Bicester Trip and Chastleton House

At the end of August/beginning of September, we booked a couple of nights into the Kings Arm's Hotel in the centre of Bicester. Our room overlooked the Market Square and was a bit noisy in the Friday & Saturday evenings (someone was having a good time!). Pros: price, free parking, kingsized bed, on-suite, clean, friendly staff. Cons: no hot water or food service and a little dated. The staff did try to resolve the lack of hot water by allowing us access to the adjacent room - unfortunately, that had no hot water either!

Bicester is an historical market town that appears to have been overwhelmed with lots of new houses built from the 1960s onwards. [Data sources: here and here with some disagreement about the 2001 population]. 

Figure 1: Growth in Bicester's Population (1901-2021)

Its main claim to fame seems to be the designer shopping outlet, Bicester Village, opened in 1995. We did visit once to see what all the fuss is about - unlikely to revisit though we are told there are bargains to be had on designer label clothes.

We broke the journey to Bicester with a stop at Chastleton House, a National Trust property.

Photo 2: First View of Chastleton House on the Walk from the Car Park

Photo 3: Chastleton House (front)

Photo 4: Chastleton House (rear)

Chastleton House is a Jacobean country house built at the beginning of the 17th Century . Until it was acquired by the National Trust in 1991, it had been in the same family for nearly 400 years. During these 400 years occupation by the Jones and Clutton-Brocks (related by marriage) families, the house itself changed very little due to the dire straits of the owners' finances. When the National Trust took over the property, they made a conscious decision to conserve the property and its contents as it was handed over to them rather than restore it to its former glory. Chastleton House has effectively been in a state of  'controlled decay' since it was built between 1607 - 1612.

Photo 5: Bedroom, Chastleton House 

 A really fascinating house and the volunteer stewards were very knowledgeable.

Photo 6: Looking Upwards from the Dairy Courtyard

The gardens are not extensive but well worth a look ...

Photo 7: Gardens to the Side of the House

Photo 8: Topiary at Chastleton

The Chastleton village church is adjacent to the house and serves excellent hot & cold drinks and cakes whenever the House is open to the public. Unlike many National Trust properties, Chastleton House does not have a tea room (though it does have toilets). On open days, the village church is rented out to charitable groups who provide the tea shop experience and raise valuable funds for their charity. There is a long list of charities waiting to make use of this fundraising opportunity. On the day of our visit, it was the Chastleton villagers themselves raising funds for their village church. The cake selection on that day was both impressive and delicious.

  

Photo 9: Herbaceous Border Looking Towards the Entrance Gate

Photo 10: Rose Garden, Chastleton House (August 2024)

Photo 11: Pointing the Way to the Church (for tea and cakes)