Woodchester Mansion, at Nympsfield near Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, is an unfinished Gothic Revival house run by a charitable trust that can be hired for private and corporate functions. Its completed Neo-gothic Drawing Room seats up to 60 people for meetings and conferences, and adjacent rooms can be used as well. The mansion also offers team-building days and private tours.
Seminars and company events
The hiring page presents the completed Neo-gothic Drawing Room as a distinctive and spacious setting for events. It seats up to 60 for meetings, seminars and small conferences, and the mansion can be an interesting, flexible place for team-building days for companies. Photographs show a conservation-training seminar held in the room and the Drawing Room set up for a conference.
The mansion is also used for filming, amateur photoshoots and commercial work, and for paranormal events. For other requirements, organisers email the team. Private tours of the house are a separate offer, with a preferred minimum group of about 12 and exclusive guided tours.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are not offered on the pages provided. The hire page covers private and corporate functions, and the mansion is open to the public on set days.
Rooms and capacities
Drawing Room: seats up to 60 for meetings and conferences, laid out for a conference in the photographs. Adjacent rooms can also be used. The rest of the building is unfinished, which is part of its appeal for tours.
Accommodation
There is no accommodation in the mansion. The site refers guests to nearby Cotswold cottages through a holiday-let partner, one of which was also built by the same architect.
Catering
The catering page notes refreshments, and the hire page says it may be possible to provide further catering. Private tours include coffee on arrival or tea and coffee after the tour. A cafe operates on open days.
History and setting
Benjamin Bucknall produced a Gothic Revival house that blends local limestone work with the ideas of the French architect Viollet-le-Duc, and it remains an unfinished masterpiece. It is owned by Stroud District Council and managed by the Woodchester Mansion Trust, and it is not a National Trust property. Open days let visitors see how the house was built, admire carvings and watch bats on CCTV.
Getting there
The address is Woodchester Mansion, Nympsfield, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire GL10 3TS. Telephone 01453 861541. The surrounding Woodchester Park belongs to the National Trust. Public opening is Friday to Sunday and bank holidays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the season.
