For a wildly romantic wedding in the English countryside, Cornwell Manor is a private estate, allowing couples to host as if it were their home, with a rare three-night hire.
Why book?
For a classic English country wedding on one of the UK’s most beautiful private estates. There are no other guests or simultaneously booked-out areas of Cornwell Manor to contend with, no corporate minefields to navigate (the house is privately owned) and every inch of the grounds and interiors are a photographer’s dream. The exclusive-use aspect really sets Cornwell Manor apart as a wedding venue, with a degree of privacy and variety of charming locations that hotels would never be able to offer. Then there’s the highly coveted three-night weekend hire, guaranteeing beds for 24 of the couple’s family and inner circle in the main house. There’s no feeling of being rushed in and out at Cornwell either, no conveyor belt – it’s very much your wedding weekend, executed in your style and, gloriously, with the full run of the estate (including the heated pool).
Venue style
Weddings at Cornwell are capped at 18 per year between the end of May and early October, ensuring a level of exclusivity most discerning couples are looking for. What’s more, as a family home, every water-coloured corner of the garden and portrait studded rooms evokes the warmth and character of a private country manor, worlds away from the soulless spaces and sectioned-off areas of hotels. Whether it’s the rural Norman church, the Italianate fountain, the English gardens in full bloom, the romantic terrace overlooking the lakes or the Ballroom, there’s a refreshingly long list of striking locations to choose from for the ceremony, reception and surrounding dinners and parties.
Let’s not forget Cornwell Manor’s surrounding acreage of lush countryside, lakes and formal gardens where there’s ample space for surrounding activities (picnics, yoga, archery, laser clay, croquet), while keeping everything ‘on site’ thus ensuring a smooth few days of celebrations and avoiding transfer chaos for the couple’s inner circle. What’s more, its Chipping Norton address allows wedding guests to make a weekend of it, with chocolate box villages to saunter through, classic Cotswold pubs -with-rooms, and the chichi Daylesford estate nearby. The 90-minute direct train from London to Kingham will not only be a hit with Londoners, but a relief for any guests flying in from abroad.
It’s worth noting that all weddings at Cornwell Manor require the hire of a marquee and a wedding planner, as well as one of the venue’s approved caterers.
Set the scene
Just outside the postcard-pretty Cotswolds village of Chipping Norton, Cornwell Manor peers over 2000 acres of softly landscaped gardens and its very own hamlet, featuring a pretty church with Norman origins (an idyllic choice for a religious ceremony) that is mentioned in the Domesday book. The house occupies one of the prettiest patches of England: woodland, wetlands, lakes, and spring-fed streams, all surrounding a storybook, wisteria-covered manor house. Inside lies a series of grand, but welcoming rooms dressed in silks, botanical wallpaper and antiques. A wood panelled dining room nods to the house’s Jacobean history, while ornate fireplaces and enormous Georgian windows lend it its photogenic edge (as do the stairs as the bride presents herself with her bouquet). There’s no shortage of backdrops for photographs, from the courtyard with its iron gateway (great for intimate couple photos), to the symmetrical English Yew hedges leading couples down from the house. A real highlight for weekend weddings is Cornwell Manor’s topiary-framed heated pool, around which guests can unwind after the previous night’s festivities. And there’s no rush – check out stretches on until 5pm on Sunday.
Event spaces
For a traditional service format, the estate’s charming Norman Church of St Peter lies close to the house, and seats up to 80 people. Meanwhile, the churches in the nearby time-warp villages of Kingham, Churchill and Chipping Norton have greater capacity. Outdoor ceremonies at Cornwell Manor are particularly romantic with manicured gardens and trickling fountain, while inside, the Ballroom (licensed for ceremonies seating up to 100), decked in tapestries and verre eglomise mirrors, is permanently flooded with natural light. The adjoining walled garden can be covered with a marquee (seating up to 150 people). Toasts are best made on the romantic, balustraded terrace overlooking the symmetrical Portuguese laurel and, beyond that, the lakes.
While all weddings at Cornwell Manor require a marquee, couples are spoilt for choice on striking locations – the sloping parkland overlooking the lakes , the croquet lawn, or, perhaps, beside the kitchen garden teeming with apple and pear trees – which allows them to map out their weekend, from the ceremony or blessing, as well as the down-time lunches and parties that surround the big day. It’s a level of variety that can only come with exclusively hiring out a private home.
Food and drink
Cornwell Manor works closely with a handful of trusted suppliers and caterers, who are all tried-and-tested (meeting the Estate’s exacting standards). This removes all risk of the food or service not being up to scratch, while still giving wedding planners plenty to seek couples’ decisions on. These include Cotswold caterers Ross and Ross Events whose seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients are cooked up and artfully presented for either three-course plated wedding breakfasts or more relaxed sharing platters (bringing couples’ foodie visions to life) and Quince and Clover – also banging the local and seasonal drum, serving up fabulous menus ranging from intricate delicate plates to rustic-yet-refined feasts (and providing all the tableware, linen and glassware). The Cotswolds excels at farm-to-fork or kitchen garden-focused menus, so brides and grooms can make the most of its countryside treasure for their big day. Couples wishing to enjoy a tasting in London are wise to go with Lettice Events, an incredibly innovative and experienced caterer or the brilliant all-girl team at Salsa Rose, creating deliciously fresh meals or open cooking on their Asado grill – perfect for the Sunday pool party option.
Accommodation
It’s rare to find a country pile that allows a handful of relatives to sleep in the main house, let alone its full 12 double rooms (sleeping up to 24). It’s yet another perk of the three-day hire that makes Cornwell Manor so singular in its wedding offering. Rooms are classically dressed, with thick curtains framing the bucolic views, and heritage-style bathrooms (9 – a few attic rooms sharing) are duly stocked with 100 Acre English botanical products. Breakfast is served each morning, exclusively for guests staying in the main house and a daily morning housekeeping service is also included. And while extra glamping tents for up to 26 guests (totalling 50 guests staying on site) can be organised by the couple (at a ground rent fee of £5000) though there are plenty of local pubs-with-rooms, hotels and Airbnbs for wedding guests to bolt to after the festivities have ended.
The story
Wrapped in 2000 acres of romantic English countryside on the Gloucestershire-Oxfordshire border, Cornwell Manor is a bucolic idyll . Its surrounding fields, woodlands and streams are home to badgers, otters and Roe deer while at its centre lies a small hamlet chiselled from the same buttermilk stone. Here the Manor house lords over its Italianate gardens, designed by Clough Williams-Ellis, who was also responsible for easing the house out of its Jacobean past and into a less austere Georgian coat (see the symmetrical Georgian windows). These changes were made under the auspices of American heiress Mrs Anthony Gillson who bought the estate on the eve of World War II. In 1959, the estate was taken on by the Ward family and remains the beloved home of Alexander Ward and his family to this day.
Budget: Hire fee for 2026: £35,000 + VAT, couples should budget from £120,000 for a 3-day weekend based on 100 guests.
Capacity: Marquees (not included in the price) for up to 200 people. Church service up to 80 seated, up to 100 for ceremonies in the Ballroom and up to 200 in the gardens. There is an additional charge of £3,250 + VAT for events with over 200 guests (capped at 300 guests).
Extras: To protect the Estate’s wildlife and its patient neighbours, Cornwell Manor does not allow fireworks. Music can play in the Ballroom or Marquee until 1am, with set volume levels. Bringing in a wedding planner is a necessary requirement here.
Location: Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
Website: cornwellmanor.com Instagram: cornwell_manor
Contact: By email charlotte@cornwellmanor.com or by telephone 01608 698673
