Call off the weddings!
Neighbours are ‘sickened’ by rowdy guests at exclusive venue
WITH its grand house, medieval church and formal gardens, 16th century Oxnead Hall will never be forgotten by couples who book the venue for their nuptials.
But neighbours living next to the Grade II-listed hall say the weddings are memorable for a very different reason.
They say they are angry about the noisy celebrations and intrusions by rowdy guests, some of whom have urinated in their gardens.
They are so furious at the disruption – sometimes several times a week – that they have put up signs warning ‘Brides and grooms are not welcome in Oxnead’ and ‘No more weddings. We’ve had enough’.
Among those protesting about the exclusive venue near Aylsham in Norfolk, are Susi and Roger Crane, who live nearby and own three rental properties on 500-acre Hill Farm, which surrounds the hall.
Mrs Crane declared herself ‘sickened to the core’, saying: ‘Our residents are repeatedly disturbed by loud music way into the night, even in their beds. One poor lady puts her children to bed to the sound of Michael Jackson.
‘They are unable to sit outside their homes in the summer and are often disturbed by shouting and laughing. Guests have left glasses in gardens and wandered down to the livery, which houses 26 horses.’
IT director Emma Slaughter, 40, whose lives in the area with her children Elliot, seven, and Verity, six, described being next to the hall as a ‘living hell’ and claimed the owners only paid ‘lip service’ to locals’ concerns.
‘I’ve got two young children who, six days a week, can’t get to sleep until gone midnight because their bedroom is vibrating from the sound of the music,’ she said.
Lorna Crook, 48, who manages the livery stables, has moved her bedroom from the front of her house to the back because of the racket. ‘When it was once or twice a week, you could deal with that, but it’s up to six a week,’ she said.
‘We all have to get up early for work. We have had people relieving themselves in our garden and couples come out for amorous moments in the farm outbuildings. You see people staggering around drunk.’ Other problems include large numbers of cars going to and from the venue – with their lights shining through windows late at night.
Oxnead was the seat of the Pastons, one of England’s best-known medieval families, for more than 350 years until 1732, when Sir William Paston died without an heir.
The main house was later demolished and only the hall, which had been its service wing, was left standing. It is set in 15 acres and wedding packages range between £8,650 and £15,495. Up to 140 guests can be accommodated for ceremonies and 220 for receptions. The number of weddings allowed there was limited before the pandemic. But, like many venues, restrictions were lifted after lockdown to reduce the backlog that had built up.
Locals used to be on good terms with the hall’s owners, David and Beverley Aspinall, who decided to host weddings to support the upkeep of their ‘forever home’.
Mrs Aspinall, a former managing director at luxury grocer Fortnum & Mason in London, said they had invested in soundproofing, a stateof-the-art sound system that limits noise from wedding bands, security guards and a fence to stop guests wandering off- site. She added: ‘I feel sorry for those poor couples that have been through so much that [they] have chosen this way of making their feelings known, rather than coming to us and working collaboratively. It has been very difficult and stressful for us.’
A Broadland District Council spokesman said: ‘The development was considered to be acceptable when planning permission was granted, subject to conditions. The council is investigating a complaint regarding breach of the noise condition of the site.’