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East View of Greenham Hall
Bed & Breakfast £30 per head
Original Stained Glass Window in Greenham Hall
Click here to see more photos of Greenham Hall
Click here to see pictures of Greenham Hall
pre-restoration
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A few comments from the
Greenham Hall Visitors Book |
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10.04.09
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Amazing house - felt very looked after. |
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08.04.09 |
A tribute to our past is found within these walls |
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31.03.09 |
After eleven years it's wonderful to visit and stay at Greenham Hall again - What a treasure. |
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07.01.09 |
Exquisite silence. Rich Somerset air. Majestic grounds.... Thank you. |
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16.02.08 |
A marvellous stay and wonderful
hospitality and 4 buzzards. |
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12.01.08 |
A relaxing stay. Boys really
loved the big beds and long bath. We will
return. |
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29.12.07 |
So impressed with the beauty &
harmony of the hall. |
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01.10.07 |
My favourite place place for our
entire vacation. I was looking forward to it,
and it didn't disappoint. Thank you. |
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06.04.07 |
We enjoyed our second visit as
much as the first. |
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23.10.06 |
I think this is my favourite
B&B ever |
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21.10.06 |
The kids liked the big beds,
we all slept very well. It's such a
beautiful environment like in a fairy tale. |
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22.02.05
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Glad I found you, and glad you found the house! |
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19.12.04 |
Lovely in winter, we’ll be back for spring. |
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01.08.04 |
A fantastic oasis of calm. |
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24.07.04 |
Great house and gardens. Thankfully no ghosts.
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A Brief History of
Greenham Hall
(sometimes known as Tremlett Hall)
The house was built on the site of a much older building
in 1848 by a solicitor Thomas Edward Clarke from Chard
who had inherited the property along with 1,000 acres of
land. In 1880 the Chapman family purchased the estate,
selling on to Admiral Kelly in 1920. Over the years much
of the land was sold off.
The Kellys died just before WWII and during the war some children came as evacuees.
Later the house and grounds became a collecting point
for troops.
Post war the Norman family bought the property.
Rationing, and shortages of building materials and
heating fuel coupled with a particularly bitter winter,
made managing a large house without the seven indoor and
seven outdoor servants their predecessors had employed
almost impossible, forcing them to retreat to the west
wing of the house. They renovated the servants quarters
using timber panelling, fireplaces, doors and other
decorative features taken from the main wing. Then to
reduce their rates bill they removed the floor boards of
the now empty main wing and had it listed as a farm
building.
The next owners divided the west wing into two parts.
The one's after that farmed the land but did not move into the house, and after two years,
in 1970, they
sold the whole building and immediate garden to Henry Ayre for £13,000.
His purchase comprised a four bedroom house, which was
supposedly inhabitable but needing much renovation, a
two bedroom cottage with a sitting tenant, a huge
derelict wing which lacked floor boards, part of the
stairs, doors, door frames, and had many cracked and
broken windows, no plumbing, heating or electricity.
There was also a huge coach house and stables. Henry
planned to use the derelict part and the coach house for
storage for his business.
It was a huge risk buying a property in such bad repair.
Two days after the sale, they discovered how much of a
risk. An electrical fault triggered a fire in the wing
they were due to move into. The front portion including
the roof of the west wing that faced the garden was
severely damaged. The rebuilding took four months,
before they were able to move in.
Henry began to make the main part of the building
water-tight, and put in flooring so he could store
furniture in it. His wife, Doris turned her attention to
the neglected garden. Brambles had overrun all the
shrubs and the only part that was not totally overgrown
was a small area by the wisteria covered summer house.
The main lawns were uneven from years of use as a bull
paddock. A few magnificent trees survived and are still
flourishing today.
Five years after Doris and Henry settled into the west
wing their son Peter and his wife Caro decided to move
to Greenham and work commenced on the main house. Basic
plumbing and wiring was installed, a kitchen, bathroom
and two bedrooms were decorated and the hall given a
quick clean up before they arrived. Over the next ten
years they gradually renovated the rest of the building.
Work continues on the house, with constant maintenance
and improvements.
Peter and Caro welcomed the first Bed and Breakfast
guests in 1985, and are happy to share their home and
give pleasure to others.
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