Gravetye Manor

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Gravetye Manor is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

located near

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

,

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. The former home of landscape gardener William Robinson, it is now a hotel and restaurant holding, in 2020, one star in the

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

, and is listed Grade I on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

, its gardens are also Grade II* listed on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...

{{R from move ...

.

History

The two-storey

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

house was built in 1598 by Richard Infield, an

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...

, for his new bride Katherine Compton. It was the home of William Robinson, author of '' The English Flower Garden'', from 1884 until his death in 1935. He commissioned

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Sir Ernest George to add a matching wing to the northeast and developed the garden into one of the most famous in England. After his death it and the surrounding natural landscaped grounds were left to the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

. Used as a base for

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

soldiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, who dug out parts of Robinson's garden to plant

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

and

leeks A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of '' Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "stem" or "stalk". The genus '' ...

to supplement their rations, postwar it was left derelict for many years.

Country house hotel

In 1958, the property and grounds were leased to business partners

Robin Howard Robin Jared Stanley Howard CBE (17 May 1924 – 12 June 1989) was a British philanthropist, dance patron and founder of The Place who promoted modern dance in England. Biography Early life Born in London, England, Howard was the grandson of P ...

, and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

Peter Herbert and his first wife Pip. Herbert was later considered a pioneer of the

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

hotel, turning the property into a 17 bedroom hotel which, through use of a noted kitchen garden, gained its Michelin star. During his 40 years of ownership, Herbert also restored Robinson's core of natural gardens (which cost £50,000 per annum to maintain), with the hotel and kitchen becoming rated one of the UK's top five hotels. In 2004, Peter Herbert and his second wife Sue retired to a cottage on the house lands, and sold the business to Andrew Russell and chef Mark Raffan, under whose management, following the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, the business fell into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

early in 2010. After the administrators agreed a deal with

Von Essen Hotels Andrew Davis (born 12 February 1964) is a British businessman who founded the von Essen Group, which included Von Essen Hotels, PremiAir and the London Heliport. Early life and career Davis went to St Bede's Comprehensive School. Reigate Gram ...

, in March 2010 the property lease was bought by long-term guest and professional investor

Jeremy Hosking Jeremy John Hosking (born 20 July 1958) is a British businessman and political donor. Ranked number 351 in the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List, with a net worth of £375 million, he is a shareholder in Crystal Palace and a noted railway enthus ...

, who has since invested £2.5M in the property and gardens. He has since invested in a new building infilling the courtyard to provide a new restaurant designed by architect Sir Charles Knowles, another long-term guest. The gardens still exist and are accessible to hotel guests.

References

External links

*{{Official, https://www.gravetyemanor.co.uk/
William Robinson. ''Gravetye Manor : or, twenty years' work round an old manor house''. 1911. Digital copy of Robinson's book on the Royal Horticultural Society's Digital Collections website
Country house hotels Country houses in East Sussex East Grinstead Elizabethan architecture Forests and woodlands of East Sussex Gardens in East Sussex Grade I listed buildings in West Sussex Grade I listed houses Grade II* listed parks and gardens in East Sussex Hotels in East Sussex Michelin-starred restaurants in the United Kingdom Restaurants in Sussex