Overview

Close to the picturesque town of Henley in Arden, and within walking distance of Lapworth, stands the country house hotel of Huthurst, in over 7 acres of woodland, and boasts having its own Heliport, and in our eyes, well worth the 5 star reviews we offer, and encourage you to read all three parts which will give you a full flavour of this historical small but delightful Hotel. The name NutHurst means “nut wood” and this ancient area is one of the earliest Warwickshire named places. In 709 the Anglo Saxon King of Mercia, Coenred, gave the woodland to Worcester Cathedral, then in 872 the Bishop gave NutHurst to a servant of the king. It was later formed into part of the parish of Hampton in Arden, then under the care of the De Mowbray family. During 1272, the Trussell family moved in, and the family line remained here until 1640 when the manor was sold. In 1750 it became part of the manor of Knowle, and during 1767 a road was built, “The old Warwick road” which made travelling easier, and in 1800 the canal reached Hockney Heath, not far from NutHurst, and was then followed by the railway line, and all this attracted the attention of businessmen who then improved or built new houses throughout the area. A Mr William Dugard of Lapworth, built a small house in NutHurst in 1882, and an ordnance survey map of 1886 shows this house as NutHurst lodge, but by 1896 it became known as Nurhurst Grange. A number of tenants then moved in over the years, until 1904, when Mr Dugard sold the Grange to Mr Harry Gilman who moved in until his death in 1934. It was then sold to Mr C.J.Newey, who sadly died in 1938, then the house was bought by Mr Walter F.Higgs, who was the MP for West Birmingham, and in 1948he became the president of the Birmingham chamber of trade. Mr Higgs finally sold his home in the early part of 1960,to Mr and Mrs Rex Hardy, but because of the threat of the route for a new M40 motorway, moved into a smaller house. It then became a small country house hotel, under the care of the Randolph family, who enlarged the front facade, and added the dining room, and conference rooms, with bedrooms above. In 2006 Mr Paul Hopwood took over the hotel, and he upgraded many of the bedrooms, and the old stable block was then refurbished and may now be used as a delightful function room for weddings or other special occasions. May we encourage you to go and spend a few hours here to enjoy this special little hotel, perhaps take lunch or afternoon tea in the Orangery, an evening dinner in the 2AA rosette Kingswood restaurant, a very pleasant experience, and if you need to stay overnight, the 19 bedrooms, one disabled room, will be a treat for you. So please, read our three reviews, see our 60 photos, if you approve, then click the “I like” box for us as an encouragement to us to continue writing reviews to help you all enjoy getting out and about more often, and of course we then offer our support to Euans guide as well, who are trying so hard to help all our fellow disabled friends. So let’s see what our review can offer you. Photo 1 coming off the country lanes, you arrive at the gatehouse for NutHurst Grange hotel, and you drive up a scenic drive (photo 2) and arrive at the grange (photo 3) where we took a left turn, which took us towards the entrance sign for reception (photo 4). We then drove past the gardens (photo 5) and reached the one and only disabled bay (photo 6). Having parked, a short walk past the terrace gardens (photo 7) and we reached the front door, with a big step (photo 8) but a ramp is available for you. You will be greeted at a small reception area with its lovely dark wood (photo 9) and opposite is a very nice stairwell, (photo 10) which showed us the way towards the very comfortable and cosy lounge to relax in (photo 11). This led us into the Orangery restaurant (photo 12) tastefully laid ready for lunch or afternoon tea (photo 13). A corridor led the way to toilets (photo 14) and a disabled toilet is available (photo 15 Which is a beautifully tiled small toilet (photo16) which does have a grab rail. The photo now shows that alongside the reception desk (photo 17) we could glimpse the Bar ahead, it’s a small intimate bat lounge (photo 18) with a very good selection of drinks on display (photo 19) and my husband abandoned the wheelchair to sit and enjoy a drink (or two) (photo 20). Our final thoughts What,s not to like in this small delightful hotel, which is tastefully decorated and very comfortable. But you now need to read parts two and three to get its full flavour, and if you enjoy our reviews would you be kind enough to tick “I like” button so as to help others to read the reviews as well. Thank you

Transport & Parking

It’s a lovely drive to get to NutHurst Grange hotel, the whole area is of wonderful countryside views, there is a beautiful long tree lined avenue up to the house, and a number of different parking areas, but sadly, only one disabled bay available, and that is very close to the entrance into hotel, but if you miss this spot, then it is a bit of a push for your carer to get you into house, and they will need to go and get help to have a ramp put down to help you up the steps into hotel. (See the photos in parts one and two for parking details).

Access

There are a number of steps at the reception door, and you will need someone to go inside to reception desks to ask for help in putting down a ramp for you, but they are all so helpful and it will be quickly done for you. Inside, everything you will need is on the level, on the ground floor. There is no lift for you, but if you wish to have an overnight room, please book number 1 bedroom, it’s a delight, and it’s on the ground floor, and large enough for you, although a few bits of furniture may have to be temporally moved to allow your chair to get to the bedroom door to start with. (see photo 9 on part three) The walk-in bathroom is truly lovely, with lots of room to move inside.

Toilets

It’s quite easy to get to the public disabled toilet, nicely furnished in pale colours, with pull cord and grab rail, (see photo of WC in part one) Very clean and well maintained.

Staff

You will like the attentiveness of all staff members here, a warm welcome and support at reception, helpful cleaning ladies who take pride in their work, excellent waiting support in both restaurants, the head waiter is a pleasure.

Photos