Adlestrop
Yes, I remember Adlestrop – the name, because one afternoon of heat the express-train drew up there unwontedly. It was late June.
The steam hissed, someone cleared his throat. No one left and no one came on the bare platform. What I saw was Adlestrop – only the name.
And willows, willow-herb, and grass, And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry, No whit less still and lonely fair than the high cloudlets in the sky.
And for that minute a blackbird sang Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Philip Edward Thomas
1878-1917
The village of Adlestrop
Adlestrop is a village in the Cotswolds, lying just off the road between Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold.
The river Evenlode runs near the western side of the village and the village is pleasantly situated on the slope of a hill fronting the southwest.
Famous for a number of reasons including the fact that Jane Austen was a regular guest at the Rectory, where her uncle was the rector and it is thought that Adlestrop Park may have been the setting for Mansfield Park.
Once home to the Cotswold’s most renowned railway station Adlestrop, which is immortalised in one of the best-loved poems in English literature (see left).
Adlestrop station which inspired the evocative Edward Thomas’ poem, a symbol of a rural golden age that vanished with World War 1, is itself no more. It closed to passenger traffic in 1966. The old station sign is situated in the bus shelter in the village and gets many visitors throughout the year.
The village of Adlestrop has a great history of equine success. Frank and Cynthia Haydon ran a world renowned hackney carriage driving team from Adlestrop Stables and also a thoroughbred stud standing successful stallion Idiot’s Delight.
Cynthia was the outstanding hackney driver of the twentieth century and she and Frank bred and exported the hackney breed and were a world authority on the subject. Cynthia taught the Duke of Edinburgh how to drive carriages and was an immense character. Frank and Cynthia spent their final years living at the Lodge in Adlestrop.
Sir Mark Todd is undoubtedly one of the greatest three day event riders in the history of the sport and he too had great success from Adlestrop Stables. He was voted rider of the 20th century by the International Federation for equestrian sports. He won gold medals in Los Angeles and Seoul Olympics, has won Badminton on four occasions and Burghley Horse Trials five times.
As a member of the New Zealand’s eventing team, he won Gold at the World Championships in 1990 and 1998. It was during this time he was based at Adlestrop Stables and won Badminton from the yard. Having competed at seven Olympic games, he is truly one of the great equestrians.
Since Richard has started training here, this sleepy village has been put on the racing map. The village is part of a 1000-acre estate which is run under trust for the Leigh family and its beauty must be seen to be believed.
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