| Coughton Court | |
| stately home | |
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Coughton Court
|
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| Country | England |
|---|---|
| State | Warwickshire |
| Region | Midlands |
| District | Warwickshire |
| Municipality | Warwick |
| Founded | Built c.16th century |
| Owner | in the care of the National Trust |
| Visitation | accessible to the public with a fee (All year round) |
| Website: Official website | |
Coughton Court ( /ˈkoʊtən/)[1] (grid reference SP080604) is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
The house has a long crenelated façade directly facing the main road, at the centre of which is the Tudor Gatehouse, dating from 1530, this has hexagonal turrets and oriel windows in the English Renaissance style. The gatehouse is the oldest part of the house and is flanked by later wings, in the Strawberry Hill Gothic style, popularised by Horace Walpole.
The Coughton estate has been owned by the Throckmorton family since 1409. Because the family were practicing Catholics, the house at one time contained a priest hole, a hiding place for priests during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Hall also holds a place in English history for its roles in both the Throckmorton Plot of 1583 to murder Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, although the Throckmorton family were themselves only indirectly implicated in the latter, when some of the Gunpowder conspirators rode directly there after its discovery.
The house has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1946. The family, however, hold a 300 year lease and manage the estate on behalf of the National Trust. The current tenant is Clare McLaren-Throckmorton, known professionally as Clare Tritton QC.
The house, which is open to the public all year round, is set in extensive grounds including a walled formal garden, a river and a lake.