A former pro cyclist and his wife have inherited what most people can only dream about: a Grade II-listed mansion house in the Cotswolds with envious grounds – but say being Lord and Lady of the Manor isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Historic Chavenage, a 50-room pile sat in 2,000 acres of glorious Gloucestershire countryside – King Charles resides two miles away at Highgrove – is now in the hands of James Lowsley-Williams, 33, and his glamourous wife Emma, after James inherited the property from his late grandfather in 2023.
Since marrying last year, the couple have dedicated their days to the upkeep of the 16th century family seat, which is crafted from Cotswold stone and doubled up as Trenwith, the home of Poldark in the BBC One TV series.
Neither have held back about the reality of being young millennials in a centuries-old property that comes with its own ghost.
Both have given up their careers, and say the financial impact on their day-to-day lives is immense; the couple claim they’re ‘cash poor’ and are surviving ‘hand to mouth’.
Appearing in the first episode of new Channel 4 series, Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith, the pair are searingly honest about what it’s like to go from living in a two-bed bungalow to a wood-pannelled manor house with interiors that haven’t been updated for ‘300 to 400 years’.
The pair have ambitious plans to modernise the regal home – and have already converted the property’s former cattle shed into a trendy cafe that wouldn’t look out of place in east London.
In the grounds, there’s also now a converted shipping container, which is advertised on Airbnb by ‘Em and James’, as a one-bed bolthole for tourists wanting to stay the night in the grounds.
New blood: James Lowsley-Williams and his wife Emma took on 50-room Chavenage in Gloucestershire when James’s grandfather died in 2023
Sandwiched between Prince Charles’s Highgrove and Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park, the property is an eternal money pit, say its newest owners, who appear in the Channel 4 series Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith
Countless period dramas have been filmed at Chavenage House; the property doubled up as Trenwith, the home of Poldark in the hit BBC One TV series
Appearing in the first episode of new Channel 4series, Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith, the pair are searingly honest about what it’s like to go from living in a two-bed bungalow to a wood-pannelled manor house
During the opening episode of the show, the couple winced at damp patches on the ceiling, while Emma led the TV crew into a dimly-lit bedroom saying: ‘My worst nightmare is this…’
Inside the white painted bedroom, there’s a vintage coach-built pram and moses basket, apparently untouched for decades, complete with a doll that James had during his childhood.
The plain-speaking new Lady Chavenage told her husband, who grew up in the house: ‘That’s not nice. Once we do the renovation, this could be a lovely room but there’s just something about it… and it’s that doll, gets me every time’.
They also expressed their ambitious ‘vision’ for a free-standing bath as they showed the programme the current dated furnishings in the toilet, featuring a rust-ridden sink and broken tiles.
The couple, however, admitted that at the moment they are ‘cash poor’ and living ‘hand to mouth’ after giving up their old jobs and throwing themselves fully into Chavenage.
‘I’m not sitting here with mountains of cash to fund the place,’ James said. ‘We are hand to mouth right now, to be totally honest with you.
‘It costs about £350,000 – £400,000 just to keep the place going every year. So we’ve got to find innovative ways to generate a revenue.’
‘You just never want to be the generation that doesn’t make it work,’ Emma added.
The couple admitted that at the moment they are ‘cash poor’ and living ‘hand to mouth’ after giving up their old jobs and throwing themselves fully into Chavenage
During the opening episode of the show, the couple winced at damp patches on the ceiling
James’s family, including his late grandfather, far right, who left the house to his grandson and his wife, Emma
Ornate: Wood pannelling, 17th century tapestries and grand fireplaces remain in the property, with some interiors in the house having remained untouched for ‘300 to 400 years’
Aidan Turner returns! The Poldark star also filmed Rivals at Chavenage; the property doubled up as The Priory in the most recent adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel
The pair also shared their plans to make parts of the property into a yoga studio, wellness retreats and a WeWork space.
It isn’t the only creepy story the house, which attracts thousands of tourists every year, harbours.
Oliver Cromwell once visited the Gloucestershire pile to try and persuade then owner MP Nathaniel Stephens to get on board with executing King Charles I.
The room Cromwell resided in – now known as Cromwell’s Room – is where those with an interest in the paranormal, believe his own fate was sealed, via a curse that led to his death at the age of 59 in 1658.
The house was originally built in 1560 by the Stephens family, who became wealthy from wool. They stayed for nine generations before the Lowsley-Williamses moved in.
Chavenage’s 2,000 acres are sandwiched between Prince Charles’s Highgrove and Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park.
As boys, Princes William and Harry used to canter over on their ponies to practise on the jumps at Chavenage and Princess Anne frequently attends parties here.
Emma and James now document the highs and lows of lives at Chavenage on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – and in the first episode of Channel 4’s new show.
The programme is presented by To The Manor Born star Penelope Keith, who tracks owners of country houses across the UK and their efforts to keep historic houses not built for modern life from becoming derelict.
Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on January 13
