Twyning Park was the childhood home of my mother in law. After the untimely death of her father the house was sadly sold.
Fast forward over 40 years later Twyning Park became available and we were able to buy it back as a family and set to work lovingly restoring this beautiful house to its former glory.
There was something quite romantic about its nearly derelict state as I wandered around it for the first time on a hot summers day and I knew from that day that Twyning Park was going to be something very very special.
There was so much that needed doing. Every corner that we turned showed more tired or dilapidated features, every job we thought could be a nice small job generally created another problem. I don’t think anyone had really considered or were willing to admit the magnitude of what we had taken on.
Will, our son Jack and I spent the end of the first summer pretty much camping at Twyning Park whilst Will worked out an ever growing schedule of works – Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3... I think we stopped counting after Phase 8! Burst pipes, plaster work, ceilings fallen in, floors missing to name but a few of tasks ahead we were facing.
The majority of the works have been completed by our family. We’ve all had to learn as we have gone along and there are far too many stories and memories to tell in this little blog. However one of my favourite memories was checking the water system. 6 of us standing in different areas of the house whilst the 7th turned the water on to test for leaks swiftly followed by all 7 of us screaming – THERES A LEAK! I've lost track of how many there actually were, but it took a very long time to fix and we spent weeks filling the kettle from the outside tap and showering at friends houses.
It has been a lot of hard work and 7 years later we are close to finishing what we started.
I love our family connection to this place. I love that my children are able to run around and pick apples from the trees that their great grandmother planted. I love the stories that my mother in law and the extended family can tell, the memories that they share and the utter dedication everyone has had to restore this beautiful house to its former glory.
After a number of family and friends weddings here including our own, we decided that these were the occasions where Twyning Park felt almost alive ( ok I did – Will doesn’t believe houses can feel alive... but he agreed with the sentiment). So we decided to offer Twyning Park as an exclusive hire venue for beautiful weddings and occasions for a limited number of events per year.
We are just entering our second year as an exclusive hire venue licensed for weddings and it has been an absolute pleasure and honour to be a part of our couples’ journeys to their special day. Every wedding has been different and we have loved to see how our couples have made the space their own.
For us there is no better feeling than standing back watching the couples that we’ve been able to get to know over a year or so, having THE BEST TIME on the day that they will remember forever. As we stand there smiling I am also sure that the house smiles with us too.
