Discover Berkshire’s Englefield Estate

A captivating history

With its royal connections and assassination plots, Englefield House holds a fascinating past. The house dates back to the 1500s, when Queen Elizabeth I was an occasional visitor. Sir Francis Englefield plotted to assassinate the monarch, but after his plan was exposed, Parliament seized the estate and bequeathed it to a royal advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham. Today, the house is occupied by Walsingham’s descendants. While it’s not open to the public, you can still explore its magnificent grounds.

Englefield, Berkshire RG7 5EN

More to discover

There’s more to the estate than first meets the eye, as it’s enclosed by a deer park, with lake views and countryside that’s part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Rambling through the valleys, woodland and chalk pits you may come across a 12th century church, a garden centre and Hereford cows grazing in Englefield Home Farms, home to 2,000 acres of wheat, barley and oats. For a quintessential taste of English countryside, the estate’s Englefield Stores & Tea Rooms in Englefield village offers sandwiches and homemade cakes.

Delighted Englefield village

Once you’ve explored the estate, Englefield village is a charming spot for a stroll. If you’re peckish, stop for lunch or tea and scones at Cobbs Farm Shop, which is home to a café and deli, or amble along a gravel path towards the archway that marks the entrance to St Mark’s Church. For a more leisurely afternoon, find a shady spot to watch the local cricket club play. What could be more quintessentially English than that?