Exclusive Stories - Fanhams Hall
Ware, Hertfordshire
A moment to remember, an estate you'll never forget
Some places are beautiful. Some places have history. Some places have remarkable people. Fanhams Hall has all three, with an usual twist in its history you can still see today. As part of our Exclusive Stories series, Tamara Warhurst of Farmette Media is meeting with our teams and diving a little deeper into the people and past that make Fanhams Hall what it is today, so grab yourself a drink and settle in to hear all about Fanhams Hall.
Set within 27 acres of Hertfordshire gardens, Fanhams Hall is an estate that never quite fits neatly into a box. It began life centuries ago as a family home. Today, it welcomes couples celebrating life's biggest milestones, businesses searching for inspiring spaces, and guests simply looking for somewhere extraordinary to escape to. Yet through every chapter of its story, one thing has remained constant: the power to create unforgettable moments.
Because Fanhams Hall isn't defined by a single feature. It is defined by contrast. A Jacobean mansion with contemporary extensions. English heritage infused with Japanese influence. Formal gardens giving way to a Japanese pilgrimage with hidden lakes, winding paths an original tea house. A place where centuries of history sit comfortably alongside modern hospitality.
It is, in many ways, the perfect storm of the unexpected.
An estate evolved by design
The early history can be traced back from 1412 to 1715 when a Queen Anne house was built to replace the original farmhouse. The original Queen Anne design lives on in the formal gardens, but the house was redesigned at the turn of the 20th century with grand Jacobean stone dressings, mullioned windows and a striking courtyard entrance.
Layers of architectural history can still be found throughout the property, from the Queen Anne staircase with William Morris stained glass windows, to Delft tiles around fireplaces and along hallways back of house, and grand galleries with plasterwork from master crafter L A Turner. All telling the story of generations who have called this place home.
Yet what makes Fanhams Hall so captivating is not simply the preservation of history. It is the way different design movements and cultural influences have been woven together over time.
Guests might spend the morning admiring arts and crafts movement details, enjoy afternoon tea overlooking formal English gardens. Wander across a Japanese red bridge and through a woodland of pines in the afternoon, then finish the day in a contemporary designed bedroom designed for for today's comforts. Few places embrace such creative contrasts so naturally.
As shared by the Jonathan, General Manager of Fanhams Hall, more modern renovations added contemporary 21st century design and furnishings, as the home transformed to a training facility for household name Sainsbury's. And as Exclusive Collection continue to be custodians and develop Fanhams Hall for modern day hotel use, preserving and celebrating what has come before is an integral part of the designing the future of this eclectic estate.
The result is a hotel that feels continually surprising. Every corridor, garden path and hidden corner reveals something new and unexpected.
A garden paradise
For many visitors, the gardens are where the magic begins. Famously nurtured by Lady Brockett and enhanced in the early 1900s with introduction of a Japanese garden alongside the more traditional Jacobean Queen Anne gardens.
Japanese experts Mr Inaka and Professor Suzuki, meticulously designed and planned the garden call 'Koraku-en' - meaning 'joy after', guiding guests around a pilgrimage full of meaning and wonder. Guests transition into the Japanese gardens through the glorious wisteria walkway down to ornamental lakes surrounded by Japanese varieties such as maple and cherry blossom. One lake replicates Monet's famous water-lily pond and the other a fox shaped lake with an iconic red Shinkyo bridge - where crossing it symbolizes transitional from the everyday world into a spiritual realm. Excavations for the lakes went on to form a mini Fuji-yama mound, and on the route you'll also find an original Japanese tea house and an Austrian house that was bought an imported from the renowned Paris Exhibition of 1900.
Moon gates in the original red-brick garden boundary separate the Japanese and Jacobean inspired gardens. The due north view allowed visitors to track the moon's natural path from east to west. Heading into the formal gardens, inspired by the house's transformation into Jacobean-style manor, these have been design in the Queen Anne style. A walled garden with yew topiary, rose garden, wrought iron gates and a formal lily pond with ornamental fountain makes for striking central focal point.
For Michael and the gardening team, the estate is never static. It's a living, breathing landscape that changes every day, every season and every year. The gardens aren't maintained as a museum piece. They're cared for as a working environment, constantly evolving while preserving the vision that has shaped them for generations.
Perhaps that's why so many guests describe a sense of wonder here. You don't simply walk through the grounds. You experience them, as so many people have done before.
Work hard, play hard
Fanhams Hall has always been a place where people come together.
Today, that might mean a strategy day, a conference, a product launch, a wedding celebration or a family gathering. Whatever the occasion, the team's role is the same: to create exceptional experiences that feel effortless, even when enormous effort happens behind the scenes.
In the video you hear from Symphony from the weddings team. When she recalls memorable moments, she doesn't talk about the grand gestures. Instead, she remembers helping the mother of a bride moments before a ceremony, solving an unexpected wardrobe emergency and ensuring a precious family moment unfolded exactly as it should. The guests never knew, and that's the point.
Across the estate, similar stories play out every day. They're reminders that exceptional hospitality isn't only about beautiful spaces. It's about people who genuinely care about the memories created within them.
A place where cultures converge
One of Fanhams Hall's most fascinating qualities is its ability to bring together different worlds. The estate itself reflects this perfectly. English country house heritage sits alongside Japanese landscape design. Traditional architecture meets contemporary spaces. Historic rooms neighbour modern meeting and event facilities.
That spirit continues even into the menu, where Head Chef James and his team deliver afternoon tea inspired by the seasonality of the gardens, including their standout Sakura Afternoon Tea in spring celebrating the Japanese cherry blossom with Japanese-infused flavours. We can also expect to see the convergence of Jacobean and Japanese appear in the new restaurant, launching in 2027.
Located within easy reach of London and major international transport links, Fanhams welcomes people from across the UK and around the world. Business travellers, leisure guests, wedding parties and global visitors all contribute to the vibrant atmosphere that makes every stay unique. It is a place where different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences naturally come together. A cultural convergence in the truest sense.
What becomes clear from listening to the people who work here and understanding it's history, is that Fanhams Hall means something different to everyone.
For the gardener, it's an ever-changing landscape. For the chef, it's inspiration drawn from heritage, seasonality and the meeting of British and Japanese influences. For the B Corp sustainability champions, it's an opportunity to create positive environmental impact through biodiversity projects, recycling and conservation initiatives. For the weddings team, it's the privilege of helping create life's most meaningful celebrations. And for the wider team and General Manager, it is a place they're proud to care for and evolve for future generations.
Collectively, their stories reveal the true character of Fanhams Hall.
Not simply a hotel. Not simply an event venue. Not simply a historic estate. But a place where people, heritage, nature, culture and creativity all come together to create something entirely unexpected.
A moment to remember, an estate you'll never forget.
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