Great Tangley Manor: A 1000-Year-Old Grade 1 Listed Manor House
This stunning 1,000-year-old moated manor house in Surrey is amongst England's oldest continually inhabited homes.
Great Tangley Manor is a truly historic structure stepped in British history.
Queen Mary, King George V and King George VI came here and etched their signatures on the windowpanes using a diamond ring.
The first mention of the manor is in the Domesday Book in 1086, where it was described as a royal hunting lodge, reputedly later King John’s.
Through the 13th & 14th centuries the lodge was inhabited as a Medieval Hall House according to William Morris.
In 1582, alterations were carried out that characterise the main part of the house today.
Some of the timbers from the Armada fleet were incorporated into the design and can be seen in the dining room panelling.
In 1880 Wycham Flower bought the property and commissioned Phillip Webb to further extend the property and design the moat and gardens.
Early in the 19th century, after all the works had been completed, the Royal family, including King George V and Queen Mary, visited the property and signed the window of the dining room with a diamond ring.
Signatures of King George VI can also be seen on the dressing room windows of the master suite.
King George V and Queen Mary’s son, Albert, would grace Great Tangley on two occasions, and sign the windows in the Master Suite dressing room.
He did this once in 1933 and again after taking the throne in 1936 as George VI, after his brother’s abdication.
George VI’s character would later be portrayed by Colin Firth in the 2010 Oscar-winning film ‘The King’s Speech’.
In 1976, the courtyard area was created and incorporated two additional bedrooms and a drawing room.
The house was finally split into two dwellings in 1959 and has remained so ever since.
Some other notable visitors to the Manor have included John Evelyn, William Morris who may have had some input on the garden design, Lord Grantley, Gertrude Jekyll, George Jack who designed the music room, and also Alice Keppel.
The gardens are a major feature of the property, structured by Wickham Flower at the end of the 19th century.
Characteristic of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the integration of house and garden is at the centre of the design, with the house spilling out into the garden in a series of out-door rooms.
The walled garden and formal lawn to the South West epitomise the romantic English country garden with gloriously full borders, rich in texture and colour.
The moat, which encircles the property is one of its most spectacular, defining features.
Beyond the formal gardens, the grounds extend into a wilder, natural setting which features an array of important specimen trees.
Of particular note is the King John Oak and a magnificent tulip tree.
The lake hosts an abundance of wild life and is surrounded by a variety of beautiful trees and planted with irises and bullrushes.
The Bog garden, which has been described as one of the most successful of its kind in the country, is planted with white bells, candelabra primulas, azaleas and bamboo and enclosed with stunning rhododendrons in shades of pink and red in the Spring.
There are unexpected surprises in the form of half-hidden seats or garden artefacts and today you will see peahens, a deer, and various other sculptures scattered around the garden.
There are many quiet little places where guests can sit and listen to the song of birds, the thrush and blackbird and relax by the sound of cascading water.
Adjacent is the wisteria walk, which has featured in several books, and which runs almost the entire length of the lake.
If you like to look of this incredible Manor House, you can stay there overnight.
They offer luxury accommodation, and it can be booked in advance via their official website - Great Tangley Manor.
Each of their five bedroom has its own distinctive style and is comfortably furnished with either a 6ft double bed or twin beds, of which two can be combined with zip-and-link mattresses, plenty of wardrobe space and a seating area for relaxing.
The King John bedroom, the master bedroom, is sumptuously and traditionally decorated with a 6ft antique French bed.
It has original Tudor windows looking out over a walled garden.
The Queen Mary bedroom, meanwhile, is light and airy and has dual aspect views over the lake and garden.
They also offer fine dining, the 16th Century dining room, seating up to 16, is decorated in rich glowing colours that are reflected in the dark oak panelling, reputed to come from ships of the Spanish Armada.
The courtyard has a table, chairs and gas barbeque - caterers can also provide an excellent range of outdoor options from hog roasts to more traditional barbeques.
The reviews on TripAdvisor are brilliant, a recent visitor said: “My daughter was first to arrive and sums up Great Tangley Manor in her text to me which was like this;- WOW omg this place is Amazing wow,wow,wow!
”Fabulous facilities, all the space we needed for a fabulous family get together.”
If you’d like to visit, the address is: Great Tangley, Wonersh GU5 0PT.
If you enjoyed thins blog post, please follow Exploring GB on Facebook for daily travel content and inspiration.
Don’t forget to check out our latest blog posts below!
Thank you for visiting Exploring GB.
