We have a fantastic team of more than 70 volunteers. They will make you feel very welcome and soon you will be part of our team. We have a range of roles to suit everyone. All of our volunteer roles are accessible and can be adapted to suit your requirements. Typically our team volunteer one day each week; however, we can accommodate those who would like to volunteer more often or require more flexibility. Get in touch to find out more: Email us Telephone 01280 818002
If you are interested in joining the team and decide to contact us we will arrange for you to have a short interview with a member of the staff team. This allows us to get to know you, explain the roles available in more detail and discuss which role you would like to do. During this first meeting we will welcome you to Stowe, we will often introduce you to other volunteers and we will give you some paperwork to complete. This paperwork includes an application form, a Disclosure and Barring Service form and forms relating to Child Protection. These items are very important due to Stowe's role as both a country house and as Stowe School. If you decide that you would like to volunteer with us we will ask you to return the paperwork and, once complete, we will invite you to Stowe for an induction. Our induction has two parts and gives you all of the initial information you need to get started as a volunteer. We will then assign you a volunteer buddy who will show you around and who you can shadow. Once your induction is complete you are officially part of the team! Sometimes your first role does not suit you or you find you want to get even more involved than you originally thought! We are very happy for you to trial a number of roles until you find the right one for you. We are looking forward to meeting you! Get in touch to find out more: Email us Telephone 01280 818002
Get involved in our creative activities and help bring Stowe to life for our visitors. We work with little ones, older children and our local communities. Download
We're improving our refreshments offer in the visitor centre by serving freshly cut cakes alongside our barista-style coffees and hot drinks. To do this we're looking for team members that can welcome customers with a smile and engage in serving a variety of refreshments. Ideally available at weekends when we're at our busiest, your volunteering will make a big difference.
Join us as a Visitor Experience Assistant and help us to give our visitors a fantastic welcome to Stowe House. Download
Train as a Stowe House tour guide and help us tell Stowe's intriguing stories... Download
Support our team behind the scenes by helping to promote our visitor attraction to the wider world via a variety of different marketing channels. Ideally offering 5 hours a week to begin, you'll be confident on a computer and a regular user of social media. The role will also help us tell the stories of Stowe through our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube pages. Download
Help us tell visitors about the intriguing history of Stowe in our State Rooms during the school holidays. In term time the team assist our Tour Guides by accompanying them on their tours. Download
Volunteering with us is not just about giving back and learning more about Stowe's history, it is also about meeting new people and making new friends. Our monthly volunteer Coffee Mornings are held on the second Friday of the month at 9.15am at the House. These informal social gatherings give you a chance to meet with the rest of the team, have a coffee and a chat, and hear about what is going on at Stowe. Each month we have a speaker who will give a talk about a different subject, sometimes this is an outside speaker, a volunteer or a member of the staff team. Twice a year we organise a Volunteer Trip to a historic property. This gives us an opportunity to learn something new about local country houses and have a nice day out together. Towards the end of the summer season we have an End of Season Party for our volunteer team. This usually takes the form of an evening picnic or BBQ and allows the staff to thank the team for their hard work. In the middle of December we hold a volunteer Christmas Dinner. This is a lovely social event giving everyone ample opportunity to catch up before the Christmas break. We also invite along our colleagues from the National Trust, so this gives the team a chance to meet new people and find out how the year has gone for both teams. This is another chance for the staff team to thank the House volunteers and celebrate the achievements of the last year.
‘It is enjoyable to come and volunteer at Stowe in such beautiful surroundings, Stowe House has an extremely friendly bunch of volunteers and I find volunteering behind the scenes as an administration volunteer suits me perfectly!’ Brian Clapton (Volunteer Welcome Team and Administration Assistant)
‘It’s great to be able to talk to our visitors and share what I am learning about the house. There are so many ‘wow’ factors, the house itself, and the huge restoration project that’s going on now. It is amazing to see the future of the house evolving as we speak.’ John Chapman (Volunteer Tour Guide)
Hi my name is Brian, I have been volunteering as an Admin Assistant at Stowe for four years. After my retirement I was looking for something I could give some of my time to and I found Stowe at my local volunteer bureau. Initially I joined the team to help out with marketing the house, this expanded very quickly into recruitment of volunteers and sourcing retail items for our visitors centre. More recently I have taken on Group Visit bookings and volunteer rotas. I look forward to my days at Stowe the staff and volunteers are very welcoming and we all get along extremely well. My background is in sales and I have been able to use my experience in various jobs I have taken on at Stowe.
'We have a wonderful team of volunteers who help us open the House to the public. Located in the heart of the landscape garden at National Trust Stowe, Stowe House is a little-known treasure. However, we want to make sure the local community know we are here and ensure they know the House is regularly open to the public. After receiving substantial Heritage Lottery Funding we have a new Welcome and Discovery Centre which we opened for the first time in August 2015. We are expanding our volunteer team to ensure we make the most of the facility. We also have lots of restoration work which ensures we have lots of new stories to tell visitors about.' Susy Pullen