Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do
Charlecote Park
The Lucy family's Tudor and Victorian house beside the River Avon near Stratford, with fallow deer, Jacob sheep and a service courtyard. National Trust, about 30 minutes from Banbury. The park opens all year, and the house days change for Christmas.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly
The easiest of the big houses for a family with a dog: deer to look for, a working service courtyard and a dog-friendly café. It is the furthest house on this list from Banbury, so go on a day that also takes in Compton Verney, 11 minutes away, or Stratford.
- Good: Park and garden open daily from 9am this winter, except 24 and 25 December
- Good: Two-pawprint dog rating: dogs on short leads in both the café and the Orangery
- Worth knowing: House entry is by timed ticket from Visitor Reception, not bookable
- Worth knowing: Christmas house runs to 3 January 2027; later house dates not yet published
- Worth knowing: Only the ground floor of the house is step-free
- Good: 14 electric car chargers in the car park, paid to RAW Charging
About
Charlecote Park is the Lucy family's house on the River Avon, about 25 miles (40km) by road and 30 minutes from Banbury, on the far side of the Edge and close to Stratford-upon-Avon. The National Trust runs it. The family has been here for more than 800 years, the Trust says, and the visit covers the house, the service courtyard, the garden and a park of fallow deer and Jacob sheep.
The house
Historic England lists the house Grade I. Sir Thomas Lucy began it in 1558, and it kept its brick gatehouse, which is also Grade I, when the Victorians set to work. The Trust says Elizabeth I came in 1572, and her arms are on the porch. Much of what you see indoors is the Elizabethan Revival taste of Mary Elizabeth and George Hammond Lucy, between 1829 and 1867: the east range, the marble hall floor of 1845 and the dining room buffet of 1858. Round the back, the service courtyard keeps its brewhouse, laundry, kitchen and carriage houses, and those are the rooms to show children.
The park, and the Shakespeare story
George Lucy brought in Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in 1757, and from 1760 Brown swept away the formal garden for the naturalistic park you walk today. The fallow deer are still here, a herd of a few hundred by the Trust's records, with spotted Jacob sheep.
The story everyone repeats is that a young Shakespeare was caught poaching these deer about 1583, and that he took revenge by making Sir Thomas the model for Justice Shallow. The Trust tells it as a tale, first written down by Nicholas Rowe in 1709, and a Trust record says 'alleged'. No document of Shakespeare's own time records it.
Visiting
National Trust members go free. In 2026 an adult ticket to the house, park and garden was £18, or £19.80 with Gift Aid, and a park and garden ticket £16. House entry is by timed ticket, given out at Visitor Reception on the day. For Christmas 2026 the house was shut from 2 to 8 November for decorating, opened again on 9 November, and is dressed for Christmas from 16 November to 3 January 2027, with the whole site closed on 24 and 25 December.
Compton Verney is about 11 minutes away and pairs well with it, on a Wednesday to Sunday. Upton House is about 20 minutes back towards Banbury.
Opening hours and season
Winter 2026: park and garden 9am to 4pm; house 11am to 3pm, dressed for Christmas 16 November to 3 January 2027. Site closed 24 and 25 December. Hours after 3 January not yet published.
Facilities
- Car parkFree, about 270m from the house; Blue Badge bays; drop-off on request
- Wood Yard Café and OrangeryLight bites in the café, meals in the Orangery; dogs on short leads welcome in both
- DogsTwo-pawprint rating: on short leads on the designated dog walking route
- MobilityAll-terrain scooter to book, and wheelchairs
- ToiletsAccessible toilet and baby changing, by the Gatehouse
The details
- Time to allow
- A morning or afternoon: house, courtyard and the park
- Features
- Garden or terrace · Café · Shop · Parking · By the water
- History
- Begun 1558 for Sir Thomas Lucy; extended 1829 to 1867
- Parking
- Free, about 270m from the house, across the road from the park, with Blue Badge bays and drop-off on request at Visitor Reception, and 14 electric car chargers. Satnav CV35 9ER.
- Without a car
- Stagecoach 15 buses between Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick or Leamington stop at the Charlecote Pheasant, a short walk from the car park. Check the timetable.
Photos
Fallow deer in the park at Charlecote Photo: Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The Tudor gatehouse at Charlecote Photo: Richard Croft, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The house from the balustrade, Charlecote Photo: Bs0u10e01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The kitchen and servants' hall wing, Charlecote Photo: DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Accessibility
- Accessible toilet
- Hearing loop
- Assistance dogs welcome
The ground floor of the house is accessible, with ramps where there are steps; upstairs is by stairs only. Blue Badge parking by Visitor Reception, drop-off on request, induction loops, a large-print map, a bookable all-terrain scooter and wheelchairs. The park has grassy, uneven paths, and there is gravel and cobbles round the buildings.