Director at Cogges Heritage Trust Colin Shone

I first came to Cogges in 2008, introduced by friends from Oxford, and was utterly charmed by its beauty and serenity.

Protected from development through the accidents of history and the care of the past guardians of the site, Cogges was, and still is, the most perfectly preserved slice of Oxfordshire’s rural past.

The origins of the site date back to Neolithic times and it has been continuously occupied for more than 1,000 years. The first manor house was built by a fording point on the River Windrush around 1100, though the manor seen today was a later building, situated further away from the river. The oldest parts date back to 1242 and the marks of owners and tenants past lie everywhere.

Set around an unspoiled farmyard with the sounds of pigs, goats, sheep and chickens and with a background of a fine collection of farm buildings, mostly seventeenth or eighteenth century, a beautiful walled garden and many acres of grounds and woodland, Cogges is simply a delightful place to spend time.

I never imagined I would end up working at Cogges, but I can only be grateful at the quirks of fate that have catapulted me from a lifelong manager of bookshops, via a spell with the National Trust to director of the charitable trust that now manages Cogges.

Cogges Heritage Trust reopened the farm in 2011 after a couple of years of closure. Through the work of a growing, dedicated group of volunteers, it has been able to make improvements to the site: recovering the overgrown walled garden, opening up previously neglected areas of grounds and woodland, building play equipment for local families and introducing and developing a schools programme bringing Cogges’ history to life.

Visitor numbers have grown every year, with nearly 54,000 visits in 2016, and Cogges is now financially independent. The offer stretches to all audiences and there is something for everyone.

The filming of Downton Abbey here over series 4 to 6 has brought a national and international audience, bringing more tourist revenue to the area. But Cogges remains grounded in its community and with simple pleasures.

Every year, the Trust is opening more of the site and adding new things to see and do. This year we reopened a stunning thatched Ox Byre as our new visitor entrance, mainly through the labours of the volunteers.

At the moment it is taking part in Oxfordshire Artweeks, with an exhibition of paintings, sketches and fabric collages by its first Artist in Residence, Sally Wyatt. The work remains on view until the end of June.

We are developing a suite of improvements over the next few years, better interpretation of our wealth of stories, accessible to all, improved facilities for our visitors and volunteers and restoration work on our barn roofs.

With generous support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and from our landlords, Oxfordshire County Council, Cogges needs to raise about £425,000 to bring these improvements to fruition.

We can be very proud of what has been achieved here by volunteers, staff and the local community over the past few years. But there will always be more to do and a process of continual improvement will ensure Cogges remains open and relevant for all for many years to come.