Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel and Country Club

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The Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel and Country Club is located in Ware, Hertfordshire

First mentioned in the Doomsday book the estate then known as Poles belonged to Odo, Bishop of Bayeaux, although the first dwelling was built on the property in the 16th century. The first name 'POLES' was derived from the house being one time owned by Cardinal Pole, an unordanied priest and 'short-listed' as a possible husband for Mary Tudor

It was during the latter half of the 18th century that the Hanbury name first appeared, initially as the lessee and then later as the purchaser of Poles.

The Hanbury family originally derived from France, with Geoffrey De Hanbury settling in Worcester County in the 14th century. His lineal successors on to form three illustrious branches of the Hanbury family tree, one of which located at Poles some four hundred years later.

The original Poles domicile was almost certainly an extremely expensive property to maintain and it is thought that the drainage system or the bore hole (the well) was responsible for teh death of five of Robert Hanbury's children between 1825 - 1834 and for the death of his daughter - in - law and two grandchildren in 1863. On the death of Robert Hanbury, the house was passed to Edmund Smith Hanbury and his first wife Caroline Abel Smith.

Not much was ever recorded about the Hanbury wives but like any true love stories it will end in tragedy.

Edmund Hanbury married Amy Leslie from Aberdeenshire in 1876 and upon his grandfathers death brought his family to live at Poles, a property which, at that time, was in excess of 2,000 acres (8.1 km²). Doubtless, the size of the estate would have satisfied Amy's vanity but according to her, the house was then a rambling monstrosity and uninhabitable. She refused to live in it.

There is no doubt that Edmund loved Amy. He did not cause her to live in the old house but, instead hired architect Sir Ernest George, who listed Claridges amongst his structural triumps, to fulful Amy's dream of a grand house. The builders, Simpsons & Ayrton of Paddington were hired to tear down the old and erect the new at a cost of £20,000 - an astronomical sum in those days. The house was completed but the closing costs of £30,000 and this probably marked the beginning of the end of this branch of Hanbury in Hertfordshire. The finished product was magnificent outside and in, and was the first house in the area to boast not only electricity but a central heating system. Built in the Jacobean style, the red brick mansion with the blue brick reticulation and stone mullioned windows must have stood majestic amidst the beautifully laid parkland.

The house was opened, servants were hired and life at Poles began once more Amy throwing herself in the role of grand hostess. Edmund, in the meantime, continued with the Hanbury of great philanthropic works, rebuilding many of the houses in Thundridge for workers of the estate and making provision for widows, although at this time he could ill afford such gestures.

Edmund died in 1913 after a long illness and Edmund was broke so the house had to be sold, Amy was heartbroken and went to live in their London house, she died in 1925 after suffering a mental breakdown, she never knew that the house of her dreams had changed hands once more and made a startling transition from ostentation to austerity.

In 1923, Amy's house was purchased by a Jesuit Order of Nuns, with the intent of establishing a Convent. How did the lovely old house come into the possession of the faithful companions of Jesus? an enchanting take is told that goes something like this:

'It was on cold, bleak days during the winter of 1922 that a bent and worn old man was sometimes seen toiling up the road from Ware to Wadesmill, tossing Miraculous Medals over the wall of a property that had recently been put on the market. The old man was Father Macirone, parish priest of Ware, and his mission was one of prayer, that Religious would buy Poles and establish a Catholic Boarding School on the site. His prayer was answered and three months later, FCJs bought it! In 1934 the house was transformed and the addition of a Gym, classrooms, dormitories and a new chapel were all built.

Regenerating the past in a material sense would provide the core for the development of a 5-star hotel and country club.

To suggest that taking the house back to period was easy would be an insult to the architects of Peter Inston Design Co, who had so cleverly masterminded the design of the new Hanbury Manor. But with the exception of the later buildings, remarkably little has been done to spoil the original home of Amy and Edmund Hanbury, and the nuns had practised more than sixty years of meticulous housekeeping.

To transform the old house into a sparkling new hotel would take restoration in teh form of fabrics and furnishings in the main living rooms, the enlargements and total refitting of the kitchen, the addition of a conservatory, removal of the second stair case, the addition of elevators. The guest bedrooms would command more major alterations to accommodate bathrooms en site. All this was to be done without appearing to changed the original.

The original school block, with its Gym, chapel and classrooms, would form the natural base for a conference and banqueting centre, set as it was around the courtyard. The chapel now named Poles Hall has become the main banqueting hall.

The greatest challenge would be to create a new wing of large proportions that would, architecturally, appear to become one with the century old Jacobean structure. With extensive site clearance, an area to the rear of the walled gardens has been developed into a self contained conference facility with its own bedrooms, conference room, lounge and dining rooms. Clever integration of the old garden wall into the new building, plus the use of moulded oak in the large window frames, would give the appearance age. A magnificent sweeping staircase leading from a railed balcony into the lounge which, in turn leads into an octagonal glasses summer house overlooking the gardens.

The creation of the state of the art gym, had to be undertaken with a sensitivity that would not destroy the pseudo-antiquity that have been so carefully created on the exterior. Settling in a Romanesque canopy supported by majestic columns to cover the swimming pool, this would set the stage for a fanciful journey into a bygone era which, undoubtedly would have appealed to Amy Hanbury's vanity immensely.

Three years later from the purchase of Poles Convent, Hanbury Manor was ready to open its doors, confident that if Edmund and Amy were to cross the threshold, they, like the future guests would feel extremely comfortable in the luxurious surroundings.

And the miracle, according the many Nuns and students of Poles who have visited the Manor since the transition, is that the peace of their convent was somehow also captured and held.

With the original dream now a reality, it could be said Hanbury has come of age, and now as part of the Marriott International family, Hanbury enters a new and exciting future as one of the premier resort destinations in the world.

The Hanbury Manor golf course was first designed by Harry Vardon, now the new 18 hole PGA course has been home to many PGA tour tournaments and was designed by Jack Nicklaus II.