Gravetye Manor

Story

Gravetye Manor is a manor house located near East Grinstead, West Sussex, England. The former home of landscape gardener William Robinson, it is now a hotel and restaurant holding, as of 2008, one star in the Michelin Guide and is a Grade I listed building.HistoryThe two storey Elizabethan house was built in 1598 by Richard Infield, an ironmaster, 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 Sir Ernest George to add an additional matching wing to the north-east 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. Used as a base for Canadian Army soldiers during World War II, who dug out parts of Robinson's garden to plant potatoes and leeks to supplement their rations, post-War it was left derelict for many years.Country house hotelIn 1958 the property and grounds were leased to business partners Robin Howard, and restauranteur 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 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.