Coughton Court & Charlecote Park

We had planned to visit Blenheim Palace today, but discovered that it is 20% cheaper to purchase the tickets in advance, so purchased the tickets for tomorrow and headed off to some nearby manors.

Our first stop was Coughton (pronounced coat-on) Court, home to the Throckmorton family for hundreds of years.

“The Uglies,” two ladies of the Throckmorton family:

The Throckmorton family is a proud unreformed Catholic family that got involved in all the intrigues of the 16th and 17th centuries. Given their penchant for choosing the wrong side, it is surprising that they not only held onto Coughton through the turmoil, but even got themselves elevated to a baronetcy.

• The Throckmortons opposed the reformation in England, and allowed their family home to be used for secret Catholic masses at a time when doing so was a capital crime. Their house contained a “priest hole” to hide a priest when anti-Catholic mobs came a-calling, and they even secured Catholic treasures such as a cope embroidered by Katherine of Aragon and the chemise allegedly worn by Mary Queen of Scots when she was executed (probably a fake, since all of Mary’s possessions were burned to avoid precisely this).
• The Throckmortons, along with their friends and relatives, are associated with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to assassinate King James I. This was not a good plot to be involved in, but the Throckmortons avoided being hung, drawn, and quartered like the core conspirators.
• During the English Revolution of the mid–17th century, the Throckmorton’s joined the royalist cause against the Protestant parliamentarians. As you know, this was also the wrong side.
• And even after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, The Throckmortons continued to support the Jacobite pretenders.

The Throckmorton seat, Coughton Court, is interesting for its history, but not the thrill of a lifetime, so if you miss it, it is not the end of the world. The estate has some pretty gardens and lawns, and Paul and I went out to toss around a football, for which we were rebuked, since picnicking and games are not permitted on the lawns.

After lunch at Coughton Court, we went on to Charlecote Park, another manor house. Unfortunately, the house itself was closed (closed on Wednesdays), and the Royal Shakespeare Company was using the closure to do some filming of its own. However, although the house was off-limits, the grounds were not. I played some croquet with my children on a nice croquet lawn, and we saw a herd of deer up close.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was enjoying a few games that had been laid out on one of the lawns. We played a Jenga-like game on the lawn (bigger pieces), threw a frisbee they provided, played Connect–4 in a big wooden frame, and my wife and son bowled and played checkers. It was a restful hour or so, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery.

Like Coughton, Charlecote was an enjoyable visit, but not mandatory.