Snowshill Manor in Gloucestershire was owned by Winchcombe Abbey from the 9th century
until 1539 when it passed into the hands of the Crown following the Dissolution. The main part
of the manor house dates to around 1500, but the house was substantially rebuilt around 1600
and altered again in the early 18th century. In 1919 Snowshill was bought by CHARLES PAGET
WADE, whose family owned sugar plantations in St Kitts in the West Indies. Wade never lived
in the manor house at Snowshill but instead used it to store and display his vast collection of
 craftsmanship from across the world, including clocks, bicycles, weapons and armour, toys,
model ships, musical instruments, spinning wheels and paintings. Wade himself lived in
relatively austere conditions in a small cottage near the manor house. Wade died in 1956,
having presented the house and its contents to the National Trust five years earlier.