The Best Houses to Celebrate in England
Whether you’re celebrating a milestone birthday or gathering your nearest and dearest under one roof simply for the joy of it, these party-fit addresses spanning Suffolk to Cornwall are some of the best in England.
Photo by Mariell Lind Hansen
Kin House, a restored Georgian manor house, is a superb spot to host a memorable bash. Depending on how scalable your plans are, there’s the option of hiring the adjoining Garden House, which can accommodate up to 200 guests for a drink’s reception or 100 for a seated meal. Planning something more intimate? The main house comprises 12 luxurious bedrooms and boasts a dedicated dressing room for primping and preening as well as a speakeasy-style barber shop. Interiors, dreamt up by the British design studio Barlow & Barlow, are whimsical, combining endless colour combinations and pretty patterns. Downstairs, three smart, design-led lounge spaces, including The Hearth Room, The Study, and Fitz Bar, provide ample space to entertain your guests.
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In the village of Kingham, Fowler’s House is an ideal country pad for celebrating life’s high notes. Sleeping up to 12 (bedrooms are suitably restful, as per Daylesford’s classic style code), this countryside abode comes with a farmhouse kitchen, two living rooms, and a large garden terrace that seems made for sundowners on a long summer’s eve. Conveniently situated opposite The Wild Rabbit, a pub with rooms also by Daylesford make hosting life even easier with a lunch or supper at The Chicken Shed, the pub’s private dining room.
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On the Cornish coast, Atlanta Trevone is a collection of five self-catering holiday houses. Rent the entirety of Atlanta Trevone, and you can invite along 29 of your closest chums. Add on the Net Loft, and you can stretch your guest list to 33. If planning for something more intimate, the largest of this quintet, Atlanta House, sleeps 10. Interiors nod to the Hamptons but with a slightly rustic edge, and the spacious layout, which includes an open-plan kitchen, creates a sense of airiness. A private courtyard just off the kitchen area is perfect for summertime banqueting. On days when you’d rather dine out, Rick Stein’s Seafood Bar is in easy reach. Chefs can also be arranged to cook up a storm on site.
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Rental company Kip Hideaways presides over some real gems, including this 500-acre Dorset estate. Formerly a converted 17th-century stables, today this 16-guest property blends its equestrian links with more contemporary touches—think jazzy prints and jewel-toned paint choices. The eight bedrooms are fitted with king-sized beds and deep bathtubs, while the lounge boasts a winning combination of deep-seated sofas, a bar, and a billiards table. An impressive dining room that seats 30 is this bucolic bolthole’s jewel in the crown. On sunnier days, the front lawn is ripe for gatherings, best enjoyed around the fire pit, tipple in hand.
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The Farmhouse at Wilderness Reserve, Suffolk
Gather a dozen of your friends and make tracks for The Farmhouse at Wilderness Reserve. Inside the raspberry-hued “Suffolk limecrete walls” of this exclusive-use property are beamed ceilings and atmospheric fireplaces; the space is imbued with a sense of coziness. An impressive outdoor dining area plus a Jacuzzi on the south-facing terrace set the scene for memorable al fresco evenings. In the morning, clear heads by hopping on complimentary Pashley bicycles and explore the Wilderness Reserve’s verdant surroundings before returning to base for further fun.
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Choose from a selection of 15 colourful two-, three-, and four-bedroom beach houses and four beach shacks in Saint Ives Bay, which can accommodate up to 130 guests in all, for a coastal celebration. Three Mile Beach’s self-catering accommodations’ open-plan ground floors and dedicated patio areas fitted with cedar hot tubs, barrel saunas, and barbecues are selling points for groups of all sizes. Rent Ooni pizza ovens or arrange a private chef for mealtimes to make hosting life simpler, and for added fun (and memory-making), book a group surf lesson while you’re here. With the Atlantic on your doorstep, how could you resist?
