On Tuesday 22^nd May, i’m delighted to confirm we will kick off our corporate entertaining offer with an AGM for the regional Country Land and Business Association (CLA) as out first guests.

The press are in a frenzy to get their places reserved for the day and here’s why:

The CLA East’s AGM will take place in our striking 17^th century barn, which has been sympathetically restored to provide excellent for-hire facilities.

“It’s fitting that we are launching our new events venue by hosting an important group such as the CLA, whose issues – like encouraging employment in rural areas – we fully support”

said Bruisyard Hall and Barn’s General Manager, Paul Daws. “We are proud that Bruisyard Hall and Barn brings employment, tourism and other business to the local area as an excellent for-hire venue for private hire, corporate events and holidays.”

Following the AGM, CLA East members will enjoy a private tour by Bruisyard Estate’s owner and CLA member Robert Rous and his soon-to-be son in law, Paul Daws, who manages the Hall and Barn. Mr Rous will conduct a tour of the Barn – including its state of the art woodchip boiler which heats the Barn using wood from the estate or sourced locally – and the adjacent ancient Hall.

CLA East regional director Nicola Currie added: “Businesses based in the countryside make a significant contribution to the rural economy in East Anglia. They also play a role in supporting their local community.

“Bruisyard Barn shows the flexible options for the redevelopment of period buildings, to both generate business for rural Suffolk and to maintain its delicate architectural heritage.

“The CLA has been calling for more of a balance to the local rural economy by bringing in better paid jobs – and this is exactly what has been done by Robert Rous. He will relieve people from the stress of commuting, allowing some to walk or cycle to work – something which the CLA backs wholeheartedly.”

I’m sure it will be a great day and I’m very excited to be the Owl-on-the wall on the day, where I will be reporting live to my journal from the event, so keep an eye out next week!

In a packed one-day programme that promises fast and furious action, Australia and England will come head-to-head, as will teams from Norfolk and Suffolk creating an exciting bi-county match.

Ratified by Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), the governing body for polo, “International Polo in Suffolk” is a big family day out. Hailed as the “sport of kings”, and played by our own Royal family, the organisers promise there is nothing elitist about this event, but a chance to watch something different, an accredited Olympic sport that is rarely seen in the county.

David Woodd, chief executive of HPA said:” Suffolk came to us with the idea and we said yes. This game against Australia will give us the chance to field some of our young up and coming England players and give them test match experience at a high level.  The popularity of polo has grown a lot in the last 10 years and more and more clubs are emerging which we want to encourage.”

Played as an Olympic sport between 1900-1939, polo is a tactical team sport played with four players per team on a pitch who are mounted on horses that can be of any size, but referred to as ponies.

“There is very little opportunity to see polo in the region at this level and so close up. It is a remarkable game of strength, accuracy and speed and amazing to watch.” said Peter Over, honorary chair of the business development committee. “Fill the car with friends and family, bring a picnic and drinks and watch this amazing sport,” said Peter, or “If you want to push the boat out hire a table at the Bruisyard Hall VIP hospitality tent and have a lavish day of corporate hospitality.”

Paul Daws, Manager of Bruisyard Hall said, “When we were approached to be the headline sponsor for the county’s first International Polo event, we felt it was a perfect match. Both Bruisyard Hall and polo are synonymous with luxury and time spent relaxing with friends. Our VIP Hospitality Tent offers guests a taste of the experience of refinement awaiting them at the Hall.”

As well as the polo matches, family entertainment and the half time tradition of spectators heading onto the playing field and ‘treading the divots’, there will also be a wide variety of trade stands stocking plenty of different foods as well as fashions, equine accessories and lots more.

Find out all the information of who is playing and when, how to buy tickets, or book your hospitality tables go to the official website www.internationalpolo.co.uk

Denzil has found and restored many fabulous pieces, one of the oldest being a wonderful Livery Cupboard which sits in the games room and dates back to the 1720‘s, I’m not sure what it does, but I heard Denzil saying it’s a fantastic and rather puzzling piece of furniture to the untrained eye! Another exciting piece has been the rather stunning painting of the little girl which always hung in the drawing room, but looked rather sad and faded previously. Denzil and his team spent many hours rebuilding the frame of this 1900‘s painting, and the final work proves it has been well worth the effort. Take a look at these behind the scene pictures he sent me!

Denzil Grant working on 1900's frame

Creating new molds

For those of you who remember the painting from before, you will be delighted to see the wonderful treatment it has received, and it now sits back in the drawing room and looks rather spectacular, amongst the new soft furnishings. There are still further paintings and furniture pieces to be treated I believe, so I will share more with you soon.

The finished product

In other news, I am delight to say we also held our first wedding at the Bruisyard Barn last weekend – such an exciting event! I watched in fascination as the big boss Paul and all the team got the Hall and Barn ready, and was blown over with how pretty the Barn looked for Mr & Mrs Bell on the day. I hope they enjoyed their day, and am looking forward to watching many more weddings take place here over the coming months!

I’m off now but will be back soon with more news from the Hall, when I will telling you all more about the Country Land & Business Association who are all gathering together at Bruisyard Hall in a couple of weeks. It’ll be very exciting to have everyone together and I’m   getting my favourite tweed jacket dry cleaned especially for the occasion!

Following a recent interview the big boss Paul Daws did for Suffolk Face & Places Magazine with Anne Gould, which is to come out in May issue, it prompted me to think back to the old days at the Bruisyard Hall estate, and the stories passed down by my ancestors. I wanted to share some of our history of the Hall and its time as a working farm with you all, and get your feedback if you have any stories to share.

A Hunt c1900 at bruisyard Hall taken from the Bruisyard village website http://www.bruisyard.com/Pages/Oldphotos.aspx

As you may well know the Hall was first built in 1345, but over the years was added to, to accommodate its change in use, and these structural adjustments can be seen as you look upon the building’s layout and brickwork, which give it its unique look and feel. To protect the Hall when it ran as an Abbey up until the 1500’s, a moat was created around the Hall and a trout lake was kept well stocked to ensure the members of the clergy had food for their dinner! The trout lake and moat have recently been cleared by the landscape team, and can be viewed from the bedrooms at the back of the Hall now and enjoyed whilst strolling around the estate, but I’d love to see how they used to look even just a generation ago, if any one has any pictures they want to share?

Once under the ownership of the Rous Family, the Bruisyard Hall estate was put to farming use. I don’t know all the history on the farm side as my great grandfather Cedric had a rather patchy memory of the stories passed down to him, and seemed more interested in sharing stories of wild mice chases with his grandowlets! But I do believed that between 1982-1997 Bruisyard Hall estate was predominately a dairy farm, as well as stocking chickens, and acting as the grain store and stables for the Rous family farms, and that’s what the Bruisyard Barn was used for, before the big boss converted it with the help of DEFRA last year, to the snazzy entertainment barn it now is!

Around the time the great storm of 1987 hit Suffolk, the chimney in the Hall’s reception area caved in, causing devastation at the Hall, and I believe Mr Robbert Rous had to give the Hall some serious TLC to bring it back a working order. My Father said it was a sad time at the Hall, and it was a good job Mr Rous was around to sort things out!

http://www.bruisyard.com/Pages/Oldphotos.aspx

I am really keen to create a photo album of the Bruisyard Hall and village history, and have already found some great shots as seen above from the Bruisyard village website. But would love to see more and hear stories from others who’s ancestors used to work on the estate, or visited it. So if you have any photos or stories you want to share, please email my assistant at the bruisyard office on marketing@bruisyardhall.co.uk who is kindly looking after my emails for me!

Look forward to sharing my findings with you, and stay warm and out of the rain in the mean time!

Too-da-loo!

My apologies for not being able to put beak to keyboard last week, but with the extra light and good weather I have been rushed off my claws with hunting on the Bruisyard Estate.

But I have not forgotten my promise to share the goings on at Snape Maltings & Aldeburgh Music with you all following a sublime afternoon of tea and biscuits with the rather fetching Mabel, an Owl with such refined cultural tastes! Her top tip was this Saturday’s, Easter Saturday Farmers Market, 7^th April at Snape Maltings. The Farmers Market runs on the 1st Saturday of each month from 9.30 am to1pm, with the apogee of these monthly markets being the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival on the 19th & 20th September.

Snap Maltings Food Hall's Bread

Snape Malting Farmers Market - 1st Saturday of every month

Mabel says each market is an incredible hive of activity with over 30 of Suffolk’s finest food producers attending, and once you’ve done your shopping you can pop over the Tea Rooms also at the Maltings for a slice of homemade cake and cup of tea! Sounds delightful to me!

And if that was exciting enough also at Snape Maltings is the Aldeburgh Music Hall, which Mable flew me round – what a stunning venue! Apparently the clever people at Aldeburgh Music have created this new event called Aldeburgh World Orchestra (AWO) and will host over 120 talented young musicians from around the world in July, and its all part of the London 2012 Festival (which is a culmination of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad).  Unbelievable that such an incredible event is taking place in sleepy old Suffolk! I hear tickets are now on sale now, and am rather chuffed that Mable has agreed to be my date for one of the performances – what an honour!

Reception Hall tiled flooring uncovered, dating back to the 1500's

Back at the Hall Phase 2 of the modernization of this Country Manor House is coming on very nicely. I’m particularly taken with the original Pamment floor tiles from around the 1500’s that have been uncovered and cleaned up in the Reception Hall having previously been hidden for many years beneath wooden panel flooring. They open up this reception area and bounce light from the large windows which look out onto the main entrance gate and a hanging chandelier has been added which looks wonderful in the evenings when the delightful Zoffany fabric curtains are drawn – simply exquisite!

One of many lovely old Paintings at Bruisyard Hall

So much more has happened over the last couple of weeks, but I know that the Bruisyard team have been getting their newsletter ready to send out tomorrow, and they have included some great shots of what’s going on at the Hall with snippets of new furniture and fabrics included, so I won’t spoil the surprise but instead recommend you all sign up today on the website to receive your copy to read over Easter weekend!

For now though I must dash back to my new hut to get out of this rather wet weather, but I hope you all have a jolly nice Easter weekend with lots of time to relax with friends and family and I’ll be back with more news, and able to share with you a very interesting chat I had with Denzil Grant, the Hall’s antique furniture adviser.

Too-da-loo!

The start of spring has been welcomed by us all up here on the Bruisyard estate with daffodil’s  springing up everywhere and the trees starting to bloom, it’s such a pretty time of year. The gardeners have also been busy planting and adding the hedge row at the entrance and I hear wrought iron fencing is going up the length of the drive to the Hall shortly – it will look ever so smart I’m sure.

But for now I must dash as i’m planning to swoop in to say thank-you for my new hut to the Big Boss Paul who’s been busy flying about all over the place – I really do wish I could lend him my wings as at present it seems ever some tiresome him having to run around on just two legs all day long! I’m then off for afternoon tea with a dear old friend Mabel, a rather attractive Barn Owl, for her age, who lives over by the coast. She’s a wealth of knowledge on whats going on at the wonderful Snape Maltings venue which is a hive of activity thorough out Spring and Summer, so i’ll be able to update you on the activities planned there, and at  Aldeburgh Music next week. I do hope she has Earl Grey!

Till next week toodle-oo!

From the comfortable position in my  morning tree I’ve been taking in the goings-on at the Hall this week, and I have to say there’s just no stopping the Bruisyard Team! In early and out late, the work to modernise this stunning Hall continues.

I’m so intrigued by what’s going on inside, and as no one has invited me in yet (ever so rude!) I thought I’d fly in and have a quick chat with Libby Denny, the Interior Designer and founder of Margaret Sheridan, a recognised member of the British Institute of Interior Designers, who’s behind the re-design.

So Libby, what is actually happening behind the large Oak door at Bruisyard Hall?

We are undergoing a full refurbishment to bring Bruisyard up to 21st century Country Manor House standard.  We’re starting with all the plumbing – not that glamourous but essential to bring the old system up to top notch modern standard. We hope to  have 10 en-suite bathrooms by the time we’re finished and good water pressure system for all the showers is essential.

So that’s why i’ve not been able to have my bird bath recently! When finished, will the Hall still have that relaxing charm that I know people in the past have loved?

Of course! We are buying new comfy furniture, new rugs and putting up new curtains, and all of the rooms will be lit with great lighting, giving the Hall a laid back peaceful look and feel.

What’s been your points of inspiration for the refurb’? 

Having designed the interiors of so many beautiful houses over course of my 45 year career, I cannot pin my style to any one point of inspiration – it is quite simply my own signature look, creating what I believe is the typical Country House style.

Sounds lovely! How would you describe the typical quintessential Country House for those of us who haven’t had a chance to experience one before?
It’s hard to explain but you’ll know when you enter one! Furniture is key for me, old original pieces restored to their former glory give a great feeling to a room.

And finally, do you do interior design for Owl Box’s – and if so, could you perhaps mention this to the Big Boss – Paul Daws? I really would like a new home too!

Yes of course I can! Do you prefer twigs, straw or hay for your bed?

Thanks Libby for taking the time to talk to me, your resident Barn Owl! It all sounds rather marvellous – and I’ll certainly get back to you on my preferred bedding, I wonder if Tempur do Hay stuffed mattresses?!

I know the team have booked Craig Girling to come and take some photos soon, so I look forward to sharing them with you next month.

Until next week, farewell!

I must say this chap Paul Daws and his trusted team who are looking after the Hall these days, have been incredibly busy over the last couple of weeks. There’s a frightfully nice chap called Geoff Rand who’s team from JH Vaudrey & Son Ltd have been working closely with the delightful Libby from Margaret Sheridan’s Interior Design company and its amazing how quickly they are turning things around. I had a peak through the window into the Drawing Room and was delighted to see they are using Farrow & Ball paint in all the rooms, the Drawing Room is a lovely duck egg blue colour, and upstairs the two main bedrooms are looking fantastic! I heard Paul say that they were putting four poster beds in the rooms, if I was to choose a bed over a tree, I’d certainly choose these – they even have Vi Spring mattresses – very cosy indeed!  Out side there is a pretty little footbridge between the Hall and the Barn being put in, and i’ve noticed the gardeners are hard at work too, with some lovely plants going in.

And I heard that chap Geoff say that this is only Phase 1 – I cant wait to see whats in phase 2 in a few weeks!

I’m hoping if I hint (or hoot) enough somebody might build me a new home too – claws crossed! But in the mean time I had a look on my computer – the Wifi is perfect in my tree, and I found these pictures from other interior jobs Libby and her team have created – ever so smart.

Margaret Sheridan's Interior Design

Margaret Sheridan's Interior Design

Bruisyard Hall at turn of 19th Century

We’ll keep you informed on progress of the renovation works of this historic site, from new landscaping schemes of the grounds to the makeover of each and every room, via regular updates in our Journal. Watch this page and signup to our newsletter to see the Hall progress and transform.

Please note - Bruisyard Hall is still very much yours to hire throughout this restoration period and with its natural country retreat elegance, it remains a fabulous place to hire for breaks, holidays and events.

Paul and the Team at Bruisyard Hall

Paul Daws, Project Manager of Bruisyard Hall

Project Manager of Bruisyard Hall, Paul Daws, was interviewed for the Suffolk & Norfolk LIFE’s February edition of the magazine

Suffolk & Norfolk Life

“We were determined to keep the history of this stunning timber framed barn, but give it all it needs to provide an exceptional space for hire” explains Paul

Suffolk resident Paul Daws has taken on historic Bruisyard Hall and its newly refurbished 17th century barn, to renovate it in to a top event destination for the county.

Stocked at all good newsagents and outlets get your copy of the magazine now! Or visit their site www.suffolknorfolklife.com