Chavenage is an Elizabethan stone manor house hidden in one of the more remote parts of the Cotswolds.
The house dates mostly from the 16th century but probably incorporates an earlier building.
In 1564 the formerly monastic estate was purchased by Edward Stephens, a wealthy sheep farmer. He built the house in 1576 and that date, together with his initials and those of his wife, can be seen carved on the porch.
Some internal alterations were made to the house In the early-17th century.
In 1648 Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton are said to have visited Chavenage to try to persuade the then owner, Colonel Nathaniel Stephens, MP for Gloucestershire and a relative of Cromwell's by marriage, to agree to the execution of Charles I. Legend has it that Stephens was cursed for supporting Cromwell and this accounts for the strange happenings that have occured at Chavenage since then.
In the late-18th century or early-19th century further remodelling was undertaken by Henry Willis Stephens. However, the Stephens family were never grand and the house retained its Elizabethan and Jacobean character.
In 1891 the property was purchased by the Lowsley-Williams family. In 1904 - 5 a ballroom was created by J.T.Michlethwaite for George Hoole-Lowsley-Williams. The decoration of the ballroom was influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. However, from that time onwards there have been very few changes.
Today the house is still owned by the Lowsley-Williams family.
Chavenage was built to the classic 16th century E-shaped plan. The entrance front faces east towards the road and consists of a hall block with a projecting porch in the centre and two gabled wings either side. The walls are constructed of mellow grey rubble stone under a roof of stone tiles.
The Hall, to the left of the porch, is lit by tall mullioned and transomed windows with fragments of medieval stained glass. The Gothic window on the first-floor of the porch may be a remnant of the earlier building.
The south front is irregular with the early-19th century Billard Room at one end and the Ballroom at the other. Beside this is a mostly 19th century Chapel, said to be haunted by a monk, has a west tower - originally created as a folly.
From the porch the screens passage leads into the Hall which rises the height of the house. The classical chimneypiece was added in the 17th century and is decorated with marble panels and coats of arms.
At the 'upper' end of the Hall a staircase leads to the first floor in the south wing. The two bedrooms here are named after Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton. The bedrooms have retained their 17th century character. There are some tapestry hangings in the Cromwell Room.
The Library on the ground floor has lost most of its original character but the adjacent Oak Room, originally the parlour, has gilded panelling dated 1627. This includes four reset panels representing the Four Muses below the Tree of Life.
The early-19th century Billiard Room, leading out of the Library, was originally the dining room and is hung with portraits and copies of Old Masters. Beyond this room is the present dining room, the Ballroom and the Chapel.
