Southam House

Ellenborough Park Hotel
Ellenborough Park Hotel
Location within Gloucestershire
General information
Location	Southam Road, Southam, Gloucestershire, England
Coordinates	51°55′36″N 2°2′30″W / 51.92667°N 2.04167°W / 51.92667; -2.04167
Opening	2011
Other information
Number of rooms	61
Number of suites	4
Number of restaurants	2
Number of bars	1

Ellenborough Park Hotel (previously the baronial hall, Southam House) is a country house hotel in Southam, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northeast of the centre of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Southam is at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point of the Cotswolds, and is part of Tewkesbury Borough. As Southam House, it was the seat of Richard de la Bere and later the Earl of Ellenborough, and after became a girls' school and then the De la Bere Hotel. The current hotel was established in 2008; it has 61 rooms.

In 1487, Henry VII after the Battle of Stoke honoured Sir Richard de la Bere with a bannerette. Kinnair de la Bere married Sir John Huddlestob's daughter and settled down at the bannerette of Southam and built a manor house, at the foot of the hill in a valley which was surrounded by forest and a fertile valley, and named it Southam House. At that time he was Sheriff of Gloucestershire. In 1609, the manor house was bought by Richard de la Bere. He died without an heir and left his property to Kinnair de la Bere who also did not have any male children and so the property was inherited by his nephew Thomas le da Bagott who was known for his kindness and hospitality. During its time as a stately home, eminent guests such as George III stayed at the residence. It was the seat of the Earl of Ellenborough in the 1830s when it was known as Southam House. Renovations and additions to the old manor house were made in Gothic and neo-Norman architectural style between 1833 and 1871 by Baron Ellenborough who was formerly Governor General of India. The renovations covered the ancient baronial hall, restoration of the tracery and other architectural features. At this time, it was adorned with antique decorations, and a few years later, it had a collection of old portraits. Later, it functioned as a private girls' school, Oriel School, which closed in 1972. It was built with randomly placed and dressed limestone square blocks.