Througham Court, near Bisley, looking south-west

At lunchtime I drove up to the farm shop near Bisley and conducted some business. Then I drove about a mile and half up the old drove road towards Birdlip and then turned off and down a single track road to the hamlet of Througham. The weather had brightened up and I thought I’d revisit the place where I first came to stay and work in the Cotswolds in 1975. I was painting and decorating with my new friend George G., who wanted company for a four month job decorating the interior of Upper Througham Farm which his friend Richard C. was farming.

It was a magical year, a long hot summer spent living in the top of a 16th century farmhouse, and meeting a whole new tranche of people many of whom became good friends. We’d work hard whilst living with the family and at then weekends all their many friends from London and the world would descend including many theatrical artists, designers, musicians and general funsters. 

The farm was at the top of the hillside of the valley formed by a stream which flowed down to join the River Frome near Stroud. Less than a hundred yards below was this 17th century Grade 11* Listed Througham Court, and various associated farm workers cottages dotted about the manor. One of the cottages lies about seventy yards from the Court where the old hollow way running down the hillside now separates to become the lane you can see here beside the Court.

I’ve added an extra of the old way as well as a picture of the little courtyard of Througham Court. It shows the magnificent stone gutter and ‘downpipe’ which drops the rainwater from the stone roof into the big hollowed out watertank on the ground. At the back is a dovecote. It is dark as it is in shadow a lot of the time despite the building and its garden looking down over the hillside, which is now a celebrated landscaped garden designed by the owner of the house.

I’ve added the 'Extras' to give a better idea of the style of the Cotswold limestone buildings in a hamlet off the beaten track. While I was there I saw nor heard any car traffic at all. I still vividly remember waking before the mid-summer dawns to hear the wonderfully loud sound of birds and sheep calling as the sun rose.