The owners of Sudeley Castle, the Dent – Brocklehurst family opened their doors to allow these unknown artists to remove a traditional piece of artwork in one of three rooms and replace it with their contemporary substitutes.

The programme is a great opportunity to get a glimpse of Sudeley Castle including its gardens, private apartments and St Mary’s Church where Catherine Parr is buried.  If you didn’t manage to watch the programme last night you can watch it until 21.59 on Monday 21st December by clicking on the link below:

BBC iPlayer – School of Saatchi

Sudeley Castle is now closed over winter, but re-opens on 29th March.  If you would like to visit next year we have the following properties close by:

• Pinnock Lodge in Pinnock, near Winchcombe (Sleeps 5 and welcomes dogs)

• Elgin in Gretton Fields, near Winchcombe (Sleeps 4 and welcomes dogs)

• The Old Band Room in Naunton, near Stow on the Wold (Sleeps 4 + 1 and welcomes dogs)

Click here for details of all our Cotswold Cottages

More About Sudeley Castle and School of Saatchi

• School of Saatchi: Episode 3 recap
• But is it Art part 3
• Haunted Castles Of England 3/6 Sudeley Castle
• School Of Saatchi….Xfactor of art ?
• Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe
• School of Saatchi: Will Britain’s Next Top Artists Be Selected by Charles Saatchi
• School Of Saatchi on BBC Two
• My thoughts on ‘School of Saatchi’

Taking a closer look!

The Cotswold Wildlife Park has been nominated for the much coveted Open For Dogs Award.  Presented by the Kennel Club this award is part of a campaign to break down the barriers for dogs and their owners by encouraging businesses to welcome dogs.

The Cotswold Wildlife Park has been welcoming dogs since opening its doors in 1970 and is very pleased to have recently been recognised for being dog friendly.  They are very proud of being one of the few wildlife parks or zoos in the UK which welcome our four legged friends.

Dogs must however be kept on a lead at all times in the park and owners must clean up after their pets (bags are available at the pay desk). Dogs cannot be taken into indoor exhibits or where animals are free range.

Visit their website for more details of The Cotswold Wildlife Park

Click on the cottage details below for details of our cottages that welcome dogs:

• Pinnock Lodge in Pinnock, near Winchcombe (Sleeps 5)
• The Old Band Room in Naunton (Sleeps 4 +1)
• Carters Cottage in Stow-on-the-Wold (Sleeps 4)
• Elgin in Gretton Fields, near Winchcombe (Sleeps 4)
• Slatters Cottage in Bourton-on-the-Hill, near Moreton-in-Marsh (Sleeps 3)

Click here for details of all our Cotswold Cottages

This steep sided gem, hidden away in the quaint Cotswold village of Blockley is a place for tranquillity and rest.  With the gardens heavily embedded with scented flowers, you can sit and enjoy one of their excellent teas or light lunches on offer on one of the many garden seats.

Owner, Wendy Dare does not believe in buying plastic carrier bags so anyone who arrives with 25 clean carriers will get free entry throughout April.

More details of this beautiful Cotswold garden

We have two properties particuarly close by:

• The Gatehouse in Blockley (Sleeps 2)
• Slatters Cottage in Bourton on the Hill (Sleeps 3)

Click here for details of all of our Cotswold cottages

Sudeley Castle, one of Britains finest castles

Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe, once home to the last and only surviving wife of Henry VIII, Queen Katherine Parr, could well be opening its doors again to the public.  The Dent-Brocklehurst family are planning to move out of their family home in a bid to rejuvenate the castle’s fortunes after hitting upon hard times.

Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst and her family have applied to Tewkesbury Borough council for permission to convert the 18th and 19th century Hill Barn and attached cow sheds on the estate into residential accommodation.  According to this application, one of the reasons Mollie wants to move out is to help the running of the castle as a tourist attraction.

At present visitors can explore the castle’s grounds and on specific days tours of the castle’s apartments are offered.  If these planning applications go ahead however, it could mean that visitors will be welcome into many more of the castle’s unique rooms in an attempt to increase visitor interest.

Considered one of England’s finest castles, Sudeley Castle is now owned by Lady Ashcombe and her two children Henry and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, after they inherited it when Mark Dent-Brocklehurst, the children’s father, died aged 40 in 1972.

Financial problems have arisen since Lady Ashcombe decided to close the state rooms and private quarters to tourists, a decision which resulted in visitor numbers dropping from 150,000 in 2004 to 50,000 in 2006.

Back in 2007, a BBC4 fly-on-the-wall documentary revealed that despite the income received from weddings, corporate events and tourists visiting the castle’s grounds, the castle is loosing £100,000 a year.  Since then, a Turner painting valued at £7 million was put up for auction to pay for the castle’s development.

Speaking about these recent events, a spokeswoman for Sudeley Castle commented ‘Owing to the increasing success of weddings and corporate hospitality which has shot up this year, we are looking at increasing the options and possibly making some space in the castle for such events’.