Upper and Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire
The Town(s)
Intent on a property search of the Cotswolds? Our property search company may well suggest Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter, around four miles west of Stow-on-the-Wold. Lower Slaughter is built on banks on either side of the River Eye. It’s just a mile away from Upper Slaughter: our Recoco buying agent can show you the pretty stream that connects the two villages. Buyers agents will tell you the village name possibly stems from Old English slough or slothre (muddy place). Our property search company may also mention other pretty settlements nearby: Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway, Moreton-in-Marsh, and Stow-on-the-Wold.
Ask your real estate buyers agent to show you the 16th and 17th-century properties in Upper Slaughter, mostly made from the distinctive, mellow Cotswold limestone. In the course of your property search, our Recoco property finder can point out the traditional features on many of the buildings that will appeal to any property buyer, including projecting gables and mullioned windows. The estimated population is around 236, as our property buying agent can confirm.
Transport
You’ll find the village of Upper Slaughter (and Lower Slaughter) just off the A429 main road. The nearest railway station is Kingham, with services towards London Paddington and Oxford. Parking in the Slaughters is limited, as our property buying agent can attest, but the villages are easily reached via a pleasant walk from nearby Bourton-on-the-Water.
History
Ask our Recoco property finder about the 1086 Domesday Book entry for the village manor which shows it was in the hands of the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire; it was acquired by the Slaughter family in the late 1100s. At the north edge of Upper Slaughter, the Castle Mound marks the remains of a castle built by supporters of twelfth-century Empress Matilda (also known as Maude). The current manor building was first started in the Tudor era, although the crypt is thought to date from the 1300s. The Lords of the Manor Hotel dates from 1649; your property buying agent can confirm it became a hotel in the 1960s.
Architect Sir Edward Lutyens reconstructed the cottages around the square in Upper Slaughter in 1906. If you’re interested in listed buildings, ask your real estate buyers agent about the Grade II listed Old School House. For a property buyer who enjoys architecture, our Recoco property finder might recommend St Peter’s Church, Home Farmhouse, and Rose Row.
Upper Slaughter is known as a Doubly Thankful Village: everyone who left the village to fight in World War One and World War Two came back alive. Ask our real estate buyers agent about Little Sodbury and Coln Rodgers two other Thankful Villages.
Education
Our property search company can supply details of independent schools in the locality, including Kitebrook Preparatory School, Windrush Valley School, and Hatherop Castle School. Buyers agents can also point you towards primary schools in Bourton and Stow, as well as the “outstanding” state secondary Cotswold School in Bourton.
Leisure and Events
Curious about local amenities? Buyers agents can direct you towards large supermarkets in Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water. There’s also a leisure centre, pharmacy, and GP surgery. Bourton has a model railway, the Cotswold Motoring Museum and Toy Collection, family activity centre the Cotswold Clubhouse, and Birdland Park and Gardens.
Upper Slaughter holds an annual Summer Fete every July.
Celebrity Connections
Writer Gordon Mitchell retired to the village: his father was RJ Mitchell who designed the Spitfire single-seater fighter plane used in World War II, particularly in the Battle of Britain. Gordon Mitchell’s book 'RJ Mitchell - Schooldays to Spitfire' details the creation of the iconic aircraft.
Or ask your Recoco buying agent about Eyford House in Upper Slaughter, previously named as the nation’s favourite house by Country Life. This Cotswolds home with idyllic grounds played host to John Milton and, so legend has it, inspired him to write Paradise Lost.
Foodies’ Corner
If you’re a property buyer who enjoys sampling local food, there are some excellent options in the area, both in the Slaughters themselves and in the towns and villages round about.
Choices range from delectable traditional fare at the Slaughters Manor House Restaurant, Rose Tree Restaurant, or The Mousetrap Inn, all perfect for a break from your property search. There are Italian restaurants, bakeries, and plentiful opportunities for a cream tea at one of the charming tea shops in nearby Bourton-on-the-Water.
Fun Fact
The River Eye flows into the River Windrush, which our Recoco buying agent can confirm is a tributary of the Thames.