17 Mar 2014
In February 2014, just five months after re-opening, The Porch House was awarded the highest accolades by The AA Guide inspectors - Five Gold Stars for Guest Accommodation, two Rosettes for its restaurant, and a Breakfast Award.
Recently transformed from tired Cotswold hotel and boozer to stylish boutique retreat with restaurant and inn, The Porch House, formerly, The Royalist Hotel and Eagle & Child Inn, was taken over as a managed property by W H Brakspear & Sons earlier this year and the older name for the building that predates the name The Royalist, reinstated.
Claiming to be 'England's oldest Inn', The Porch House Re-opened on 13th September 2013, following an extensive and sensitive restoration of its historical, architectural and decorative reference.
The hotel occupies a handsome, Grade II listed, Cotswold stone building (part of which dates back to 947AD) in the centre of the picturesque Cotswolds market town of Stow-on-the-Wold.
The Bar
Formerly the Eagle & Child Pub, the light-filled bar with wood-burning stoves offers four Brakspear cask ales, including two Brakspear bitters brewed at The Porch House's sister pub and microbrewery, The Bull on Bell Street, in Henley on Thames, alongside draught lagers, stout and cider, 15 wines by the glass and a 52-strong wine list offering old and new world wines from £16 a bottle. Beyond, a conservatory dining area, seating 25 with a regular changing menu of pub classics done really well, such as Fish & Chips, Sausage & Mash and Shepherd's Pie, £10-15, and a daily blackboard menu of bar snacks such as Welsh Rarebit, Cheese & Onion Pasty and Scotch Egg £4-7.
Dining
The Porch House' stunning dining room seats 50, is available for private parties and small weddings and exudes an easy, modern style within an architecturally splendid setting. Ancient, exposed oak beams, oak timber flooring and honey-coloured stone walls complement two working fireplaces, including a very fine 16th Century inglenook fireplace featuring incised symbols in its stone surround said to offer protection against witches and evil spirits.
The Porch House's private dining area seats up to 12 people, with its own bar, lounge, garden seating and restrooms - an ideal space for shooting parties, family celebrations, or a gathering of friends.
The regularly changing seasonal menu, created by head chef, Stephen Small, features simple yet robust dishes using the best locally sourced ingredients. Expect dishes such as pan-fried scallops, south coast crab & beetroot £9.95; roast wood pigeon, butternut squash, apple tart & wild mushrooms £7.95; confit pork belly, black sausage, spinach, goose fat potatoes, £16.50; Porch House fish pie, buttered kale £13.95 and plum cobbler, custard, £5.50.
Guest bedrooms
Thirteen plush guest bedrooms offer single, twin and double occupancy offer total comfort (some with fabulous views over Stow-on-the-Wold or the surrounding countryside) with calming colours, crisp white linen, duck feather and down duvets and pillows, handmade Feather & Black mattresses, button-back headboards covered in bespoke wool weaves by Warwick Fabrics and pure wool throws by Cotswold Woollen Weavers. High-spec bathrooms offer high pressure walk-in showers by Crosswater and/or in-room free-standing slipper baths by The Cast Iron Bath Company. Underfoot, travertine tiles and on walls, plain and patterned tiles by Fired Earth.
Each room also features a desk made from an upcycled Singer sewing machine base with oak top and rustic bedside tables made by The Furniture Recycling Shop in Bourne End. Antique prints, illustrations and photography, glass wine casks and bottles upcycled as lamp bases by Northern Lights and lots of quirky objet sourced at vintage fairs, antique markets and auctions, add bags of character and interest.
All bedrooms feature: Free WiFi, Phillps and LG TV's, Nespresso Coffee Machine, Alarm Clock, and hand-made toiletries by Noble Isle and the Cotswold Handmade Soap Company. Feature rooms also boast a Roberts DAB Radio.
Brakspear's own head of design, Stephanie Dennett, carefully and sensitively handled all the glamorous, arty, vintage touches throughout the renovated interiors. Stephanie has drawn on a sophisticated palette of Farrow & Ball colours in muted greens and earthy tones in the bar and bedrooms, with dark blue and greys in the dining room, snug and parlour to create a striking impact as well as a sense of warmth throughout. These complement an eclectic mix of wallpapers and fabrics by Morris & Co, Lewis & Wood, Warwick Fabrics tweeds and plaids, and faded floral linens by Sanderson. Vintage and antique furnishings upholstered in wool tweeds, linens or aged leather add much to the country vintage vibe.
"Retaining the rustic feel of a historic Cotswolds country pub and hotel was really important to us," explains Brakspear's operations manager, Mat Aket. "We also hope that the opening of The Porch House will help put Stow-on-the-Wold back on the map as a food destination, to visit in its own right and from which to explore this beautiful part of the Cotswolds. Stow has many delightful attractions, not least its historic town square and its growing number of interesting and high quality independent shops, including a high-end fashion boutique, a vintage store, a fantastic butchers' and bakers, organic food store and artisan chocolatiers."
The Porch House
Digbeth Street
Stow on the Wold
Gloucestershire
GL54 1BN
01451 870 048
For all Press Enquiries, please contact;
Bridget Stott t 01608 645930, 07867 941 410
Notes to editors
Opening hours
Monday - Friday 8am - 11pm
Saturday 8am - 11pm
Sunday 8am - 11pm
Dining times
Breakfast is served: 8am - 10am Monday - Sunday
Lunch is served in the Dining Room: 12pm - 2.30pm, Monday Saturday, Sunday, 12pm - 3.30pm
Dinner is served in the Dining room: 6.30pm - 9.30pm Monday Saturday. Closed - Sunday
The Pub and Conservatory serve food from 12pm - 9.30pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm - 8.30pm Sunday
Location and how to get here
Stow-on-the-Wold is situated on the highest point in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. Oxford and Cheltenham are half an hour away by car, and Burford is a 15-minute drive away. London is a 1hr.40min drive. The nearest train station is at Kingham or Moreton-in-Marsh. Both on mainline services from Paddington and take 1.20min to Kingham and 1.30min to Moreton-in-Marsh. Stow on the Wold is a 15-20-min taxi ride from either station.
There is off-road parking for four cars to one side of the property.
Rooms and facilities
13, all en-suite, include:
Phillips TVs
Duck and duck down-filled duvets and pillows
Feather & Black mattresses
Toiletries by Noble Isle and Cotswold Handmade Soap Company
Complimentary wireless access
Telephone
Room service
Room Rates
Standard double rooms from £99, inclusive of full English breakfast, newspaper, tea/coffee and toast delivered to the room and VAT
No minimum stay requirement
Feature rooms from £159 per night
Superior Superking Rooms £129 a night
The Porch, single occupancy from £89 a night
To do/see in the area
Gardens and stately homes at Hidcote, Kelmscott, Sudeley Castle, Blenheim Palace, Chastleton House, Sezincote, Batsford Arboretum
Cotswold towns and villages close by include; Lower and Upper Slaughters, Burford, Chipping Norton, Kingham, Bledington, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Cheltenham
Comment by Brakspear's in-house head of design, Stephanie Dennet
"The key vision was to create a design to maximise the amazing features of the grade II listed building, with its original stonework, fireplaces and beams, but without overpowering them. We wanted The Porch House to feel upmarket and high quality in all aspects, whilst remaining unpretentious, relaxed, and cosy, so we decided on a traditional Cotswold pub look with quirky and vintage items to add interest," explains Stephanie. "We wanted people to feel happy walking in boots, but also happy visiting to celebrate a special occasion. The garden was a key new development, and when the lavender flowers next year, it will have a lovely country courtyard feel.
The Snug and Parlour, with its own lounge, toilets and bar, is both cosy and a special place for a private function. The lighting, made from old decanters previously used here in the pub, and the back bar with its vintage stained glass window add interest while the lighting in the main dining room is made from real antlers which, along with the deep colours on the walls, creates a rustic luxury feel.
Throughout, muted Farrow and Ball colours highlight the beautiful features of the building whilst keeping the rooms calming. Fabrics and wallpapers are also muted and inspired by nature. Furnishings are rustic and hand-made wherever possible.
About Stephanie Dennett
Stephanie worked for six years in project management in the public sector before retraining in interior design at KLC School of Design in Chelsea. She worked for a residential design company in London before taking up the role at Brakspear heading up the in-house design team two years ago and since joining has completed over thirty new interiors for Brakspear's pubs.
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