to the 13th century hall, in the oldest part of the house. The shop offers a selection of local produce and craft ware, including Stonor honey, guidebooks, postcards, Stonor tea-towels, calico bags, gifts, fragrant candles, soaps and potpourri.

Opening details

Open on selected days throughout the year, please see the website (www.stonor.com/plan-your-day/opening-times/) for details.

The Chapel is open to the public for Mass as follows: At 10.30am every Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation.

As the house is a collection of medieval buildings behind a Georgian façade, it is not suitable for wheelchairs as even the ground floor is not on one level. However, everyone’s disability is individual and there are chairs at intervals for a visitor to rest. To see the first floor there are flights of stairs – one up and another down.

Prices

Tumblestone Hollow (including Stonor gardens, doesn’t include Stonor House) – the prices vary depending on the time of year. Please see the website for more details: www.stonor.com/plan-your-day/prices/

Gardens only – Adults £6.50, children 2 – 15 years £4.50, children under 2 free. Stonor accepts Historic House membership and the BBC 2 for 1 Gardeners’ World Gardens to Visit Scheme.

Stonor house, chapel and gardens -Adults £10.50, children 2- 15 years £5, children under 2 free. Stonor accepts Historic House membership

Pre-booked Group Visits – Adults: £15.00, Child (2-15) £10

Address:

Stonor Park, Stonor,
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 6HF United Kingdom
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