Gatcombe Park
Encyclopedia
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, situated in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
between the Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
villages of Minchinhampton
Minchinhampton
Minchinhampton is an ancient market town, located on a hilltop south-south-east of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, in the Cotswolds. The town is twinned with Nkokoto, in Tanzania....
and Avening
Avening
Avening is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about three miles north of Tetbury. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,094. The village has two pubs. Nearby is Gatcombe Park, the home of the Princess Royal.-History:During the Second...
, five miles (8 km) south of Stroud
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
and around six miles (10 km) north of Highgrove House, the country residence of Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
.
The house and farming estate were bought by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1976 for Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips
Mark Phillips
-Ancestry:-Issue:-Sources:...
at the price of £5 million. The previous owner was Lord Butler of Saffron Walden
Rab Butler
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG CH DL PC , who invariably signed his name R. A. Butler and was familiarly known as Rab, was a British Conservative politician...
, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, and a former Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, who had inherited the house from his father-in-law, Samuel Courtauld
Samuel Courtauld
Samuel Courtauld may refer to:*Samuel Courtauld , American-born British industrialist*Samuel Courtauld , businessman and art collector; great-nephew of the above...
. Courtauld had acquired it from the Ricardo family, owners from 1814 (when the estate was bought by the political economist David Ricardo
David Ricardo
David Ricardo was an English political economist, often credited with systematising economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill. He was also a member of Parliament, businessman, financier and speculator,...
) to 1940.
The house was built from 1771 to 1774 for Edward Sheppard, a local clothier, and altered for Ricardo to the designs of George Basevi
George Basevi
Elias George Basevi FRS was an English architect. He was the favourite pupil of Sir John Soane.-Life:Basevi was the youngest son of a City of London merchant, also named George Basevi...
(a relation), c. 1820. It features Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
construction, and comprises five main bedrooms, four secondary bedrooms, four reception rooms, a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, a billiard room
Billiard room
A billiard room is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table...
and a conservatory
Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
, as well as staff accommodation. It was renovated and redecorated for Princess Anne and Captain Phillips, and they moved into it in November 1977. In 1978 the land was increased by the purchase of the adjoining Aston Farm. The Gatcombe Estate now covers around 730 acres (3 km²), of which 200 acre (0.809372 km²) are woodland, and includes a lake containing brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
. There are considerable stabling facilities, including a new stable block.
Today the Princess Royal lives in the manor-house with her second husband, Sir Timothy Laurence
Timothy Laurence
Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence, KCVO, CB, ADC is a senior British naval officer and the second husband of HRH The Princess Royal, the only daughter of HM The Queen...
. Mark Phillips lives in the adjoining Aston Farm with his second wife, the estates having separated when the couple divorced. Son Peter Phillips
Peter Phillips
Peter Phillips is the son of Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom.Peter Phillips or Philips may also refer to:* Peter Philips Peter Phillips (born 1977) is the son of Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom.Peter Phillips or Philips may also refer to:* Peter Philips Peter Phillips (born...
, as well as daughter Zara Phillips
Zara Phillips
Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, MBE is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips and is 13th in the line of succession to the throne...
had their own personal cottages within the estate until their respective engagements. Peter and his wife Autumn now reside in London, while Zara and her husband Mike Tindall
Mike Tindall
Michael James Tindall, MBE is an English rugby player who plays outside centre for Gloucester Rugby and has captained the England team...
live in nearby Cheltenham. Three-time gold-medal winning Australian Olympian Andrew Hoy
Andrew Hoy
Andrew Hoy is an Olympic-level equestrian rider, who competes for Australia. The Athens 2004 Summer Olympics were his sixth games....
rented some of the equestrian facilities and a cottage on the estate until February 2009 when The Princess Royal refused to renew his lease.
The grounds are well known for hosting the Festival of British Eventing over the first weekend of August. Organised by Mark Phillips with considerable input from Her Royal Highness
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, the event attracts the world's top olympians and over 40,000 paying spectators, as well as BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television coverage. The estate also holds two smaller Horse Trials, in the Spring and Autumn , whose courses are designed by HRH, and a biannual craft fair with around 160 exhibitors is run, in May and October.