News
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INDEPENDANT REVIEW 30th May 2009
We are incredibly proud to have been rated 2nd out to the top 50 Bed and Breakfasts in the UK by Rhiannon Battenfield of the Independant.
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MANOR HOUSE FARM, BREARTON
We have recently finished the refurbishment of a stunning farmhouse in Brearton village two doors down from the Malt Shovel, Manor House Farm has two suites of rooms, a elegant dining room and a large comfortable sitting room with a large roaring open fire. This property is offered for B&B and short term holiday lets where we will prepare and cook you a wonderful breakfast, tidy the rooms and then leave you in peace to enjoy your time in Yorkshire.
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Guardian Review by Sally Shalam Saturday 7th March 2009
Remote enough to switch off completely, but only 10 minutes' drive from Harrogate.
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Yorkshire Life - January 2009
Giving up the glamorous fast-paced world of polo for a far flung North Yorkshire small-holding could have been one move too far for former polo manager Oliver Whiteley
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Yorkshire Post 10th August 2009 by Sharon Dale
When Oliver Whiteley took a break from his glamorous, high octane career managing a polo club, he never imagined that he would end up running a B&B. The idea was born after he was seduced by a Georgian farmhouse on the Mountgarret estate, near Harrogate, that was bursting with potential.
Although it was in desperate need of a makeover, the five-bedroom property had everything from a perfect, secluded location to enough land for Oliver's menagerie of horses, dogs, pigs and chickens.
"I'd done nine fantastic seasons with the Beaufort Polo Club but I felt it was time to come home, so I thought I'd take a year off to explore what I wanted to do," says Oliver, 36, who settled back in his native Yorkshire three years ago.
"I was renting and I'd been looking for a place for a while when someone mentioned this was coming up for lease, I went to look and was blown away.
"It was exactly right and structurally sound, though inside it was pretty horrendous. The first thing I did was rip the carpets up and burn them. They were jumping with fleas," he says.
Oliver moved in and slept on a mattress on the floor for the first few months, while a team of builders updated the plumbing and wiring, replastered, created en-suites bathrooms and installed a new kitchen.
"I had renovated a cottage in Gloucestershire before, but I hadn't done anything on this scale. My father has and so his experience and contacts were a big help." says Oliver, whose parents live near Keighley.
"It was fairly straightforward apart from the fireplace in the sitting room. I got a sledgehammer and started knocking out the little boxy fire convinced that there was a huge imposing fireplace behind it.
"I realised there wasn't when I saw daylight. But we managed to create what I wanted with a giant steel plate, two railway sleepers and a large slab of stone from a local quarry."
The stunning décor is down to help from his friend Zoe Holmes, a talented and resourceful interior designer. Each of the five bedrooms has its own distinctive theme and colour ranging from passionate red to rich plum and soft blue.
"We sourced the curtain fabric first and the rooms were designed round that. It was a lot easier than picking a theme and trying to find the right material to match," says Oliver, who bought much of his fabric from the Fent Shop in Skipton, using Brindleys of Harrogate for ideas and inspiration.
The artwork is Oliver's own collection and includes paintings by his favourite equine artist Daniel Crane. The furniture is a mix of new and family pieces teamed with bits that Oliver has collected or created. One of the sitting room sofas was brought to Britain from Sotto Grande in the back of a horse box, after Oliver spotted it while playing polo in Spain. The tub chairs in the Plum Room were hauled from a skip and reupholstered and the table in the Blue Room is a wrought iron garden table that was treated to a glass top.
"I knew I wanted a relaxed country house look and I wanted people to walk in and feel at home," says Oliver, whose plans for a B&B were sparked by friends in Suffolk. "They do something similar to help the house pay for itself and it was their suggestion to trial it here."
After 12 months spent renovating the property, he opened for business a year ago. "I'd never even stayed in a B&B before and I didn't go to the tourist board for advice.
"I worked on making this place what I wanted it to be. I'm about as fussy as you can get, so I basically created somewhere I'd want to stay in myself, somewhere that had a lovely relaxed feel to it and that was about as far from the old style of B&B you can get."
The diary wall chart in the study is testament to his success. His rooms are consistently full, though booking patterns have changed radically in the recession.
Before, people were happy to book last minute, but the spontaneous side of trade has been killed by the credit crunch. Now they book well in advance, having carefully planned their spending.
"It's amazing what an effect the recession has had on the way people book, but we're no less busy. Some people have been back for the third and fourth time and so that's a real compliment," says Oliver.
As for sharing his home, he doesn't mind. "I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it, but I do and I've met some really interesting people.
"We have four letting rooms and the fifth room is mine. The sitting and dining room are shared with guests but I have the kitchen, and the whole of outside, which is 10 acres."
Entrepreneurial Oliver, who also helps out with his sister's events management company The Angels, has also found time to expand the business. He has set up
another B&B in the Manor House in the nearby village of Brearton and is converting the cottage next to the farmhouse into more luxury letting rooms.
He has also spotted another business opportunity at North Dockenbush. Guests rave about his breakfasts, in particular the sausage and bacon,
which all comes from his own Gloucester Old Spot pigs.
"Rare breed speciality bacon and sausage from pigs who have been well reared with an emphasis on welfare really does taste better.
"It's in a different league," he says.
With his family's background in the farming and meat industry, Oliver reckons that North Dockenbush sausage and bacon could be a best seller.
"I never thought I'd end up in this business, and it is very hard work, but it's a nice way of life," he says.
"I'd done nine fantastic seasons with the Beaufort Polo Club but I felt it was time to come home, so I thought I'd take a year off to explore what I wanted to do," says Oliver, 36, who settled back in his native Yorkshire three years ago.
"I was renting and I'd been looking for a place for a while when someone mentioned this was coming up for lease, I went to look and was blown away.
"It was exactly right and structurally sound, though inside it was pretty horrendous. The first thing I did was rip the carpets up and burn them. They were jumping with fleas," he says.
Oliver moved in and slept on a mattress on the floor for the first few months, while a team of builders updated the plumbing and wiring, replastered, created en-suites bathrooms and installed a new kitchen.
"I had renovated a cottage in Gloucestershire before, but I hadn't done anything on this scale. My father has and so his experience and contacts were a big help." says Oliver, whose parents live near Keighley.
"It was fairly straightforward apart from the fireplace in the sitting room. I got a sledgehammer and started knocking out the little boxy fire convinced that there was a huge imposing fireplace behind it.
"I realised there wasn't when I saw daylight. But we managed to create what I wanted with a giant steel plate, two railway sleepers and a large slab of stone from a local quarry."
The stunning décor is down to help from his friend Zoe Holmes, a talented and resourceful interior designer. Each of the five bedrooms has its own distinctive theme and colour ranging from passionate red to rich plum and soft blue.
"We sourced the curtain fabric first and the rooms were designed round that. It was a lot easier than picking a theme and trying to find the right material to match," says Oliver, who bought much of his fabric from the Fent Shop in Skipton, using Brindleys of Harrogate for ideas and inspiration.
The artwork is Oliver's own collection and includes paintings by his favourite equine artist Daniel Crane. The furniture is a mix of new and family pieces teamed with bits that Oliver has collected or created. One of the sitting room sofas was brought to Britain from Sotto Grande in the back of a horse box, after Oliver spotted it while playing polo in Spain. The tub chairs in the Plum Room were hauled from a skip and reupholstered and the table in the Blue Room is a wrought iron garden table that was treated to a glass top.
"I knew I wanted a relaxed country house look and I wanted people to walk in and feel at home," says Oliver, whose plans for a B&B were sparked by friends in Suffolk. "They do something similar to help the house pay for itself and it was their suggestion to trial it here."
After 12 months spent renovating the property, he opened for business a year ago. "I'd never even stayed in a B&B before and I didn't go to the tourist board for advice.
"I worked on making this place what I wanted it to be. I'm about as fussy as you can get, so I basically created somewhere I'd want to stay in myself, somewhere that had a lovely relaxed feel to it and that was about as far from the old style of B&B you can get."
The diary wall chart in the study is testament to his success. His rooms are consistently full, though booking patterns have changed radically in the recession.
Before, people were happy to book last minute, but the spontaneous side of trade has been killed by the credit crunch. Now they book well in advance, having carefully planned their spending.
"It's amazing what an effect the recession has had on the way people book, but we're no less busy. Some people have been back for the third and fourth time and so that's a real compliment," says Oliver.
As for sharing his home, he doesn't mind. "I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it, but I do and I've met some really interesting people.
"We have four letting rooms and the fifth room is mine. The sitting and dining room are shared with guests but I have the kitchen, and the whole of outside, which is 10 acres."
Entrepreneurial Oliver, who also helps out with his sister's events management company The Angels, has also found time to expand the business. He has set up
another B&B in the Manor House in the nearby village of Brearton and is converting the cottage next to the farmhouse into more luxury letting rooms.
He has also spotted another business opportunity at North Dockenbush. Guests rave about his breakfasts, in particular the sausage and bacon,
which all comes from his own Gloucester Old Spot pigs.
"Rare breed speciality bacon and sausage from pigs who have been well reared with an emphasis on welfare really does taste better.
"It's in a different league," he says.
With his family's background in the farming and meat industry, Oliver reckons that North Dockenbush sausage and bacon could be a best seller.
"I never thought I'd end up in this business, and it is very hard work, but it's a nice way of life," he says.