The history of Snowshill Manor goes back to 821AD when the estate belonged to Winchcombe Abbey.
Snowshill helped support the abbey for 700 years but after the Dissolution of the Monastries the manor became the property of the Crown.
The L-shaped house was constructed of Cotswolds stone and has a warren of rooms on different levels. At its heart is a Tudor hall house of around 1500.
This was substantially rebuilt in about 1600 and altered again in the early 18th century. At this time the south front was added and here Georgian sash windows on the left of the pedimented entrance contrast with the earlier mullioned and casement windows on the right.
Over the centuries the house, which at one time belonged to Catherine Parr wife of Henry VIII, changed hands many times mostly being let to tenants.
However, in 1919 the house and 200 acres of land was purchased by the Charles Wade. Wade (1883 - 1956) was a craftsman, talented artist and professional architect.
Once he had inherited his family's sugar estates in the West Indies Wade devoted the rest of his life to restoring Snowshill Manor and amassing the vast range of items now displayed there.
Wade's motto was 'Ne quid Pereat' which means 'let nothing perish' and between 1919 and 1951 he packed into the house his immense collection of objects of every kind. Having restored the building Wade lived in spartan conditions in a little cottage close to the main house. He never had electric light fitted, slept in an ancient cupboard bed and worked in a reconstructed forge using period tools.
Every inch of Snowshill Manor is devoted to Wade's acquisitions. He saw his collection as a record of vanished handicrafts and as a result the contents of the house are unique.
There is an range of objects from tools used in weaving, spinning and lacemaking to Jacobean furniture, Persian lamps, musical instruments and medicine chests.
Wade's collection was wide and eclectic but the sense of order everywhere indicates that this was not put together randomly but was a reflection of a serious purpose.
Most of the rooms in the house were given bizarre names such as Meridian, Seraphim and Dragon.
One room is dedicated to sea related items - telescopes, compasses and model ships. Another room is full of musical instruments arranged as a playerless orchestra. The room named Seventh Heaven is full of the sort of toys Wade had as a child.
The Green Room contains Japanese Samurai armour arranged in theatrical positions to threaten visitors. The Room of a Hundred Wheels is full of sedan chairs, hobby horses, boneshaker bicycles and models of farm wains. The contents of Snowshill could never be assembled again.
Charles Wade gave his collection to the National Trust in 1951 and it is carefully preserved as he arranged it.
The steeply sloping terraced garden was mostly designed by M.H. Baille, a friend of Charles Wade, but he later altered and adapted the original structure.
The garden is laid out as a series of rooms which arches and steps leading from one to another. Roses and other climbing plants trail over the dividing walls. The contrived vistas and planting schemes are a reflection of Wade's interest in the Arts and Crafts movement.
2008: Manor:19 Mar-2 Nov:12:00-17:00 Wed-Sun; Garden: 19 Mar-2 Nov 11:00-17:30 Wed-Sun; Admission by timed ticket when busy, so arrive early. Last entry: Manor 16:20; Garden 17:00 Open Bank Holidays.
Tel: 01386 852410 Snowshill Manor Website
