Things to see and do at Stoneacre

The house

Stoneacre is thought to have taken its name from the local limestone that underlies it. Built in the 1480s by John Ellys, most of his original hall-house remains to this day.

The downstairs rooms – the hall and parlour – and the upstairs solar are open for you to visit. Friendly room guides will tell you the history of this fascinating building.

With some beautiful examples of 17th-century furniture, soft furnishing, glass and decorative metal work, Stoneacre is a must for any fine art lover.

The solar

There are plenty of fascinating pieces in this upstairs room, such as the impressive and weighty window shutters. Made of solid wood, these shutters weigh around 15kg each, and are of a very unusual design. The paintings and fireplace are other highlights which add colour to the room throughout the year.

The great hall

In the house’s early years in the 1480s there would have been a hearth in the middle of the great hall. After many changes through the centuries a fireplace was introduced. The impressive fireplace you see today was actually bought from a local inn.

The parlour

The parlour was one of the last rooms built in the original house. Its curtains are a rare surviving piece of the collection which was found wrapped up in the attic. Their design was created by Victorian architect and designer Herbert Horne in the 1880s.

The collections

Aymer Vallance, the last private owner of Stoneacre and a biographer of Arts and Crafts designer William Morris, was a great collector of medieval sculpture and woodwork. He was also particularly fond of stained glass – most of the rooms here have beautiful collections of glass designed by him.