Oxfordshire · 83 acres
Waterperry House.
The School's retreat centre, set in eighty-three acres of Oxfordshire farmland and gardens. Occupied by the School since 1971.
The house
aterperry House is a Jacobean manor on the banks of the Thame in south Oxfordshire. The present building dates principally from the early eighteenth century, though the estate has been continuously occupied since the fourteenth. The stone frontage, unchanged since the 1720s, faces south across a lawn that runs down to the river.
The School of Philosophy purchased Waterperry in 1971. It has since been used as the School's principal retreat centre, hosting residential courses, meditation programmes, and public retreats throughout the year. The walled kitchen garden, the orchard, and the working farm remain in active cultivation.
The adjacent Waterperry Gardens (separately managed and open to the public) occupy part of the wider estate. St Mary's Church, a Saxon foundation, stands within the grounds and holds services through the year.
Gardens and grounds
Paths, topiary, borders and quiet corners across the estate — the setting that gives Waterperry its particular stillness.
Contemporary frescoes
Beginning in the mid-1990s, the School commissioned a programme of contemporary frescoes for the interior of Waterperry House. The works span three storeys of the main staircase and extend into several of the principal rooms. The artists, many of them students of the School, worked in the buon fresco tradition, applying pigment directly to fresh plaster so that the colour becomes part of the wall itself.
The subject matter draws on classical and philosophical themes. The programme is among the most sustained examples of new fresco painting in Britain. Guided fresco tours are available by arrangement throughout the year.
Fresco tour enquiries: write to bookings@fses.org
Retreats
Waterperry hosts residential retreats throughout the year, ranging from weekend programmes to week-long courses. Retreats include philosophy, meditation, arts, and music, and are open to students and the public alike. Accommodation is in the house itself.
View the retreat programme →Philosophy courses
The School runs its full programme of Practical Philosophy and associated courses at Waterperry. Regional students attend alongside those staying in residence. Waterperry is also used for advanced study groups and tutorial sessions for students at later stages of the philosophy programme.
View all courses →House history
From the Curson family of the fourteenth century to Beatrix Havergal's horticultural school of the 1930s, Waterperry has had many lives before the School arrived in 1971.
Seven centuries of continuous occupation on this reach of the Thame.
Read the house history →“Waterperry is unlike any other place in which the School works. The house, the garden, the grounds and the river form a unity that has its own quality of stillness.”
Getting here
Waterperry House is near the village of Waterperry, approximately nine miles east of Oxford. There is no railway station in the village; the nearest stations are Oxford (9 miles) and Haddenham and Thame Parkway (7 miles). Taxis are available from both stations.
By road, Waterperry is reached from the A40 Oxford ring road. Follow signs for Waterperry Gardens; the House is at the end of the same lane. Parking is available on site.
From London by road, allow approximately ninety minutes from central London via the M40.
Hiring the venue
For information about hiring the venue, see the Waterperry House commercial site.
A house held in trust. A garden in continuous cultivation since 1932.