ACCOMMODATION. t: e:

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1 ACCOMMODATION Index 1. General Information (page 2) (Payment, children in rooms, facilities and safety information) 2. Bridal Suite (page 3) 3. Parrot Room & Stable Room (page 4) 4. Dovecote & Tack Room (page 5) 5. Romany Caravans Overview (page 6) 6. Romany Bowtop (page 7) 7. Irish Bowtop (page 8) 8. Showmans Wagon (page 9) 9. C Summers Private Carriage (page 10) 10. Ploughmans Wagon (page 11) 11. Camping & Local B&B s (page 12) We have five bedrooms at South Farm, including the Bridal Suite, and five restored Romany and Showman s Wagons. All of the bedrooms are en-suite and have flat screen TVs with freeview. We allow the Bride & Groom to allocate the rooms to guests themselves and therefore we cannot take bookings from guests directly. Please contact your Bride and Groom if you are interested in staying on site. We guarantee that hire of South Farm is exclusive and therefore all accommodation will be available for each booking. There is no obligation to fill all rooms and only rooms occupied will be charged for. Page 1

2 - Payment We currently invoice all weekend B&B guests in advance when visiting, and ask them to pay us by cheque, BACS or by card over the phone. For all guests staying in the week it is possible to pay on check-in. In order to enable us to invoice your guests in an orderly way, please let us have their names and addresses (including if possible) when you make your 4 week payments to us. Any later bookings can be notified to us by as soon as you have them. Please advise your guests that we do make a charge to cover our credit card fees of 1.5% if they prefer to pay by card rather than send us a cheque. - Children & Additional Guests Accompanied children may stay in the Stables Room, The Dovecote, The Tack Room, The Parrot Room and The Bridal Suite. Other adults may also stay providing the other rooms are fully booked. At our discretion if all the rooms are not booked we may exclude the Parrot Room for our own privacy. - Facilities All rooms are en-suite and have tea & coffee making facilities and flat screen cable TVs and include a full English breakfast in the morning. - Safety For security reasons and with so many people on the premises on wedding days, we have two safety measures. Firstly only residents are allowed into the guest bedrooms. Secondly we lock the front door and garden doors of the main house after the reception. Guests staying in the Parrot Room in the main house may then enter and leave as they wish by the door to the courtyard or the front door of the house. NB: Check in time for all rooms is from midday and check out time is 10.30AM. Page 2

3 Bridal Suite The Bridal Suite is in the main house and is on two levels. It has a dressing area downstairs with a large full length mirror, dressing table and kitchenette with integral fridge. The en-suite bathroom comprises of a bath and separate shower with under floor heating and heated towel rail. Upstairs there is a sitting area with flat screen TV and a large window with a lovely view of the gardens at one end, and a bedroom area at the other. This is offered complimentary to all Bride & Grooms who book their wedding with South Farm. Page 3

4 The Parrot Room The Parrot Room in the main house has a double bed and has a classic farmhouse feel. It has an unusual en-suite bath, hidden in a cupboard that opens into the room. It is one of the better rooms for guests who wish to bring a travel cot. Clients who wish to have a group aerial photograph taken on their wedding day often ask their photographers to use this room to take the image from. 130 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast. The Stable Room The Stable Room has a double bed and a gallery with a double futon that can fit two more people. It should be noted that the stairs to the gallery are quite steep so we would advise that it is not ideal for young children under the age of 12 and care should be taken by all. It has an en-suite shower room and is ideal for families with space for a travel cot. 130 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast. (An extra 35 p/p/p/n is applicable for additional guests). Page 4

5 The Dovecote The Dovecote sleeps two comfortably plus an additional two in bunks in the adjoining room if needed. It has an en-suite shower room and is ideal for families or a group of friends. The Dovecote has a modern chic feel. Please note that the top bunk bed is only suitable for older children and able bodied adults. 130 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast. (An extra 35 p/p/p/n is applicable for additional guests). The Tack Room The Tack Room sleeps two comfortably and also has a modern chic feel. It has a large en-suite shower room, and out of all our rooms is the most disabled friendly, we can set a ramp up into the room for access. It also fits a travel cot. 130 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast. Page 5

6 Romany Caravans Romany caravans are all double occupancy, although the sizes vary from smaller than standard to slightly larger than standard. They all include tea and coffee making facilities, heating, lighting and one power socket. The caravans have towels and bath robes and are a short distance from the purpose built shower and lavatory unit which have toiletries and hair dryers. The shower block has a numerical lock which guests will be given upon check in. Children cannot stay in the caravans without an adult and travel cots are not permitted. Page 6

7 Romany Bowtop A fine example of a traditional English Romany Bowtop Caravan. Compact yet charming, traditionally home to a whole family so just about suitable for two in comfort!! Bed size 6ft 6 by 4ft 3. The Romany Caravan is a traditional English Bowtop Caravan. The exact age of the caravan is unknown however we believe it to be approximately 60 years old. Traditionally this Wagon would have been home to an entire family. Usually the parents and youngest would sleep inside whilst the elder children would have slept under the wagon on a tarpaulin or in a trolley that would have been pulled behind! This Wagon was restored at South Farm & the traditional decoration was completed by John aged 74, a traditional Romany whose working life has been spent decorating & preserving Romany Wagons, he still lives in one with his wife in Biggleswade. 85 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast. NB: The Romany Caravan is very cosy and may not be suitable for guests over 6ft tall! Page 7

8 Irish Bowtop For Bowtops this is a very comfortable wagon. It could however be considered the joker in the pack as it is the only wagon not built and used by traditional Showman or Romany families. Named the Irish Bowtop as these wagons were built in the 1950 s in Ireland specifically for the tourist trade. We have fully renovated this wagon hence it is fully insulated and is lovely and warm in winter. Bed size 6ft 6 by 4ft. The Irish Bowtop has been fully restored at South Farm. We bought the wagon in the winter of 2006 and spent a year restoring it from the spring of This type of wagon was built for the tourist trade in Ireland in the 50 s and 60 s. Sadly we do not know the history of this particular wagon prior to buying it, only that is was in a very sorry state when we came across it! The chassis, wheels and ribs are original but all of the internal finishes, furniture and outside paint work are new. The Wagon was restored at South Farm, the traditional decoration was completed by John aged 74, a traditional Romany whose working life has been spent decorating & preserving Romany Wagons, he still lives in one with his wife in Biggleswade. 85 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast. NB: The Irish Bowtop is very cosy and may not be suitable for guests over 6ft tall! Page 8

9 Showman s Wagon A fantastic example of a traditional Burton style showman s wagon dating back to More spacious than the traditional Bowtops, this wagon has a double bed. Bed Size - 4ft6 by 6ft. The Showman s Wagon has been fully restored here at South Farm. We only know a small amount of the history of the Wagon. We purchased it in winter 2006 and then spent a year restoring it. The wagon has a name plate that reads Bartlett The Bartlett s were a well known fairground family renowned for their Merry-Go-Rounds. Note the letter box- each season they followed a traditional route to fairgrounds and gatherings throughout the Southern Counties. Originally we believed this to be the date the wagon was built however whilst restoring it we discovered that it was actually built in 1877! Despite its great age most of the wagon is original. These types of wagons were generally owned by circus or other travelling showman and were pulled by a single horse. Later they were pulled backwards by steam engines which also powered the fairground attractions. The Wagon was restored at South Farm, the traditional decoration was completed by John aged 74, a traditional Romany whose working life has been spent decorating & preserving Romany Wagons, who still lives in one with his wife in Biggleswade. 85 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast Page 9

10 C Summers Private Carriage Built in the 1920 s, this is an exceptional period piece with all original fittings and decorations, including finely etched windows and mirrors, original fireplace tiling, French polished cupboards and storage, cut glass knobs and handles and a remarkable collection of contemporary oil painting and ceiling stencils which we were able to restore. For many years C. Summer s Private Carriage stood near Elstree Studios, at a location used for the carry on series, and was frequented by Sid James and Barbara Windsor amongst other well-known celebrities of the day. We had a letter from Charles family a few years ago giving us some history about the Carriage. Charles Summers was born in 1878 and married Hannah they had no children. There is a picture of Charles depicting him with his nephew (Hannah s sister s child) who they brought up. Charles was a showman and had a round stall and worked a game called wheel-em-in with big old pennies. Charles suffered with his legs he would sit in a swivel chair and had a rake to reach the pennies. Customers would put the penny in the shoot and it rolled down onto a square and they might win a soft toy or a chocolate bar. Hannah was very clean and fussy about how the wagon looked, she kept it spotless. Outside would have been painted a dark colour (probably maroon). The fire surround is the same to this day although the partition around the bed has gone. These are the third set of wheels on the wagon, to start with they would have been wooden, then pumped up tyres with a belly box which means a cupboard next to the wheels, there would have been a back box as well. Charles and Hannah are both buried at the Rosary Cemetery in Norwich. Bed size Standard Double 95 p/night based on 2 people sharing including breakfast Page 10

11 Ploughman s Wagon The Ploughman s Wagon is a different style to the rest of the fleet with a more agricultural heritage. The wagon was originally built to be pulled behind a steam engine to house the operator whilst the steam engine went on the road to drive thrashing machines and pull ploughs across the fields. One of the appeals was to compliment the old Paxman steam engine that sits in front of the farm house at South Farm. The wagon was purchased over two years ago from a local farming family based in nearby Whaddon. The previous owner thought it had been built by his grandfather on a much older dray chassis shortly after WW1. He said it was rumoured to have been constructed using the remains of WW1 aircrafts from the local airfield in Whaddon. The wagon had seen better days by the time we got to work on it. The outer cladding, roof, ceiling, doors and windows were too damaged to save however the chassis, frame and internal boards were all sound. Once the outer cladding had been stripped it was immediately clear the WW1 aircraft rumour was true! Wing shaped timbers, scalloped for weight reduction could be seen, held together with the tensioning wires that had once held together the wings of a biplane! The entire wagon was thoroughly insulated, wired, re-clad and re-roofed. New beams were shaped using timber from local ancient oak to support the roof, new oak windows and doors fitted and new internal furniture built. The internal boards were painstakingly stripped of a multitude of paint layers to reveal the lovely aged boards that lay beneath. The wagon was then painted, soft furnishings and finishing touches completed and the electrics installed. We are delighted with the outcome and confident that all who stay in this historic wagon will enjoy it. The old has been stylishly brought into the modern era and given a new lease of life and the wagon now boasts a comfortable full size double bed, electric lighting and heating. Bed size Standard Double 95 p/night based on 2 people sharing - including breakfast. Page 11

12 Camping Campers can arrive from 12.00noon on the day of the wedding and are asked to depart by 10.30am the following morning. The charge for camping is 5.00 per person, per person if they would like to stay and have a Bacon Buttie & Cup of Tea taken out to them the following morning. Depending on total breakfast numbers campers may be able to join the Bride & Groom for a full breakfast the following morning. This is booked through the Bride & Groom directly. Campers should use the shower and toilet facilities located through the first door in the block near the car park. Local B&Bs We have built up a good group of first class local B&B accommodation, details of which can be found on our website in the suppliers section. Some of these are able to pick up guests at the end of the day by prior arrangement. It is also worth considering a minibus to do a drop off circuit, please see Coaches & Minibuses in our suppliers section. Page 12