Murder Mystery Weekend - Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st March 2010

Manor of Groves is set in 150 acres of beautiful rolling Hertfordshire countryside, yet is only 10 miles from Stansted Airport. The main house is linked to the modern part of the building by an eye-catching glass atrium, which accommodates a Parisian influenced Brasserie, lounge and bar area.

The Hotel incorporates a State of the Art 3000sq ft Health, Beauty and Fitness Centre, with a 20-metre pool, spa, Technogym, studio, Thalgo treatment suite and free parking.

There is also an 18 hole par 71 championship Golf Course with US sandbedded greens which winds its way around the Hotel and provides a true test of golfing ability.

In the year 1066, following the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror declared himself King of England. Upon his reign, he divided the country into large tracts of land, each of which was given a tenant in chief in return for his military support. These tenants were then each given a Manor, and it was during this time, that the manor of Sawbridgeworth was divided into lesser manors, namely the manors of Pishiobury, Tednambury, Shignley Hall, Hide Hall and the Groves.

The Manor of Sawbridgeworth was granted to Jeffrey de Magneville, who then married and had a son Jeffrey who became the Steward of Normandy. When Jeffrey died in 1144 with no heirs, his divorced wife was given the Earldom of Essex as a wedding present. Her husband, then in turn, died and the Earldom was passed down to his brother, William.

William spent much of his time with Phillip of Flanders, but returned to England when hearing of his brother's death. He then died some 23 years later, and his will was left to his oldest nephew, Jeffrey, who inherited the Manor of Sawbridgeworth at the age of 19, had a son, who then inherited the title of Lord Say of Sawbridgeworth and the Manor too.

About the same time, the Manor of Groves and Pishiobury and the Abbey of Edmunsbury were granted to a Warine Fitzgerald.

The Manor of Groves had been dwelled in by monks up until this time, but when King Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of all monasteries, the land and the Manor were granted to William Gooding, alias the Godwin of Writtle in the county of Essex. It was during his time here that the old house is believed to have been extended to incorporate what is now the present house, in around 1544.

William then sold the house on to a Thomas Gooday, and when he died in 1626, the house was passed down through the generations to his grandson, John, who granted the Manor to Edmund Godwin of Eastwick, High Sheriff of Essex in 1696.

During the early stages of Queen Anne's reign, the Manor came into the possession of Mary Ann Godfrey, whose heirs took it over in around 1743. She then sold the property to a Thomas Williams, who, at the beginning of the last century, managed to obtain two stone pillars from the old London Bridge, which now form the outside of the Colonnade Restaurant.

In 1838, the Manor of Groves covered 162 acres, 3 roads and 35 perches of land, where 1 road was equal to a quarter acre and 1 perch was equal to 5 and a half square yards.

On 20th December 1844, Jones De'Arth Esq received the Manor from Thomas Williams trustees, but due to the fact that rents were so negotiable, was given the Manor as there was little point to collection. More recently, Mr Frederick Silba owned the Manor in around 1906 and he added the billiards room and squash courts. The swimming pool and tennis courts came next under the ownership of a Henry J Buxton, who built them in around 1968.

Today, the Manor of Groves has been sympathetically converted into a Country manor Hotel with Golf and Country Club and is still in approximately 150 acres of parkland and groves, which is now an 18 hole PGA Championship golf course.

Health, Beauty & Fitness Centre
Indoor swimming pool
Spa
Technogym
Brasserie
18 hole golf course
Free car park

The facilities available in each bedroom include:

Satellite television
On demand movies
Direct dial telephone
Broadband Internet access
Hairdryer
Marble bathroom
Complimentary refreshments.

Click on a photo to enlarge it.

Hotel Exterior      Conservatory    Swimming Pool