History of Uplands House, in the Cotswolds.

In England Villages developed mainly from private chapels or land owned by manorial lords, and by the end of the 12th century by and large parish boundaries had been established. The earliest notable feature in the Parish of Ratley and Upton is Nadbury, the earthworks of an Iron age hill fort built between 800BC and 42 AD.

During the Roman occupation of Britain, under Emperor Claudius's General Aulus Plautius, a series of garrisons were established along the line of hills, overlooking much of Warwickshire, all within signalling distance of each other. By the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, the manor or estate of Ratley (then Rotelei) was a fief under Turchil de Arden, and the population was then about 145. King William 11 who succeeded his father, William the Conqueror in 1087 created a large domain which centred around Warwick, and included Ratley.

The Rose and Crown is the much loved village pub where our guests can go for dinner among the locals. It was originally a farmhouse, not becoming a public house until 1775. In its earlier days this may well have been the site of the vicarage.

The building of Ratley Church of St Peter Ad Vincula was started in about 1250, and the first vicar, Philip de Stapleton was appointed in 1251. In the church there are many things of interest, including a list of all subsequent vicars. Outside the church is a preaching cross, surrounded by a stone circle. In 1347, the Black Death held up progress because so many labourers and stonemasons perished.

The rest of the village is built on the side of the hill, up little winding roads, and considering the number of skilled stonemasons who lived here at one time or another, there is not much in the way of decorative ornamentation to the cottages. But Ratley, as it has evolved, has real charm and a sense of local cohesion and today it boasts a wine society, bridge club, tennis circle and many other activities.

On top of Edgehill, at Upton, a hamlet attached to Ratley, John de Upton (formerly known as Hoptone) is mentioned in 1315 as Lord of the Manor. In 1688 the original Upton House was sold to Sir Rushout Cullen who built his new classical style mansion from local Hornton stone, and it was completed in 1695. After him came William Bumpstead, followed by the banker Francis Child, and then the Upton and Ratley property was inherited by Lady Sarah Fane, wife of George Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey in the early part of the 19th Century. Their son, also George Villiers, the 6th Earl inherited in 1859, and in the same year he married Julia Peel, daughter of Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister. It was this family who built Uplands House, on the other side of the road from Upton House. Using the stone from old Ratley Manor - a 12th century house so rundown that it had to be demolished - they had it dragged up the one and a half miles from the village using horses and carts.

The old manor was thus reconstructed in its present form in 1875. In 1881, the visiting rector the Rev A Child described it as "a very Superior Farmhouse". It had 12 bedrooms with a groom's cottage, now the current Uplands Farm House, and various agricultural buildings.

The Earl of Jersey's Upton Farm, Ratley, with some 600 acres, was tenanted by Thomas Berridge, who lived first at old Ratley Manor, and then he moved himself and his second wife Susanna, his 10 children, plus eight more belonging to his deceased brother Samuel into the new house at Upton, and this house was then known as The Uplands. He seems to have been very well off, because he kept a governess - Annie Green, a servant - Louisa Smith plus two others un-named, and a cook - Ann Heydon, as well as the groom - Charles Silver who had married Mary, one of the Berridge's former servants.

Between 1894 and 1897 Upton House and its 1182 acre estate was owned by the 7th Earl of Chesham, he sold it to Andrew Motion, and in 1927 Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, one of the great philanthropists of the 20th century purchased the property. In it he displayed his two wonderful collections of paintings and porcelain, and they remain the principal visitor attraction today in what is now a National Trust property.

Uplands House has been occupied by several families through the 20th century, and was purchased by the present owner in 2003.

Source - The Story of a Warwickshire Parish by John Ashby and Dan Batchelor 2006, and the British Census, household records of 1861, 1871,1881.