Ufton Weddings

About the venue

Grade I listed Elizabethan manor and 16th-century timber-framed Tithe Barn in 16 acres at Ufton Nervet, on the Berkshire and Hampshire border. Ceremonies for 15 to 150 in three indoor and three outdoor spaces, Fosters Catering, no corkage, and all profit goes to the children's education charity based at the house.

Every Maundy Thursday the landlord of Ufton Court hands out bread and sheets to the villagers of Ufton Nervet. The custom comes from the will of Lady Marvyn, who bought the house in 1568 and was rescued by villagers after getting lost in the woods nearby. A curse is said to fall on any landlord who stops it, and none has tried. She finished enlarging the house in 1576, around a medieval manor called Ufton Pole.

Her heirs, the Perkins family, were Catholics. In 1599 Sir Francis Knollys raided the house and found priest holes and a fortune in gold plate, though the priests had gone. A secret chapel still survives in the rafters. In 1715 Francis Perkins married Arabella Fermor, the society beauty whose stolen lock of hair inspired Pope's The Rape of the Lock.

The Grade I listed house is now home to the Ufton Court Educational Trust, which runs history and outdoor learning for children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The charity receives all the profit from weddings. Couples have the 16 acres to themselves on the day. The 16th-century timber-framed Tithe Barn, its oak beams wound with ivy and fairy lights, takes ceremonies for 15 to 150 and the wedding breakfast.

There are three indoor and three outdoor ceremony spaces in all. The Archer's Hall, across the courtyard from the barn, takes 80. The Long Room in the manor holds 50, and outdoor vows can be held in the courtyard for 110 or the Sunken Garden for 150. Fosters Catering is the only caterer. Couples can bring their own drinks with no corkage, and the cash bar stays open until 11.30pm. Four woodland cabins run by the charity sleep up to 30 in return for a donation.

Grade I listed Elizabethan manor, completed 1576

16th-century timber-framed Tithe Barn

16 acres, exclusive on the day

Ceremonies for 15 to 150, indoors or out

Fosters Catering as sole caterer

No corkage; bar until 11.30pm

All profit to the on-site children's charity

Woodland cabins for guests by donation