Audleys Wood Hotel

Location: near Basingstoke, Hampshire

Nestling in the beautiful Hampshire countryside, yet ideally located near the M3 & M4, Audleys Wood Hotel is surrounded by lush woodland and seven acres of grounds.

Audleys Wood has always been a much loved home. Created in the Gothic Renaissance style, Audleys Wood was built in the mid-1880s and today still retains many of the original features such as grand fireplaces, stained glass windows and wood panelled lounges. Its centrepiece is the Conservatory Restaurant with its high vaulted ceiling.

For more information about the hotel please visit their web site

Audleys Wood Hotel Photo

Saturday 5th October 2024

Event type: Murder Mystery Evening
Plot: (New Autumn Evening)
Dinner only: £79.50 per person
Dinner & 1 Night Stay: From £194.50 per person

These prices are based on two people sharing a standard double or twin bedroom

History

Audleys Wood was first mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086, known then as 'Oddele', the name gradually evolved and by 1578 became known as 'Odlease'.

Described as a gothic renaissance mansion, the first known reference to the main building is found in the local newspaper dated August 28th 1880, it mentioned 'Thomas Pain of Audleys'. Thomas was a former mayor of Salisbury as well as being a director of the Bloodstock auctioneers, Messrs Tattersalls.

He died in 1885 and the executors of his will sold the Estate the following year to Mr. William Bradshaw, a former resident of Bishopstoke, Hampshire. His first wife, Elizabeth Chandless, died as a result of a horse riding accident. He re-married in 1892. His new bride was Maud Hamilton Barclay.

In 1900 Henry Adolphus Simonds, owner of the H&G Simonds brewery of Reading, purchased the estate. Childless, but determined to secure the future of his company, he invited his nephew, Louis De Luze Simonds, to take up a position within the company. The son of Frederick Simonds and Sophie De Luze, decended from the noble De Luze family, Louis ensured the survival of the Simonds brewery using his family ties to the wine merchants of Bordeaux.

During the Second World War the Simonds family relocated to Mortimer. They leased Audleys Wood to Viscount Camrose, the editor and proprietor of The Daily Telegraph, whose Hackwood estate - across the road from Audleys Wood - became a Canadian military hospital.

In commemoration of the many great statesmen and journalists who met with Viscount Camrose at Audleys Wood, there is always a current copy of The Daily Telegraph in the lounge.

In the autumn of 1945 both families returned to their respective homes, but after 6 years, Eric Simonds sold the Audleys Wood Estate. Viscount Camrose purchased Pensdell farm and the surrounding woodlands . The house and gardens were sold to the county council, who ran Audleys Wood as a home for the elderly and a workshop for the disabled.

And so it continued for 35 years until its splendid, most sensitive conversion to the Audleys Wood Hotel in 1989.

Click on a photo below to see the full size image

This is the second time I have been to a murder mystery dinner through the Killing Game. We stayed at Audleys Wood Hotel and attended the Murder dinner. It is so much fun, enjoyed every minute of it. The actors are amazing. One day I will guess correctly! Will certainly go again.
I had to send you an email. We had a fantastic time last night at Audleys Wood Hotel. This was our first murder mystery, and it was way more than I thought it would be like. We were on a great table with other pairs, all have never been on a murder mystery before. We all had a great time. The characters were fantastic and came round the tables plenty of time. I loved that fact we got an explanation sheet at the end. Of course, it was all so simple! How did we get it so wrong!! We will be booking again!!!
We had an amazing evening. Thank you so much for making it so enjoyable for our first murder mystery evening. Looking forward to doing it again.
Such a fab time last night! Thank you for a great evening. Can't wait to do another one.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for accommodating us at the murder mystery at Audleys Wood Hotel on Saturday. We had a fabulous evening and thoroughly enjoyed the plot and dinner. The actors were superb, especially the murder victim 'Rowena'. We won the booby prize for our farfetched answer but this turned out to be perfect as the Bride to Be went home with a game of Cluedo as a fabulous keepsake. Would highly recommend to anyone, thanks again!
Super evening, met lovely table mates, and we guessed how why and how, highly recommend this company, very professional.
Thank you so much for such a fun evening with tasty food and great acting. My daughter and I had such a good time and as it was her birthday treat it was made even more special by kindly winning an award from yourselves and then a bottle of wine for guessing the killer - we could not have had a better time. Thanking you again and we hope to see you again.
Just had a fantastic night at Audleys Wood Hotel - the actors are simply brilliant. Would definitely do it again - great way to spend an evening :-)
Just a quick e-mail to say thanks for a brilliant New Year's Eve night in Basingstoke. We've always wanted to go to a murder mystery night and it more than matched our expectations. The plot, actors and audience interaction were all excellent, the food was great and it was nice meeting some of the actors after the killer was revealed. Great way to see in the New Year and would definitely come to another event.