The Gupshill Manor is a magnificent black and white timber framed ex-manor house to the south-east of Tewkesbury. The building dates from 1438 when it would have housed the Lord of the Manor and his family. It was here that Queen Margaret, wife of the ill-fated King Henry VI, spent the night of May 3rd 1471, on the eve of the last battle of the ‘Wars of the Roses’. The hard pressed Lancastrian forces threw up their rough earthwork defences within sight of the manor as Edward IV’s Yorkist army advanced from the village of Cheltenham. The main road now runs across the site of the ‘Battle of Tewkesbury’ and the windows of the manor look out onto the notorious ‘Bloody Meadow’, where the followers of the Red Rose made their last stand.
Gupshill Manor was originally two houses that stood in the centre of a hamlet comprising of some twenty cottages. In 1707 the manor was bought by William Ransford. When he emigrated to America he sold it to Ann Nash. Under her ownership one of the two original cottages from which the Manor was made was demolished, leaving the building we see today. The building was badly damaged by fire c.1908 but was rebuilt. The last private owner was George Hone who was Tewkesbury’s cattle auctioneer. In 1931 the Gupshill became a hotel but it was not converted into a pub until 1953.
In 1974 Whitbread published a book called “Inn and Around”, which featured “250 favourite Whitbread pubs.”
The Gupshill had a major half a million pound makeover in 2007. Changes included an enlarged kitchen, four new outdoor sections and a revamped bar. The Gupshill Manor relaunced with a firework display and a live band watched by 350 people.
Map reference: SO 894314
Licensing Details:
Brewery Heritage: West Country Ales plaque still in situ
Owner in 2000: Whitbread Pub Partnerships
Owner in 2008: Greene King
Landlords at the Gupshill Manor include:
1985,1998 Mark and Kay Ratcliffe
2000 Graham Baptie
2005,2008 Barney and Naomi Reynolds (brother and sister)
2007 Ashley Jennings (restaurant manager)
