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 held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

located near East Grinstead,

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, 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 stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

, and is a Grade I listed building, with Grade 2* listed gardens.

History

The two-storey Elizabethan 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 large ...

, 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 respon ...

. Used as a base for

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the 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 res ...

soldiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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

leeks The 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 ''Alliu ...

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, and restaurateur Peter Herbert and his first wife Pip. Herbert was later considered a pioneer of the country house 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

2008 financial crash 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, the business fell into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

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 Gramm ...

, 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 2019, with a net worth of £375 million, he is a shareholder in Crystal Palace F.C. and a noted railway e ...

, 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 website, https://www.gravetyemanor.co.uk/ Elizabethan architecture Country houses in East Sussex Grade I listed buildings in West Sussex Gardens in East Sussex Forests and woodlands of East Sussex Hotels in East Sussex Restaurants in Sussex Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United Kingdom Country house hotels