An Interview with Cornwell Manor
MMTD speaks with the Managing Director of this extraordinary Cotswolds wedding venue & stunning film location from The Holiday.
This week, we’re combining a few of our very favourite things: Nancy Meyer’s The Holiday movie, our new bridal edit series & an enduring appreciation for British properties. What a trio.
Our collaboration with Cornwell has unfolded at a rapid rate, as just this week I posted a few stunning photos of the estate which allowed for a brief Instagram conversation with their account. This shortly evolved into the interview you see before you, conducted over email with the kind Charlotte Boston, Managing Director of the manor. Thank you to Charlotte & Cornwell for their generosity in sharing their time and story, we hope you enjoy!
1. Charlotte, it’s a pleasure to connect over the beautiful Cornwell Manor! I have always loved the property’s feature in British festive favourite The Holiday and only realised very recently that Cornwell Manor is the very location. Can you tell me about the background and history of Cornwell?
Cornwell Manor is a quintessential English Manor House set in a 2,000 acre estate of beautiful rolling Cotswold countryside. The front of the manor is Georgian in style, with earlier Jacobean parts to the house at the rear. During the second World War it was owned by an American heiress, Patricia Gillson, who set up the house as a camp for injured GI’s.
At this time, the architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis was also making important updates and renovations to the house and gardens and added the Ballroom, the pool and the iconic pond that reflects the image of the manor itself.
2. Cornwell sets the scene for Jude Law and Cameron Diaz’s characters’ romantic winter date in the countryside. Can you tell us much about the filming or making of the movie on the estate?
As this was before my time at Cornwell I am unable to share much insight here, other than there are photographs of Jude & Cameron taken in the Drawing Room here with the children who lived at the manor at that time.
3. The photos of weddings hosted on the estate are absolutely breathtaking. What sets Cornwell apart from other wedding venues, particularly in the Cotswolds area, or what is unique to the estate regarding weddings? The estate really does seem to hold some special magic, at least in my eyes!
It truly is a very special place and there is a certain magic in the air here! Cornwell remains a private home for most of the year which sets it apart from other venues, with a lovely, relaxed home-from-home feel about it. We only rent the house for 3-night weekends stays (with up to 24 guests staying in the house and a live-in cook!) , so each wedding here is special giving each couple time to settle in with their families in the build up to their big day.
We tend to do a lot of destination weddings here, and with so many beautiful parts to the garden, it is easy to create an exciting guest experience across a 3-day celebration. All weddings here are bespoke with a different set-up in the gardens each time, and no more than 15 per year.
4. Cornwell is owned by the Ward family, impressively since 1959, and Alexander Ward and his family currently reside there. How does the estate balance being a somewhat private family home and a venue, particularly with the weddings it hosts? Can you tell us anything about Alexander or the family’s relationship with Cornwell, if it is not intruding.
Yes it is true that first and foremost Cornwell remains a family home to Alexander. His children are now grown up and living in London, so we are able to use the house in the summer for beautiful weddings and events whilst the owner moves elsewhere. The estate remains a working estate and farm, with 22 properties on long term lets.
5. What’s a fun fact about Cornwell that we wouldn’t have guessed or know?
The first ever dinosaur bone to be found in the UK was found in the estate here at Cornwell by Robert Plot, a professor of chemistry at Oxford University in 1677. It was a thighbone of a Megalosaurus.
6. The property also holds a breathtaking Norman Church of St Peter’s that couples can get married in, granted they have attended services there for a sufficient window of time. Can you tell us more about this church or the ceremonies that are held there?
St Peter’s Church is a very special church in a rural setting, just a short walk from the manor house. it can seat up to 80 people, and we host around 5 weddings or blessings there each year. Since Covid times, we no longer have a regular monthly service there, just at Christmas, Easter and for the Harvest Festival, an important date in the farming calendar.
7. For couples tying the knot at Cornwell, or similar countryside properties, what advice would you give them when planning their big day?
I would say it’s crucial to have a wedding planner ( ideally one who knows the venue) here as there each wedding is bespoke designed with a lot of infrastructure required to bring the wedding to life. It’s a good idea to make use of each of the best features of the manor – namely the pond and fountain, the stunning lake view, the pool and the Ballroom.
8. Out of curiosity, has the talented Nancy Meyers (director of The Holiday) visited the estate, and if so, tell us more about her visit or relationship to Cornwell, if you’d be so kind.
Sadly no, I don’t believe Nancy Meyers did visit Cornwell or the movie set whilst the filming was here – but we would love her to visit!
9. For those wishing to visit or stay at Cornwell, what would a wonderful day or weekend there entail? What nearby spots are worth visiting?
We are unable to offer visits as the house is a private home and never open to the public. As we are available for exclusive hire for hosting weddings, events or group stays, we do have viewings by appointment only. We are very well situated here, neighbouring the Daylesford Estate with its wonderful farm shop, home and garden store, spa, cafes and restaurants, as well as many well renowned country pubs – such as The Bull in the Charlbury, The Wild Rabbit in Kingham and The Kingham Plough.
We are within half an hour of Blenheim Palace and just 10 minutes from the pretty market town of Stow on the Wold for a spot of local artisan shopping and around 20 minutes from Soho Farmhouse.
10. The Holiday cast aside, has Cornwell hosted any big names or brands in the past years, if you able to tell us?
Indeed, we have hosted Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall for the wedding of their son James to Anoushcka Sharma, with a fairly impressive guest list!
A massive thank you to Charlotte for her time, it was such pleasure to connect via this email interview and we have loved learning more about Cornwell. We send our warmest festive wishes to you and the whole team and hope to visit someday soon!
We hope this was of interest to those fans of the masterpiece movie, wedding enthusiasts or lovers of grand English country homes. We are ever interested in building a properties feature series on MMTD, should you like to collaborate on a shared post/interview such as this one with your property, do not hesitate to reach out: meetmetheredarlingblog@gmail.com.
Enjoy this special season & catch-up on our It Girl gift guide from last week, if you haven’t given it a browse already. Make sure to follow us on our flagship Instagram and subscribe to us here on Substack to have posts delivered straight to your inbox.
Season’s Greetings,
MMTD Founder & Editor