| Gatcombe Park | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The house from the park | |
| Location | Minchinhampton,Gloucestershire |
| Coordinates | 51°41′36″N2°10′25″W / 51.6933°N 2.1736°W /51.6933; -2.1736 |
| OS grid reference | ST880994 |
| Built | 1774 (re-modelling in 1820) |
| Architect | Francis Franklin for original building;George Basevi for 19th century reconstruction |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical |
| Owner | Anne, Princess Royal |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Gatcombe Park House |
| Designated | 28 June 1960 |
| Reference no. | 1091099 |
| Official name | Gatcombe Park House gardens and parkland |
| Designated | 28 February 1986 |
| Reference no. | 1000765 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Stables and Coach House 80M east of Gatcombe Park |
| Designated | 24 March 1988 |
| Reference no. | 1172412 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Pyramid Monument 300M south of Gatcombe Park |
| Designated | 24 March 1988 |
| Reference no. | 1091100 |
  Location of Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire | |
Gatcombe Park is acountry house between the villages ofMinchinhampton (to which it belongs) andAvening inGloucestershire, England. Originally constructed in the 1770s, it was rebuilt from 1820 byGeorge Basevi for the economistDavid Ricardo. Since 1976 it has been the country home ofAnne, Princess Royal. Gatcombe is a Grade II* listed building. Parts of the grounds open for events, including horse trials and craft fairs.
Gatcombe Park is between the villages of Minchinhampton and Avening in Gloucestershire inSouth West England.Highgrove House, the country residence of Anne's brother,King Charles III, is located 6 miles (9.7 km) away in the parish of Doughton, nearTetbury. The first cousin of their mother, the late Queen,Prince Michael of Kent, owned nearbyNether Lypiatt Manor for 26 years from 1980.[1]
The manors of Minchinhampton and Avening formed the basis of the later Gatcombe Park estate. After theDissolution of the Monasteries they were granted toLord Windsor, whose family sold most of the land to Philip Sheppard in 1656.[2] The core hillside land of the former estates, which was chiefly within the parish bounds of Gatcombe, was left in the will of Samuel Sheppard, who died in 1770, to his brother Edward.[2] Edward, a clothier, had a new house built from 1771 to 1774.[3] The house and estate were purchased in 1814 by the speculator and theoretical economistDavid Ricardo, MP, and altered to the designs ofGeorge Basevi (a relation), c.1820.[2] It featuresBath stone construction, and comprises five main bedrooms, four secondary bedrooms, fourreception rooms, alibrary, abilliard room and aconservatory; staff accommodation and its steep-sloping grounds are a separately listed (Grade II) parkland.[4]
The house and home farm were bought byQueen Elizabeth II in 1976 for Princess Anne and CaptainMark Phillips; the price was not disclosed but is believed to have been between £500,000 and £750,000 (equivalent to £6,818,000 in 2023).[5][6] The previous owner wasLord Butler of Saffron Walden, Master ofTrinity College, Cambridge, and a formerHome Secretary, who had inherited the house from his father-in-law, the art collectorSamuel Courtauld. Courtauld had acquired it from the Ricardo family[2] in 1940.[7]
The Crown paid for the renovation and redecoration of the house for Princess Anne and Captain Phillips, who moved into it in November 1977.[8] In 1978 the estate was enlarged by the purchase of Aston Farm to the east.[9] The property then covered approximately 730 acres (3.0 km2), of which the bulk of its 200 acres (0.81 km2) of woodland was part of the park land, including a lake containingbrown trout. The property had extensive stabling for horses, including a new stable block, and an airstrip.[2]
The estate was divided when the Princess Royal and Mark Phillips were divorced, and today the princess lives at Gatcombe Park with her second husband,Sir Timothy Laurence. After the divorce, for some years Mark Phillips lived at Aston Farm with his second wife, but he later moved to the United States. Their childrenPeter andZara Phillips each had a cottage on the estate until they married. Peter and his wife,Autumn, then moved to London..[10] Zara and her husband,Mike Tindall, at first lived in Cheltenham after they were married in 2011, but in January 2013 they sold their house and moved to the Gatcombe estate.[11][12]
The grounds of Gatcombe Park are known in theeventing world for hosting the Festival of British Eventing every year, over the first weekend in August.[13] Organised by Mark Phillips, with considerable input from Princess Anne, the event attracts the world's top equestrianOlympians and over 40,000 paying spectators, as well asBBC Television coverage. Two smaller horse trials, in the spring and autumn, also take place on the estate,[14] with courses designed by Princess Anne, and there is a biannual craft fair, with around 160 exhibitors, in May and October.[15]
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