New Treasure Houses Of England Website

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BEAULIEU
BLENHEIM PALACE
BURGHLEY HOUSE
CASTLE HOWARD
CHATSWORTH
HAREWOOD HOUSE
HATFIELD HOUSE
HOLKHAM HALL
LEEDS CASTLE
WOBURN ABBEY

Explore and discover England's great palaces, castles and houses...

Blenheim Palace has the COOL factor

Blenheim Palace has won a coveted COOL Venue Award in the COOLest Country / Historic Venue category.

The Blenheim Palace team collected their award on Thursday 27th February 2014, at an evening of extravaganza at the legendary Ministry of Sound in London.

The awards were presented by Wesley Mendy, owner of Prestige Events and attended by approximately 900 guests including owners and managers of the winning entries, representatives of the business industry and the media.

The COOL Venue Awards recognise venues with charisma, originality, style, innovation, sex appeal, authenticity, aspiration, and uniqueness. As these are such subjective qualities, the panel of judges includes a diverse collective of writers, industry figureheads, and event organisers, each bringing their expert experience and perspective on what makes a venue ‘cool’. This year judges included Prestige Events magazine, HSBC, Channel 4, RBS, Pret-a-Manger, BT,  DRP Group, Imagination, ShoutAboutLondon, and Chew Events.

Blenheim Palace, with its unique baroque beauty, is widely known for being a World Heritage Site and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, welcoming visitors year round to experience the magnificent Palace, Park and Formal Gardens. It is certainly no stranger to awards, most recently winning title of ‘Best Shopping’ experience at the prestigious 2014 Hudson’s Heritage Awards. 

However, beating off stiff competition in its category from iconic venues such as Leeds Castle, the Cutty Sark and Goodwood, this latest accolade represents a different and welcome type of validation for the sales team at Blenheim Palace who execute creative and unique events, conferences and weddings.

Paul Liczbinksi, Head of Sales at Blenheim Palace says: “It’s always wonderful to win awards, but we are particularly proud that we have won a COOL Venue Award. We have been working incredibly hard to demonstrate the potential of Blenheim Palace for events, conferences and weddings. We are thrilled that we are being recognised for our style, charisma, uniqueness and aspiration, to name just a few of the criteria for this award.’’

John Hoy, Chief Executive at Blenheim Palace added ‘’It’s great to be recognised as a diverse venue that can cater for all styles in the conference and banqueting sector and we are both proud and delighted to win this award.’

www.blenheimpalace.com

Historic Building Returns To Buckler's Hard

Shipwright's tools

Shipwrightry Workshop - May 2013

Buckler’s Hard, on the banks of the Beaulieu River, could soon become a centre for the teaching and study of traditional shipbuilding with students able to work with large timbers under the supervision of a shipwright. This will soon be a reality thanks to a £3.75m Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant to Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust (PNBPT) for its Boatbuilding & Heritage Skills Training Centre project, which includes a Shipwright’s School to be established at Buckler’s Hard.

Mary Montagu-Scott, Director at Buckler’s Hard & Trustee of the IBTC Portsmouth, said: “We are very excited to be working with PNBPT on this project and that our long held wish to revive traditional shipbuilding training at Buckler’s Hard, on the very site where Admiral Lord Nelson’s favourite ship Agamemnon was built, is now close to fruition.”

Plans have been drawn up to build a replica 18th century shipwrights’ workshop in an area at the bottom of the village street, near to the eastern slipways and by an existing display of timber workings.

The timber framed building will be used as a base for the school, which will be run in partnership with the IBTC Portsmouth, based in Boathouse 4 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The training provided will help to ensure the continuation of much needed skills at both a local and national level for the restoration of historic ships and support the traditional boatbuilding industry.  It is hoped that the first student intake will be in April 2015.

The close proximity of woodland with standing timber will present an important opportunity to teach arboriculture techniques and theory, and allow students to learn about the felling, conversion and storage of timber. The first stage of this exciting project will be to construct the workshop using local timber; this build will be a learning exercise in its own right, with students using traditional tools and methods.

Visitors to Buckler’s Hard will also be encouraged to visit the workshop.  By seeing a practical demonstration of shipbuilding methods, it is hoped that everyone will gain a better understanding of the industry which gave the village a place in British naval history.

The Top Ten Places To Enjoy Afternoon Tea - Treasure Houses of England

Afternoon Tea, Duchess' Tea Room
Woburn Abbey

A fittingly fine way to enjoy the quintessentially English custom of afternoon tea, visit the Treasure Houses of England’s consortium of historic homes, palaces and castles to indulge in this traditional pastime in spectacular surrounds and inimitable stately style.

Woburn Abbey – The English tradition of Afternoon Tea is said to have been started around 1840 by Duchess Anna Maria, wife of the 7th Duke of Bedford, who entertained her friends in the Blue Drawing Room at Woburn Abbey. Visitors today can experience Afternoon Tea at Woburn at the Duchess’ Tea Room or at the Estate’s hotel The Inn at Woburn (pre-booking required).
 

Afternoon Tea at Burghley

Burghley House – Have tea in ‘Capability’ Brown’s Orangery restaurant overlooking the topiary in the South Gardens. Homemade scones, jam and clotted cream can be enjoyed in the peaceful and romantic Rose Garden.

Beaulieu – Enjoy a scrumptious afternoon tea with a wide selection of cakes and pastries all baked in-house in the Brabazon Coffee Shop and Restaurant.  Some produce comes from Lord Montagu’s own Victorian Kitchen garden; beetroot is transformed into a delicious moist cake and plums made into jam, to eat on scones with lashings of Dorset clotted cream.

Hatfield House – Take tea to new and dizzy heights with Hatfield’s Helicopter Discovery Tour where you can escape on an eight mile helicopter pleasure flight over the estate to snatch spectacular aerial views of the stunning architecture of the house, rounded off by a delicious home made cream tea at the house.

Castle Howard Afternoon Tea

Castle Howard – Enjoy an afternoon treat at Castle Howard in either the bistro style Courtyard Cafe or the more traditional
Fitzroy Room.  On offer are seasonal menus prepared by their incredible chefs that include a generous selection of freshly made sandwiches, salads and heavenly homemade cakes.

Chatsworth – Enjoy a British tradition at Chatsworth with an afternoon tea in the Cavendish Rooms restaurant in the 18th century Stables, designed by the famous architect James Paine.  Afternoon teas, comprising homemade dainty sandwiches, freshly baked cakes and a wide choice of teas are available throughout the day, and are pre-bookable online.

Leeds Castle Afternoon Tea

Leeds Castle – Enjoy an afternoon treat with a cream tea in the 17th Century oak-beamed Fairfax Hall or outside in the sunshine on the Terrace overlooking the castle.  There is an excellent choice of freshly prepared hot and cold dishes on offer, along with cakes and other sweet treats, all of which can be enjoyed in a rustic farmhouse kitchen style setting featuring oak and wrought iron finishes.

Harewood House – Taste the delights of afternoon tea in one of Harewood’s renowned cafés. The Grade 1 listed Courtyard
Café, edged by colonnades, offers superb al fresco and covered facilities perfect for families, while The Terrace Café - voted one of the best places to have afternoon tea by Gardener’s World Magazine readers in 2010 - offers stunning views over the lake and Capability Brown landscape.  Using locally sourced ingredients, much from Harewood’s own Walled Garden, both cafes provide a spectacular setting to relax and unwind.

Holkham Hall – The Holkham Estate has three cafés all offering afternoon tea.  As part of a visit to Holkham Hall, you will discover the Stables Café. The Rose Garden Café is in the Ancient House, the oldest domestic building in Holkham Village. Finally there’s the Beach Café just a stone’s throw from the beach at Wells-next-the-Sea.  Whichever you opt for you can be sure to find plenty of mouth-watering homemade treats to indulge in.

Blenheim Palace - Blenheim Palace is the perfect place to enjoy a traditional afternoon tea in the elegant surroundings only a palace could provide.  Tea is served in the palace’s Indian Room, or Champagne Bar, overlooking the beautiful fountains on the Water Terraces for a truly inspired setting.  Choose from a delectable selection of menus including a
traditional Blenheim Tea, a Churchill Champagne Tea or a luxury Winston Churchill Premier Tea, inspired by the great leader it includes his favourite tipple Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV.

The Treasure Houses of England are 10 of the most magnificent palaces, houses and castles in England today.

Members are Beaulieu, Blenheim Palace, Burghley, Castle Howard, Chatsworth, Harewood, Hatfield House, Holkham Hall, Leeds Castle and Woburn Abbey.

For more information please visit www.treasurehouses.co.uk