SOLD OUT – Sudeley Castle Day Trip

Courtesy of the Holburne Museum’s Friends Committee, we are offering a private walking tour of the amazing castle at Sudeley.

Sudeley’s origins date to a 10th century Saxon manor house, in a region that was both agriculturally and ecclesiastically rich. Much later, it was owned for a time and lived in by the dashing Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour, Henry VIIIs third wife. Sudeley went on to marry the widowed Katherine Parr, Henry’s sixth and final wife, which explains why Sudeley has the distinction of being the only privately-owned castle in the country with a Queen buried in its grounds.

Much of what the visitor sees today is an intriguing mix of Tudor and Victorian-Gothic, the latter a result of the fact that like many other English houses, Sudeley was rescued by “new money”, in this instance the Dent brothers, of glove fame (and more importantly fortune!), who acquired the castle in 1837. Sir Gilbert Scott was employed to re-build parts of the castle, and interiors were “Gothicized”, as was the fashion in the mid 19th century. Arguably the most handsome room is the Library, with Elizabethan tapestry and an impressive fireplace.

The glorious gardens are a testament largely to Emma Dent, wife of John Dent who inherited Sudeley from his unmarried bachelor uncles. There are actually 10 separate gardens in all, including a Knot Garden, The White Garden, a Herb Garden, and the centrepiece Queens Garden, where more than 80 varieties of rose are planted.

Ticket cost includes private return coach transport, arrival refreshments, entry to the castle, a light lunch and private walking tour of the gardens and castle exterior. Depart from The Holburne at 9am, aiming to be back in Bath by 6.30pm.