Friars Court, Bampton (2026)

Founded in 1149 by the monastic Knights of St John the current Cotswold stone house has stood on its moated site for over 350 years. Today Friars Court is a thriving conservation farm with woods, wetland and wildlife habitats. Surrounding the house are three acres of part-moated gardens where borders and specimen tree divide the grounds into smaller ‘room like’ areas. To the front of the house are

water lily filled moats ponds whilst behind the house a woodland walk lies beyond the imposing Yew Arch and ‘Monet’ style bridge

In the summer the grounds of Friars Court can be visited by arrangement by groups and clubs and there are public open days, check our website for more information. Friars Court is also a licensed wedding venue and further information can be found by visiting either www.silverpearweddings.co.uk or the Silver Pear Weddings page.

08/09/2026

Do you want to read about visiting royalty, fierce battles, or celebrity sleepovers?

……alas, none of those have happened at Friars Court – at least, not that I’m aware!

Instead, Friars Court has quietly, and rather unassumingly, slipped through the centuries with just the occasional mention in the history books.

Friars Court began life in 1149, when it was established as a hospitallery by the Knights of St John, and it was from here, for 400 years, members of the Order cared for travellers.

From the road, not many people are aware of what’s hidden behind the trees, but after driving around the farm buildings and crossing the cattle grid, you have your first glimpse of Friars Court. Although its origins date back to the C12th, the building was substantially enlarged in the C17th creating the slightly imposing Cotswold stone house, covered in Virginia creeper and with tall stone pillars standing proud at the entrance, that you see today.

Friars Court has been my family’s home for over a century, and I’ve lived here all my life too. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to have various people come in to research its history, and every time someone does, they always seem to unearth another little snippet of information that I didn’t know before. Because while I may have lived here all my life, Friars Court still manages to surprise me with one of its many ‘quirks’.

There is a saying that with some houses, you’re never really its owner; you’re just its custodian, looking after it for the next generation. I plan on being here for some time to come but, in the meantime, I’m continuing to piece together its history, so that whoever comes after me can hopefully enjoy reading Friars Court’s story as much as I have enjoyed discovering it.

At almost 900 years, Friars Court’s story – the house, the gardens, the farm, and my own (albeit the slightly lesser 56 years) – are all far from over, and there are so many elements still waiting to be told.

I just need to find the words to tell them 🤔

04/09/2026

Picture this… I’m hosting a small, intimate, wedding ceremony, with just the couple and six guests gathered on my lawn. The couple start to exchange their vows when, out of nowhere, an unexpected guest walks in.

Ginger 🐈

Normally shy of strangers I could only look on in mild horror as he sauntered across the lawn, tail in air, and went over to say hello to the registrar. No amount of psst’ing from me was going to stop him.

At first I thought he might just curl up under the table and stay there. But no… he walked out the other side and wandered over to rub himself against the groom’s legs, hoping for attention. There was absolutely nothing I could do apart from thinking ‘I hope he likes cats’.

Not getting any attention from the groom (who was otherwise preoccupied), Ginger then decided to have a sniff around the guests’ chairs (I’m sure I heard some giggling at this point), before sauntering off. But even then he was still taking centre stage, in full view of everyone, despite being in the background.

I think we can safely say that cats have minds of their own. Once they’ve decided to do something, there’s very little you can do to persuade them otherwise.

So, what would you say if Ginger walked in during your wedding?!

26/08/2026

Disco Circuits 2026 🪩🏋️ is over, and what a blast it was. A reel to follow once I’ve had time to edit something together.

But first, I’d like to thank everyone who gave their opinion on what I should wear. More than a few of you, for some reason, opted for B 😳. I have worn it before, and would have worn it again, but it is [very] figure-hugging and revealing!

But C was the outfit chosen for the evening. I do enjoy donning my captain’s hat — and who doesn’t love silver hot-pant shorts?! 😅

Want to know what outfits A & B looked like…. then check out my previous reel 😉

Roll on Disco Circuits 2027.… but what on earth will I wear next time🤔? 🪩

20/08/2026

When you talk about ‘disco circuits’ it usually receives a quizzical look from someone who’s never heard about it before, it’s not the sort of activity people would normally expect to see in my garden.

You see I host civil ceremonies and cream teas; quiet, gentle activities, but during the summer my garden takes on bit of a rather different role: outdoor fitness.

It’s organised by personal trainer Roger Bradley who also happens to have his gym on the farm. Between September and July, he holds weekly Monday evening circuit sessions at Henry Box School in Witney, where more than 60 of us can be found running, star-jumping, doing press-ups and generally putting ourselves through all sorts of gruelling routines, all with the sole purpose of keeping mobile, fit and trim. They can be tough, but they are also great fun.

But when the school closes for the summer holidays, rather than stop the classes, Roger moves them to my back garden... well, I do have the space!

For the last few weeks, we’ve been doing all the usual activities under the open sky, although occasionally having to sidestep the odd worm or frog along the way.

But before we return to school in September, there’s one, final, evening class that has now become something of an annual tradition:

D I S C O circuits

Fitness, dressing up, twinkly lights, and some seriously cheesy dance tunes, all mashed together by DJ Dave on his decks, followed by some delicious treats served by The Sadlers. What’s not to love about it. And this year there’s going to be over 100 of us on the front lawn.

And, as regular followers will know, I have been known to dress up and have quite an interesting selection in my dressing-up wardrobe, so my biggest problem now is ‘what to wear’ 🤔 😅

So, roll on Monday...

07/08/2026

A wise man has frequently said to me, “Charles, there’s never a problem, only a solution.” Those words came back to me today.

For many months, the appearance of the tall acacia tree on the far side of the front lawn has been bothering me. A smattering of unsightly dead branches could be seen from all angles and they irk me every time I walk out of the house. Annoyingly they were out of reach of a ladder, but not quite enough of a problem to justify calling in a tree surgeon.

It’s taken me a while but I’ve just realised these recent heatwaves have given me the solution to my problem. With the ground now so dry I can simply drive my 6-tonne JCB across the lawn without leaving a single tyre mark! It’s certainly not something I would ever think about doing under normal ground conditions, when the lawn would be a sea of soft, green, grass, carefully manicured with their long, straight stripes. A heavy machine would cause terrible damage to the lawn.

Not today however, the JCB crossed the brown lawn as though it were driving over concrete and, with its long extending arm and cherry-picker attachment, it took just a few minutes to be safely lifted up, reaching the offending branches, and for them to effortlessly removed. One of those jobs that had been bugging me for months was finally crossed off the list, problem solved.

There has to be an upside to a dry summer... doesn’t there?

Address

Bampton
OX182SU

Telephone

01367 810206

Website

http://www.friarscourt.com/

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Friars Court

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