History

Colourful characters 

Pauntley Court is believed to be the birthplace of Dick Whittington, born in 1352, who became Lord Mayor of London four times over. Elinor Fettiplace whose recipes from the 1600s we celebrate, grew up here at Pauntley Court and was one of the last members of the Whittington family to live here.  In the late 17th century, Pauntley Court was purchased by The Marquis of Somerset who had big plans to build ‘a great house of stone’  which today is represented by the ‘Ruin Garden’ where the foundations for this stone house were originally laid. We have designed this in yew hedging. 

Pauntley Court  is half-timbered with three gables on the east side, part medieval, part Elizabethan.  In the 18th Century, the house was owned by the Stokes family who added on our beautiful ballroom, where you still see the original cornicing in place. 

The Wayfarers

In 1932, Pauntly Court became the Gloucester Home for Wayfarers, for the purpose of rescuing vagrant young men from an aimless life on the roads.  The idea was formed by Poet Laureate John Masefield who raised £8,000 from poetry readings to fund this. He is quoted as saying about Pauntley “...the beauty of that countryside, (and when I think of it, I know it has frequently figured in my writings) …a place of great beauty…”.