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Woodchester Park, a quiet wooded valley to the south of Stroud was bought by William Leigh, a devout convert to the Roman Catholic church, in 1845 for £100,000. He planned to build a mansion, initially commissioning Pugin, co-architect of the newly built Palace of Westminster, to design a new house in the fashionable Gothic style. However, having designed the house Pugin withdrew from the project, the work was continued by the 21 year old Benjamin Bucknall who used much of Pugin's design along with his own. The house was never completed and William Leigh died in 1873. The house is now in the care of the Woodchester Mansion Trust and the park is in the care of the National Trust.