Spains Hall Estate

Spains Hall Estate is a 2,000-acre rural estate with an Elizabethan country house located near the village of Finchingfield in North Essex. As a venue and visitor attraction, Spains Hall Estate offers weddings, corporate events and parties in the historic stable complex, which has been renovated into a modern venue. Accommodation wise Spains Hall has several cottages available for self-catering holidays and a campsite can accommodate visitors. For activities Spain Hall offers tours of its environmental projects, beaver-watching sessions, fishing, and dedicated wildlife photography opportunities. Available to purchase are the sustainable, seasonal wild venison from the estate.

Ownership

For nearly 250 years, the estate was owned by the Ruggles-Brise family, until it was sold in 2019. Where the Elizabethan country house was purchased by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in 2019. The Spains Hall Estate business, which manages the land and holiday cottages, continues to operate separately.

History

The estate’s origins date back to the Domesday Book of 1086, when the manor was held by Hervey de Ispania, who gave it his name. The Grade I-listed Elizabethan mansion, Spains Hall, was built around 1570 and remodelled in 1585 by William Kempe. The estate and its manor house remained in the ownership of just three families—the de Ispanias, the Kempes, and the Ruggles-Brise family—for over 900 years. Over the centuries, the landscape was shaped by designers like Humphry Repton, who advised on the parkland and gardens in 1808.