Precisely a century ago a baronetcy was awarded to James Horlick. As may be guessed, the honour arose from his invention, with his brother William, of the malted milk drink that bears their name — or, rather, in recognition of the social position and wealth that accrued from sales of the product, which was first offered as baby food, then as an energy drink and later as a tasty treatment for that worrying condition (had it not been utterly bogus) called ‘night starvation’.

Every train traveller from Oxford to Paddington will be familiar with the huge factory beside the tracks at Slough where Horlicks has been manufactured since 1906. Fewer will have seen another iconic building associated with Sir James — Cowley Manor, his former home, in lovely countryside near Cheltenham.

The magnate lavished vast sums on the property to create the Italianate mansion that exists today as one of A Curious Group of Hotels. Literature produced by the company — which is owned by a well-known Oxford couple, Peter and Jessica Frankopan — refers to it as “dignified and gracious”. I broadly agree with this judgment, but others are not so impressed. Architectural historian Joe Mordaunt Crook, for instance, thinks it . . . well, a complete Horlicks, to use a phrase (not his) whose meaning is understood even if its origin is not. The ostentatious house fashioned by architect R.A. ‘Bungalow’ Briggs was, he wrote (in The Rise of the Nouveaux Riches, John Murray, 1999) “worthy of the Scattercash family” — the reference being to the money-squandering Sir Harry Scattercash of R.S. Surtees’s novel Mr Sponge’s Sporting Tour.

But whatever one’s opinion of the building, there can be no doubting the majesty of the landscape in which it is set. Now is an ideal time to see the 55 acres of Grade II listed gardens, where lakes, cascades, gravel paths and stone staircases lend a formal dimension to the rolling greensward.

Oxford Mail:

Until the end of September the landscape is adorned with seven works shortlisted for the 3rd Annual Cowley Manor Arts Award. This focuses on students at the Royal College of Art who are invited, with partial funding for materials and tutoring, to create a commercial commission. These are then judged by a prestigious panel from the world of art. This year’s included, beside the Frankopans, the Camden Arts Centre’s director Jenni Lomax, Bonham’s Magazine editor Lucinda Bredin, the RCA’s head of sculpture Jordan Baseman and Raven Row Gallery director Alex Sainsbury.

I was a privileged guest— as it felt, sipping fizz in the sunshine — on the evening of judging, and met and examined the work of all of the short-listed candidates. They had certainly risen to what Peter Frankopan considered the primary challenge of the award, “the chance to express themselves”.

Oxford Mail:

Three of my favourites can be seen (to greater or lesser degree) on this page. Above is Rhizome’ Glass, by Jacob Wolff, previously a student at Oxford’s Ruskin School (and St John’s College). His painted greenhouse was made, he explained, “by masking off the glass, cutting into the design and spraying colours from the reverse side”.

The dramatic impact of Hand of Hulk can clearly be seen in the photograph below. The work speaks for itself, which is presumably why creator Laura O’Neill said no more about it in the prospectus than “A big hand” — repeated a dozen times.

Oxford Mail:

The winning entry — which is now bought for permanent display at Cowley Manor — was Lucia Quevedo’s Chicken Soup. This was based, she told me, on Mowgli’s smile in Disney’s Jungle Book, suggestive of a joy to come, “eating chicken soup perhaps”.

Speaking of such pleasures, Cowley Manor has a fine restaurant and bar, both open to non-residents. What are you waiting for?