Historic hotel between Horsham and Crawley is sold to pub chain

Ghyll Manor at Rusper has been shut since the first lockdown in 2020 and Brakspear says it intends to reopen it next year following a major refurbishment.

Brakspear, which operates under the brand Honeycomb Houses, has a chain of 10 pubs mainly in its Oxfordshire heartland.

Ghyll Manor, a once-popular wedding venue, was built in 1678. It is a timber-framed building set in 25 acres of grounds including a lake, landscaped gardens, woodlands and tennis courts.

The hotel has 29 bedrooms within the main house and in cottages in the grounds, and weddings for up to 120 people have previously been catered for.

It was sold to Brakspear by previous owners Boundless Breaks.

Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said: “We’re thrilled to bring Ghyll Manor into the Honeycomb Houses family.

“It’s an outstanding venue with enormous potential and commands huge affection locally which we’re confident we can harness to restore it as the most sought-after wedding venue in the area.

“Ghyll Manor becomes our first wedding business outside the Cotswolds.

“In developing it, we will draw on our experience at The Frogmill near Cheltenham, which has thrived since we opened it in 2018, both as a function venue and as a weekend break and dining destination – so we’ll be looking to build the same broad appeal at Ghyll Manor.”

The company says it intends to reopen Ghyll Manor in 2023 and is ‘considering the site’s potential before making firm redevelopment plans, though these will include a major refurbishment and the addition of more bedrooms.’

Brakspear rebranded its division as Honeycomb Houses in November 2021, when it also stated its ambition to acquire new sites that met its brief of larger, rural pubs with bedrooms in the south east.