I’m in the Cotswalds now, Morton-in-Marsh to be exact. The hotel, The Manor House, was built in 1539, when King Henry VIII granted the Manor to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. Ownership eventually passed to the Creswykes, who were in residence. The front porch, which contained my reading room, was added in 1668 by Sir Harry Creswyke, who was knighted in 1663.
Warren Hastings, later to become the great pioneer of British influence in India, spent much of his childhood here in the mid 1700’s. Some new construction down the street was built in the 1800’s. The Duke of York, later to become HM King George VI, stayed at the Manor during World War I. A Priest’s hiding hole and hidden passage is reputed to be on the property. Suffice it to say, this quaint little town has seen some history.
The hotel itself has a lovely series of gardens in the back, it’s own newly renovated restaurant, a library, a sitting area, and a bar. The library and the sitting area have fireplaces which provided some immediate warmth when I came in from the cold.
The room has functional beams (throughout the Manor House actually), a window seat, fireplace stocked with wood, beautiful oriental rugs, a quaint little reading room which is part of the area added by Sir Harry Creswyke in 1668 (you can actually see the date in the picture below.), a four poster canopy bed, some lovely antique furniture, heated towels racks, and ensuite accommodations (which means it has its own bathroom).
And speaking of those functional beams, when you go through the doorways in these old properties, you have to take care not to hit your head. People were apparently considerably shorter in the 1500’s! While ducking to walk up the stairs to our room, I warned Steve that the initial beam just before the stairs was particularly low when you stepped up on the first step. Within seconds, I heard him clobber his head and meekly utter, “Ouch!”
Only one necessity is missing: high speed internet!