Back to the future
Written by Melissa
On 5th October 1996, Mark and I were married at the Norman Church, St John the Evangelist, just next door to Pauntley. Pauntley Court is our family home and we live here with our three children, Sorrel, Mungo and Clemmie and an eclectic mix of family pets.
As a family run wedding venue, we offer a warm welcome to couples looking for that special and unique place for their own wedding. We love to share the magical atmosphere of Pauntley and the unique beauty that the house and formal gardens exude. We cannot wait to be able to open our doors again after we are through this challenging period that Covid-19 has created. As a new venue we have worked with our lovely couples who were due to marry this year and found them alternative weekend dates next year.
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| November 1933 | April 2020 |
In 1933, Pauntley Court was opened as The Gloucestershire Home for the Wayfarers, supported by John Masefield (Poet Laureate) to help with the flood of destitute and homeless young men tramping the countryside looking for work. These men worked hard to restore and maintain the house and farmed the 40 acres of land surrounding Pauntley Court in return for a roof over their head in the house.
For Mark and myself, with our 3 children, much of the above remains true today! We have been very busy maintaining the house, gardens and grounds during this time in preparation for an exciting 2021!
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| March 1934 | July 2020 |
Pauntley Court "lies in a place of great beauty and strangeness, very dear to me” - John Masefield, poet laureate, 1930 - 1967.
Never a truer word spoken. Pauntley Court has its own innate atmosphere allowing our couples the chance to create a truly original and personal wedding weekend and to capture wonderful memories of this special moment in time. The natural beauty of its formal gardens and surrounding estate give couples a multitude of options to create their unique three day wedding.
Dormitory May 1934
Since the Wayfarers lived here in dormitories, we are pleased to say that mattress technology has improved somewhat! All of our 10 bedrooms across the main house, the Elizabethan wing and the Dovecote are individually designed and decorated with wonderful ensuite bathrooms.
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| Feb 1935 | April 2020 |
Back then, the land was tilled by hand and the wayfarers worked hard to grow fruit and vegetables, with pigs and poultry and they were even given a cow named ‘Josephine’.
By living and working at Pauntley, these young men were helped to relaunch their lives and as John Masefield said "go back into life re-made with hope". Now as a wedding venue, it has come full circle with Pauntley Court once again being a place where couples and their family and friends can come together to celebrate their lives and launch a new chapter together!
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| February 1934 | July 2020 |
As the photos show, the grounds have dramatically changed. The formal gardens that surround the house today are very different to how it once looked before! My mother, Christine, created and planted these beautiful gardens in 1990.
We currently have a plethora of animals, even a chicken as mum to two ducklings, two cats, two old ponies and our latest addition - Fennel, a Cavachon puppy.
We feel passionate about maintaining this special place for the future just as John Masefield felt so keenly about setting up the Home here to help young men while at the same time, saving the building. All their hard work means that we are now able to allow many couples to start a new chapter of their lives here, through the wonders of Pauntley court.
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| November 1933 | September 2020 |
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| Dec 1933 | July 2020 |
" Twenty-one young men, rescued from the lives of tramps, listened intently to Brother Douglas, founder of the Order of St. Francis the Church England, when he declared open the Gloucestershire Home for Wayfarers at Pauntley Court…. "
" ......Then finally the Home, and the 40 acres of ground, were thrown open for inspection, and people were able to see the fruits of nine months' work done by the wayfarers themselves."
- extract from the Gloucestershire Citizen, Monday 28th May 1934 -
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Long story short - if you are making a wedding venue decision, look no further.
I waited 6 months before leaving a review to make sure im not just riding on high emotions after the wedding. But truthfully, all the high emotions are still there because this place was so perfect. We fell in love with Pauntley Court at first sight even though we visited during a gloomy rainy afternoon in December. Not even for a second at any point it felt like a commercial “venue”, it has a soul that you can feel as soon as you step on the grounds.
Our guests travelled from all over the world and Pauntley Court was so perfect to show them the English experience. Everyone was so impressed by the house, rooms and the beautiful gardens.
Melissa was so incredibly kind in every way since the moment we met her the first time. Absolutely nothing felt like too much to ask for neither during preparation nor on the day.
We had the wedding day exactly the way we wanted, absolutely everything could be done like we imagined - from choosing the ceremony space among multiple options to arranging dinner the night before. The most magical time however happened after the wedding when guests staying in the house gathered in the kitchen having tea and leftover cake, you can’t create a core memory like this in most of other wedding venues.
Another highlight was the amazing Rachel. At first I didn’t fully believe the reviews about how great she was, and I admittedly was quite skeptical if one person would be able to manage everything we wanted. And how wrong I was to ever doubt! Rachel ran the show so seamlessly and impeccable as if there was a team of 10. Our guests loved her as much as we did.
We can’t wait to go back to Pauntley for our anniversary. Thank you Melissa and all the team for making memories of a lifetime for us!