Latest news with #manorhouse
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Sorry about JD Vance circus', manor house owner tells villagers
The owner of the manor house accommodating JD Vance in Oxfordshire has apologised to neighbours for bringing a 'circus' to their hamlet. The US vice-president is to stay in the 18th-century, Grade-II listed house after visiting David Lammy at Chevening, the Foreign Secretary's official country residence in Kent. Secret Service agents have been preparing the area around Charlbury, a village with 3,000 residents, for Mr Vance's arrival, putting in place checkpoints, installing new technology and cutting a makeshift helipad into a field. And the owner of the home where the vice-president is staying apologised to her community about the preparations and heightened public attention. In a message seen by The Telegraph, Pippa Hornby, who bought the house with her husband Johnny in 2017, told neighbours she was 'so sorry for the circus that is there for the next few days', adding that she hoped it would not be 'too disruptive'. It came as Mr Vance interrupted his holiday with a high-stakes meeting to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. The vice-president and the Foreign Secretary held security talks on Saturday about a controversial Russian proposal under which Ukraine would permanently cede territory currently under occupation. The White House is pushing for Europe to accept a deal. Security preparations On Saturday in the Cotswolds, a number of people could be seen roaming the manor house's six-acre grounds, while a man in a black suit and tie with an earphone and a US/UK flag lapel badge stood at the entrance. Black trucks unloaded heavy duty boxes and marquees had been erected across the road at two locations, each housing a generator and chairs. A large antennae was erected behind the house, which locals mused could be a signal jammer, anti-drone system or a telecoms tower to beat the haphazard phone reception. One resident said: 'It's humming constantly, I thought if I go near it might improve my signal but no luck.' Other antennae appeared on the manor house's roof. Vehicles marked with the branding of an event production company and blacked out vans transporting people drove to and from the manor throughout the day. Workers could be seen arranging cushions on the furniture outside. A resident said the usual household staff had been relieved of their duties for the week.
Telegraph
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The sprawling Cotswolds manor house hosting JD Vance
JD Vance will spend his British holiday at a sprawling manor house in the Cotswolds. The vice president is to stay in a Grade II-listed property. The country home is a mile from the Diddly Squat farm owned by Jeremy Clarkson, and surrounded by members of the 'Chipping Norton set'. The building has six acres, two cellars, a tennis court, rose garden, basement gym, and a Georgian orangery. Secret service agents have already arrived in the village to prepare it for Mr Vance's arrival, after he finishes a weekend stay with David Lammy at Chevening, his grace-and-favour home in Kent. The two politicians will hold a formal meeting before being joined by their families at the Foreign Secretary's Grade I-listed residence. The home is reserved for high-level bilateral meetings and personal guests of Mr Lammy, who established a relationship with Mr Vance before last year's election. Mr Vance, whose wife Usha attended the University of Cambridge for a master's degree in early modern history, has built a close relationship with Mr Lammy since their meetings on Capitol Hill. But the trip also comes at a more fraught time in relations between the UK and US on some issues, after State Department officials and congressional Republicans complained about free speech in Britain. Their warnings came after The Telegraph revealed that a Whitehall 'spy' unit had reported critics of asylum hotels to social media companies. Mr Vance singled out the UK and some European countries in February in a speech about freedom of expression. He said that the 'basic liberties of religious Britons in particular' were under threat. The Telegraph understands that Mr Vance will leave Chevening and travel to the Cotswolds – where a makeshift helipad has already been cut into a local field. 'He'll likely turn up in a tank' Nearby townsfolk are bracing themselves for the arrival of the US vice president. 'You'll probably hear him first – he'll likely turn up in a tank,' one resident told The Telegraph. 'Or in a helicopter like Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now.' In March, Mr Vance was forced to cut his Vermont family ski trip short after crowds turned out to protest a day after he ambushed Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. When visiting Rome the following month, the Colosseum was closed early to accommodate his family's arrival which infuriated tourists. The vice president will be hoping for a smoother ride from the nation he has castigated over free speech and described as the first 'truly Islamist' country to have nuclear weapons. He is expected to arrive in London with his wife and children Ewan, eight, Vivek, five, and Mirabel, three. The Vance family are also expected to visit Hampton Court Palace before their stay in the Cotswolds. The Oxfordshire manor where he is staying is said to have been built in around 1702 for Thomas Rowney, one of the MPs of Oxford. It was bought by Johnny and Pippa Hornby in 2017. When the Telegraph visited the manor, there were crates of Blenheim Palace sparkling and natural water at the ready. But the neighbours have kept schtum, with one saying: 'I know why you have come here but I am not interested in chatting.' When asked about Mr Vance's potential visit, another chimed: 'Who's that?' Hilda Reed, a former teacher, was nervous about what the vice president's holiday might do to the town's good name. 'I think he is devious, a bully, self interested,' she said, adding: 'It is the association you won't want. We don't want that kind of person.' Ms Reed, who is in her 80s, said the town had already undergone a rapid transformation. 'It used to have more of a village feel. The whole place has changed dramatically,' she said. 'Hamptons of the UK' The Cotswolds has been likened to the 'Hamptons of the UK' this year, offering refuge to runaway Americans such as Ellen DeGeneres and hosting Steve Jobs' daughter's multi-million pound wedding. 'People are bemused by the level of attention we have had this summer,' Father Fergus Butler-Gallie told the Telegraph. 'Kamala Harris was [here] last week.' Father Butler-Gallie said visitors were always welcome, and it was lovely that people wished to 'come and share this beautiful part of the world with us.' But he sought to remind Mr Vance that the area was a fallible place with its own issues. 'It is a real place where real people live. It is not a chocolate box. It is not Disneyland,' he said. Father Butler-Gallie said Mr Vance is angry at Britain in a way he's not with other European countries like France because he feels his ancestry is at stake. 'He sees all of the news about London. That it's expensive, violent, dirty – he is getting that fed to him. But there is also his Hillbilly Elegy side – informed by his roots, he has a romanticised view of Old England,' he said. A Canadian-American, who wished to remain anonymous, said she would not be laying out the bunting for his arrival. 'The general feeling is that people aren't keen,' she said, adding: 'I am amazed and disappointed by the state of our leaders. 'Just stay at home and do something useful.' Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said the area had a strong pedigree of voting liberal. 'I don't think anyone wants him here,' she said. 'You just don't want that bully here.'
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Future of heritage site looks brighter as major update issued
A new operator has been identified to run a heritage site in Caerphilly that was mothballed, it has been announced. Grade-I listed manor house Llancaiach Fawr, located near Nelson, was put up for sale in January, following a cost-cutting move by Caerphilly County Borough Council to cease its annual subsidy for the site. The news of a new operator followed a behind-closed-doors meeting held at the local authority's headquarters this week. The council has said that the "future looks bright" for the attraction. The heritage site, described by supporters as the "jewel in the crown" of the borough, has been closed since late 2024. READ MORE: 'Neighbours let kids play in my garden without permission - they won't stop' READ MORE: Map reveals parts of Wales where most sexual offences are reported The council decided to "mothball" the venue, which it was subsidising with £485,000 annually, while a new operator was found. Stay informed on Caerphilly news by signing up to our newsletter here The move proved controversial among supporters of the venue, who branded the decision a "retrograde step" and "tantamount to cultural vandalism". But the council argued an "alternative delivery model" would allow Llancaiach Fawr to continue running "without the need for a £500,000 annual subsidy". "A number of interested parties submitted expressions of interest as part of a formal selection process and the council's cabinet has now approved the preferred bidder, subject to finalising detailed lease agreements," its spokesman said. "The council will update the community with details of the successful bidder and their exciting plans for Llancaiach Fawr in due course," they added.
Yahoo
26-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Huge timber-framed manor house for sale for just £185,000
A MANOR house with an acre of walled gardens in Herefordshire is up for sale with a guide price of just £185,000... but there's a catch, with any potential buyer needing to be keen to roll up their sleeves. The incredible Burghill Lodge is up for sale as a restoration opportunity with agents Glasshouse. Tucked away in rolling Herefordshire countryside, the grade II listed 17th century oak timber framed manor house offers an "unprecedented opportunity" to restore the house to create an "extraordinary" family home, the agents said. ALSO READ: 'Highly unique' farmhouse with woodland and streams is up for sale Mysteries of forgotten castle are being revealed Inside the village hotel dating back to William the Conqueror The house is currently a shell, stripped back to its oak timber frame and supported by a scaffolding cover. Planning consent is in place for work to commence to create a huge six-bedroom home. The property comes complete with an acre of garden, surrounded by a brick wall. Official listing information from Historic England describes the house, which was listed in 1952 and resurveyed in 1986, as being in "ruinous condition", and featuring three gables with two six-pane windows to each and a central six-panelled door. The entry said the home, which at the time had weatherboard cladding and a corrugated metal roof, formerly had various 17th century plaster ceilings which were moved during the early 20th century to The Lodge next door. At the time of the 1986 resurvey, its interior was inaccessible, the listing says.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Urgent repairs under way at 15th Century Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk
An urgent conservation project is under way to preserve a manor house built more than 500 years levels in the moat at Oxburgh Hall, near Swaffham in Norfolk, became unusually low due to leaks last year and then a sinkhole appeared on a lawn.A watertight enclosure called a cofferdam has been installed to allow contractors to repair the moat as part of work costing £196, Baldwin from the National Trust said it was a "delicate balancing act" to keep water levels high enough to protect the building's walls without flooding the gardens. "If the water drops too low, the brickwork is exposed, which has an impact on the structural integrity of the hall itself," she said. Workers are expected to remain at the site until the end of June and will also repair the sluice and moat is fed via an underground channel from the River Gadder, with culverts allowing water in and out. The sluice gate controls the amount of water draining out of the moat and back to the Gadder. The Oxburgh Estate is owned by the National Trust but has been the family home of the Bedingfelds for more than 500 years, and they still live in private apartments at the hall. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
