Coughton Court’s Management Changes Hands to Throckmorton Family

Coughton Court is near Alcester. The Throckmorton family will run it again, managing it instead of the National Trust. They told members in a letter that this change, starting in February 2026, is due to the family’s desire to manage it themselves. They’ll handle daily operations at Coughton Court.

The family will decide opening times and set admission prices. Coughton Court won’t be part of the National Trust, so they will no longer offer member benefits there. The Throckmortons have lived there for a long time, with twenty-one generations residing there since 1409.

The family gave it to the National Trust in 1946. There was a long lease agreement that let the family live at Coughton Court and manage it as a visitor attraction for the agreement’s duration.

In 2005, the family asked for help from the National Trust to manage visitors. This arrangement continues until next year, with the National Trust running it until then. Coughton will reopen on March 15, 2025. The National Trust looks forward to welcoming visitors and has planned events and activities for the year.

The family has links to the Gunpowder Plot, which aimed to end Catholic persecution by blowing up Parliament. Robert Catesby led the Gunpowder Plot. He was the son of Anne Throckmorton, from Coughton Court, and Thomas Throckmorton’s nephew. Catesby spent time at Coughton Court as a child. He created the Gunpowder Plot and recruited members.