Somewhere to stay: Huntsham Court, near Tiverton, Devon :: Weekend breaks UK

Exterior of Huntsham Court - Rent a Victorian manor in the countryside - Country&travel - allaboutyou.com

Photo: Jack Liley

What's the place like?

Arriving under the cloak of darkness, I half-expect the oak door of Huntsham Court to be dutifully unlocked by Mrs Fairfax, who would then hastily deliver us to our bedchamber by candlelight and warn us not to go poking around the attic. The ‘Jane Eyre’ comparisons cease, however, once we cross the threshold, sweep the hair out of our rain-flecked faces and properly inspect our surroundings.

Nestled into the Devon countryside, yet only a 15-minute drive from Tiverton Parkway station, Huntsham Court is a venue for weddings, corporate functions and every gathering in between. Guests are usually gaggles of friends (the mansion-for-hire can accommodate up to 80), hence the no-locks-on-bedroom-doors policy, the fact we can wander into the kitchen and plunder the fridge when peckish and that it’s acceptable (nay encouraged) to waltz into breakfast wearing pyjamas.

Architect William Burges was commissioned by the Acland Troyte family to design a mansion fit for a baroness’s wedding gift. It was completed in 1869 and occupied by her descendants until 1978, when the house and all its contents were sold. Its current owners bought the Grade II listed building in 2012, a neglected shell compared to its glory days in the Gothic Revival, and spent the next two years patching up the plumbing, scouring auction houses for mirrors, chandeliers and artwork, employing seamstresses to sew vintage fabrics into drapes for dozens of four-posters and filling each room with period furniture and antique bric-à-brac.

What are the bedrooms like?

Each of its 31 bedrooms is named after a family member or beloved dog of the owners. ‘Monica’ – our digs for the weekend (left) – has lemony walls, with hand-painted vines blossoming towards the ceiling, Victorian furniture (the wardrobe lets out a hearty creak when opened), an original Charles Rennie Mackintosh fireplace and a palatial bathroom complete with tasselled chandelier over freestanding tub.

Eating and drinking

We bottle it at breakfast and, instead of traipsing downstairs in silk dressing gowns like ladies of the manor, we wrap ourselves in woolly jumpers and scarves in preparation for jaunts through the countryside. Breakfast is a simple spread of fresh fruits and cereals followed by a fry-up around the communal dining table.

While the owners have a network of local caterers and event companies they’re happy to call upon, their services are entirely at guests’ discretion. This means Huntsham Court is fit for any purpose (and all pocket depths), switching from rural retreat to party house from week to week. Our morning kicks off on the manicured lawn with a falconry display – cue lines of feverish children; arms outstretched to receive majestic owls and eagles – and archery session.

A local caterer has provided the buffet-style lunch and the scrubbed kitchen table is laden with West Country charcuterie, glistening platters of salad, a tureen of silky sweet potato soup and the best smoked salmon quiche I’ve ever tasted. Plates are loaded and we spread over the house as we please, some returning to the sun-soaked dining room for civilised conversation while others curl up, soup bowls balanced on knees, in the den’s leather armchairs.

The afternoon is blissfully spent working through a stack of Saturday supplements. We lounge in the largest reception room, ostensibly engrossed in the 'Telegraph' travel pages, but really poised to pounce when afternoon tea’s served. It’s a dainty affair with cake stands piled with morsels of chocolate brownie, custard tart and coffee cream kisses, while tea’s sipped from china cups and saucers in an array of sugared-almond shades.

More than a few finger sandwiches later, I’m feeling strangely calm for a Saturday afternoon, usually spent hopping around London trying to frantically see friends. And it’s no wonder with every possible amenity on hand I think as I visit the makeshift spa for the weekend (a small bedroom downstairs) to have my nails filed and painted for tonight’s feast.

As the sun sinks, Huntsham’s fire is lit, bathing the entrance hall in a sepia glow as the festivities commence with canapés and champagne. The beauty of Huntsham is that its rooms can be rearranged so that all its glorious space is utilised. The library’s floor-to-ceiling bookshelves (not to mention dim lighting) make it an obvious choice for an intimate party and the door to the living room is bolted and a banqueting table erected. We tuck into pea soup flavoured with miso, a tender hunk of beef with sweetcorn salad and a lovely lime posset, rounding the evening off by crowding around gaming tables (which have sprung up in the living room since teatime) to play blackjack and drink nightcaps by the hearth’s embers.

What's nearby?

A map detailing rambling routes through the local area has been thoughtfully left in each bedroom, but we forgo the trek to the nearby town of Bampton for a nosy around the grounds. The muddy paths are well worth exploring, winding around tree trunks blanketed in snowdrops, a glassy pond with its own wooden bridge, an abandoned stone fort (if Huntsham is haunted, this would be the spectre’s lair) and pretty churchyard.

As we crunch down Huntsham’s gravel driveway the next morning, its stony exterior looks rather like Jane Eyre's Thornfield Hall in flurries of drizzle: proud, brooding and mysterious. Its price might initially seem exorbitant, but if each family staying pays for their own bedroom and the majority of meals are self-catered it’s far more economical for a large party than booking a five-star hotel. And even if you don’t unearth any passageways behind tapestries or concealed trapdoors during your stay, it’ll still be the most thrilling place you’ve ever played sardines.

Find out more

Huntsham Court is in Huntsham, near Tiverton, Devon EX16 7NA. For a weekend hire (two-night stay), prices start from £9,300-£11,300 for 19 bedrooms, £11,000-£13,000 for 27 bedrooms and £11,800-£13,800 for 31 bedrooms. Prices vary for weekday stays and midweek all-day hires. To book, visit www.huntshamcourt.co.uk or call 01398 361277.