Tucked into a wooded valley off the road between Winchcombe and Cheltenham, Postlip Hall is a Grade I listed Cotswold manor house with origins in the 14th century. The Jacobean frontage you see from the Cotswold Way was added around 1614 — a date carved into one of the fireplaces inside. The hall contains a room known as the Cromwellian Room, with fine 17th-century oak panelling that may originally have served as a chapel. A separate Norman chapel, reputedly founded c.1139 by William de Solers, stands in the grounds, along with a medieval tithe barn now used for concerts and weddings. In 1969, a group of pioneers bought the hall and established what became the Postlip Community — one of Britain's earliest cohousing experiments. Today, eight families live in separate units within the manor, sharing the grounds, the tithe barn, and a communal spirit. They host an annual Cotswold Beer Festival and folk music weekends in the barn. The hall marks the transition from the gentle Winchcombe valley to the exposed upland of Cleeve Common. From here, the Cotswold Way climbs steadily for two miles to reach the highest point on the entire trail at 330 metres.
“In 1969, a group of pioneers bought the hall and established what became the Postlip Community — one of Britain's earliest cohousing experiments.”
