Brandshatch Place dates back to 1806, built by the Duke of Norfolk as a country home. He later gave the house to one of his gentlemen friends in the locality. Brandshatch Place remained a prestigious private residence until 1977.

 

The Georgian redbrick house offers elegant proportions nestling at the end of a long tree-lined drive surrounded by its own 12 acres of parkland and gardens.

 

Stories tell that in the Edwardian times the house was owned by a middle-aged wealthy bachelor. An attractive member of the resident female staff, Mollie, who acted as a housekeeper, fell victim to the owner’s advances. She later mysteriously vanished and an apparition of a young woman wearing a straight skirted gown with a neatly ironed apron, and carrying a basket of flowers, has been seen gliding through the reception hall, into the kitchen and continuing into the garden, where she vanishes. Why does the phantom vanish at a certain spot in the garden? Is it perhaps of some significance? And if it is not Mollie, who is she and what is the reason for her haunting?

 

Frederick Arthur Hood, Mel Taylor and Mary Bennett purchased the house in 1977 and after lovingly restoring the property to its former glory, they opened the doors as “Brandshatch Place Country Club” which quickly become renowned locally for its haute cuisine, an exhaustive wine list and exceptional service. 

 

The hotel offered 13 well furnished double rooms and a dining room accommodating 25 guests. In 1982 Frederick Hood opened the doors to an exclusive squash club, and the private members enjoyed a vast number of activities and social events. Extra bedrooms were built and the banqueting facilities grew to accommodate 150 guests.

 

Today the hotel hosts 38 comfortable bedrooms with 12 extra rooms built in The Mews building, completed in 1995. The health club and spa now offers a tennis court, a fitness studio, fully equipped gym, indoor pool, sauna, steam and spa, plus crèche, brasserie and spa treatment rooms. The hotel holds a license for civil wedding ceremonies and provides a haven of peace and tranquility to businessmen and conference delegates alike.  

 

Now under the ownership of Hand Picked Hotels, a group of 14 individually styled country house properties, the hotel and health club and spa have been transformed following an extensive refurbishment programme.