May News

It’s been a busy last month –  starting with our first wedding; Becky and Paul were married in April. Everything went smoothly, the sun shone, only a minor hitch, where was our wedding license? With our refurbishment (including old office turned into a staff cloakroom, and Covid clamp down) it hadn’t been seen or required for some while. We kept our heads. All was well; of course it was filed in the right place all along.

We’ve restocked the Pilgrims Bar, our speciality gin bar, in the tiny vaulted room with an open fire where the monks once dispensed alms to the poor. The “piscina” - an arch with a stone basin for holy water, is from the original monastery. It’s been a entertaining, sampling some of the brands, some seriously curious flavours – Parma Violet for one. We like the Juniper with orange peel. My favourite has to be Chase Hedgerow Elderflower with soda and lemon.  Fishers Gin might be pricey but their new “Smoked” brand is delicious especially with ginger ale and lime, savour every mouthful.

Coes of Ipswich did a fashion shoot in the Priory and gardens. Look out for the pictures on their website and on our instagram.

We have a wedding shoot next week. A team of local wedding suppliers have come together to showcase Suffolk’s best talent. Organised by make up artist Victoria Bradfield. Ayshea Goldberg is doing the photography, Videographer Aaron from Avisuals is filming, wedding gowns are from The Bridal Lounge, hair by Lynette Chasmer, flowers by Charlotte Staff (creams, white, lilacs and pinks), stationery (exquisite calligraphy) by Polly Pickel Design,  a sumptuous wedding cake by Luca’s Cakes, Jewellery by Susannah Chenevix (pearls are the theme) and pulled together by wedding planner Louisa May Weddings.

A makeup artist turned up today for a wedding – but wrong venue – panic stations all round. But she made it to the right venue in the nick of time. First guests in the farmhouse went swimmingly, we liked it that they were keen to compost their veggie waste. NB compost area behind the garden shed (bottom of the garden). The tennis court is finally painted (the day that it finally rained after seven dry weeks), two shades of green. Plays like a dream.

The Tudor Room four-poster curtains are completed, Rose fabric lined with pink ticking from The Cloth Shop in the Portobello Road. The white lattice mango wood chest and raspberry coloured floral rug are from Snape Malting, lamps and candy striped pink shades are Pooky Lighting, pretty lime washed table from Marlesford Mill (where we have found many treasures), the recycled plastic carpet (looks like sisal and soft underfoot) is from the Unnatural Flooring Company.

After hours of searching the Internet in lockdown for a beautiful rug finally found one from Oka for the Mary Rose room; subtle soft pinks and beige, and looks perfect. The day beds sourced for the Mary Rose and de Glanville (for extra small, or indeed larger guests) work a treat. The rooms are painted Dulux Ochre White and look fresh and serene – thank you Georgia Mann Interiors.

Kim the stone mason is back repairing a Priory buttress. Wallflowers high up in the ancient flint walls have taken root, rather a shame to dislodge them. Baz is hard at work in the gardens at Butley Abbey farmhouse, repairing the steps down to the summerhouse lawn. Isla is planning the flowers for her wedding in June, our first bride to be using the thatched summer house, with a marquee on the lawn.

We discovered to our excitement David Gillingwater who is creating our smart new signage (green and gold) is a piper! So if you are of Scottish heritage or a bagpipe enthusiast  - book him for your wedding. Scotland the Brave, Amazing Grace, Sky Boat Song and, Mairi’s Wedding are just a few favourites from his repertoire.

Should the heavens open or the bride wish to be driven from the Priory to Butley Church or Butley Abbey Farmhouse, vintage car enthusiasts might like our dark green 1954 Bentley, handsome in white ribbons, or for a more rustic vibe a 1955 Series 1 Land Rover.  However, the latter is in the last stages of restoration (ten years and counting), the radiator is finally sourced, we are ever hopeful we will see it shortly, gleaming and engine ticking over.   

March News

It’s been a crazy year for so many of us but the owners of the Priory, the Greenwell family, custodians for four generations of the 14th century Priory, are delighted to have taken over and now trade as Butley Priory.

We have kept on the brilliant team, our manager Emma, supported by Nigel, maintenance/gardener/Jack of all trades and Kimmy our housekeeper, and Baz (also a dab hand with the camera in the garden) fine tuning the lawns at the farmhouse, are all working flat out for our open day April 17/18th April, and then to welcome back our brides, grooms and guests.

We’ve spent a year refurbishing Butley Abbey Farmhouse (helped by Georgia Mann Interiors), a 12 bedroom Georgian farmhouse, from top to toe (including the tennis court) which can be used for wedding accommodation, or just a spoiling holiday. We are really pleased with the result; quite challenging in lock down, scouring country sales (hours on line, some disaster purchases) car boot sales (Sunday mornings at Friday Street, our favourite haunt) when we were allowed, good old John Lewis for bathroom and kitchen stuff, and a mad day trip to fabric emporium A.Shufflebothams in Derbyshire made it all happen. The farmhouse has an idyllic rustic, thatched summerhouse in the grounds, also licensed for weddings.  We are very excited, as our first wedding in the gardens using the summerhouse will be Isla and Matt’s 19th June. 

At the Priory, we’ve been super busy these last three months: ancient buttresses have been repaired by master stone mason Kim, it’s a privilege to watch his flint-knapping skills. We’ve replanted the garden with English blooms, lavender, roses, geraniums, alliums and delphiniums, soft pinks, blues and creams. We’ve added some freestanding baths to the already majestic white and cream bedrooms with their enormous arched mullion windows and stone window seats. Not an easy task furnishing a grade one listed Gothic house in a second lock down – hours and hours spent on the Internet searching for the right fabrics and pieces. 

But we are almost ready and open for business. We’ve spruced up the vaulted Priory kitchen (kept the trusty old green aga which keeps it toasty), the four-poster is ready to be assembled, curtains hung, and our interesting collection of rugs rolled out. The tiny, secret vaulted Gin Bar (the former Pilgrims room) with a log fire, hidden behind a door in the panelling is being restocked with speciality gins. Still deliberating what to plant in the terracotta pots for the summer ahead. The snowdrop and wild daffodil woods around the Monks former ponds have been cleared and the bluebells are nearly here.

BRAND NEW!  A WEDDING LIST with SNAPE MALTINGS 
We’ve just set up an exclusive wedding list with Snape Maltings  (stunning Homeware and Furniture) for our bridal couples. To make an enquiry or book a personal appointment for their service, contact retail reception 01728 688303 or email info@snapemaltings.co.uk and visit  https://snapemaltings.co.uk/shops/