Full of Easton promise
You don’t need to be a sleuth to track down a bit of luxury as David Prentice discovered at Ston Easton Park
THERE’ S something alittle bit Agatha Christie about Ston Easton Park.
It boasts country house opulence, old English style, has drawing rooms where dinner guests sip aperitifs from a drinks trolley – and is surrounded by villages with names like Chewton Medip, Midsomer Norton and Stratton-on-the-Fosse.
But there is one significant difference. No-one gets murdered with hand-wrought dueling pistols, curare or tropical fish. At least not during our two-night stay, there weren’t. In fact make that two differences. Because there’s nothing the least bit stuffy or stiff upper lip about Ston Easton either.
From the cheer y introduction at the reception desk to the friendly hotel staff throughout and the hotel dog, Oscar, Ston Easton offers a very warm welcome.
Oscar is a characterful cocker spaniel who offers a tail-wagging welcome every time you step over the threshold and is happy to join guests on strolls around the picturesque 36- acre- grounds, l aid out by celebrated 18 th Century landscape designer Humphrey Repton.
It’ s worth exploring, inside and out, because Ston Easton really is captivating.
A private house until the 1980s – Sunday Times editor William Rees-Mogg is a previous owner – it was converted into a hotel in 1982 and won Egon Ronay’s Hotel of the Year award in its opening year.
Ownership has changed hands several times since then, but it is now in private ownership – and is flourishing.
From the moment you drive – slowly – down the long, winding driveway to approach a seriously impressive Palladian pile, it’s almost as if the clock has been turned back to a more genteel time.
Pedimented door ways, marble fireplaces, elaborate cornicing, old oil paintings, fine porcelain and antiques fill the elegant public rooms, while the library boasts original mahogany bookcases.
The furnishings are both beautiful and fascinating – my favourite curio was an ostrich egg, hand painted with a map of Africa – while the books in the library are genuinely antique.
That’s all Downstairs. Upstairs, Ston Easton boasts 23 immensely characterful bedrooms – 20 in the main building, three in a cottage by the river.
Ours was at the rear of the house, overlooking the rolling meadows and the River Norr which meanders through the grounds.
It was traditional in feel, roomy, with an old-fashioned and equally roomy en-suite bathroom – and was both comfortable and charming. Despite its traditional feel there were the usual modern ‘necessities’ – TV and tea and coffee making facilities, sitting side by side with period furnishings.
If you wander from the Upstairs, Downstairs, to the areas previously only frequented by serving staff, there are other riches to observe.
There’s a perfectly preserved Edwardian kitchen, which is occasionally booked for wedding breakfasts, and a billiards room.
Then there’s the dining, for which Ston Easton is quite rightly celebrated locally.
Head chef Martin Baker creates daily dishes using ingredients grown in the hotel’ s Victorian kitchen garden by dedicated gardeners Steve and Dale – and the dishes are usually dictated by the ingredients available.
We opted for the à la carte rather than the five-course tasting dinner and were delighted.
I went for pork belly and pig cheek with buttered spring greens and apple and pancetta mash, my wife chose roast turbot with saffron, grape and chive sabayon and buttered tarragon tagliatelle and pak choi. Both were as good as they sound, which is hardly surprising with the Sorrel Restaurant, which is also open to the public, quite deservedly regarded as amongst Somerset’s finest.
We ate out on our second evening, largely because Ston Easton is beautifully situated for exploring.
Nestling in the heart of Somerset, 11 miles from Bath, it’s half an hour south of Bristol and within easy striking distance of Wells, which you may not know much about, and Glastonbury, which you will. We visited both. Out of festival season, Glastonbury is as charming and as bonkers as it is when the mega bands are in town. I would enthusiastically recommend a visit to the Comic Store in Abbey Mews with its wonderfully engaging proprietor, Paul, as well as the obvious trip up to see the Tor.
Wells may be the smallest city in England, but there’s loads to see.
The mediaeval city boasts a magnificent cathedral, a moated Bishop’s Palace and the oldest residential street in Europe, the unique Vicar’s Close.
Which brings us back to the Agatha Christie theme again.
There was no Murder at The Vicarage this time – but Ston Easton Park really is a place to die for…