The 500-year-old Kitley House Hotel has been named as the best place in the 海角视频 to stage an event.
The hotel, at Yealmpton near Plymouth, won the Best Venue title at the national Event Entertainment Awards – a contest that honours a range of event-related businesses including mobile discos and tribute bands.
Kitley House Hotel and Restaurant won the South West regional final in May 2019, weeks before celebrating its first anniversary of being bought back by the wealthy Bastard family.
The hotel, located less than 10 miles from Plymouth and from the southern border of Dartmoor National Park, then went forward to the national finals where it was crowned a 海角视频 champion.
The Grade I-listed hotel has been undergoing a huge and expensive refit and in 2018 was .
That award came hot on the heels of the appointment of new head chef Ben Davies and a revamped menu focused on high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients.
General manager Adam Hughes said the latest accolade had delighted staff and owners. He said: “We are really excited to have won this national trophy. Kitley House is a gem of a hotel in a stunning setting beside the Yealm estuary, and so much has been done over the last year to make it the best it can be.
“Now it’s official - we are the best Event Entertainment Venue in the 海角视频. What better way to celebrate our first year under new ownership?”
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In 2018 the Bastard family, who had retained the historic building but sold the business nearly 20 years ago, re-took control of the hotel and restaurant.
They developed a comprehensive refurbishment plan at the privately-run estate, a setting for outdoor events throughout the summer and year-round weddings, celebrations and corporate shindigs.
The country manor house nestles in 600 acres of unspoilt pasture and woodland on the banks of the River Yealm.
The building has early Tudor origins and is thought to have been constructed during the reign of Henry VII between 1457 and 1509.
Over the centuries, the building has been enriched with Regency elegance and Jacobean gentility.
What's in a name? History of the Bastard moniker
The Bastard name comes from the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 and was the Norman word for a person who was born illegitimately.
The surname was first found in Devon and all modern Bastards are thought to be the descendants of Robert Bastard, who had several manors in the county during the reign of William I.
For several generations Efford, in the parish of Egg-Buckland, was the seat of this family, historians say.
In Norman times illegitimacy was not regarded in the same way as it is now and William the Conqueror was illegitimate, and that didn't stop him taking control of his father’s duchy.
In 2011, a study of social mobility showed people with Norman surnames such as Bastard, Darcy and Mandeville are still wealthier than most other people, 1,000 years after their descendants conquered Britain and were given huge swathes of land by the victorious King William.
Other popular names of the medieval elite who were descended from Norman families include Balliol, Baskerville, Bruce, Glanville, Lacy and Venables.
The Bastard family's crest is seen in a window at Kitley House, pictured.
The hotel overlooks a trout lake and hosts a number of walks, many which leads to down to the Yealm estuary. It has been used as the setting for weddings and private celebrations.
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The Bastard family has owned the estate since the time of William the Conqueror and are still based there, converting their family home into a hotel and restaurant in 1996. Spike Bastard is now in charge of the business.
The family, who have always retained ownership of the Kitley Estate, took back control of the hotel and wedding venue business from Stan Cooney, the Ireland-based sole director of Yealmpton Hospitality Ltd, which traded as Kitley House Hotel and Restaurant.
The family initially sold off the business, but retained ownership of the hotel building, to the former general manager of Plymouth's Moat House, Andrew Huckerby, for a six-figure sum in 1999.
His firm Peninsular Hospitality Hotels Ltd went into administration in 2012 and then into liquidation, blaming a downturn in the West Country leisure and tourism industry.
The business was bought out of administration by Yealmpton Hospitality Ltd in 2012.
Presented by BookEntertainment.co.uk, the Event Entertainment Awards recognise the best in the event entertainment industry across the 海角视频.
Among other winners in 2019 were the Audio Allstars, named wedding band of the year; top tribute act Let There B/DC, which recreates the ear-pounding sound of AC/DC; and Elegant Weddings, winner of best event service hire business.
What's in a name? History of the Bastard moniker
The Bastard name comes from the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 and was the Norman word for a person who was born illegitimately.
The surname was first found in Devon and all modern Bastards are thought to be the descendants of Robert Bastard, who had several manors in the county during the reign of William I.
For several generations Efford, in the parish of Egg-Buckland, was the seat of this family, historians say.
In Norman times illegitimacy was not regarded in the same way as it is now and William the Conqueror was illegitimate, and that didn't stop him taking control of his father’s duchy.
In 2011, a study of social mobility showed people with Norman surnames such as Bastard, Darcy and Mandeville are still wealthier than most other people, 1,000 years after their descendants conquered Britain and were given huge swathes of land by the victorious King William.
Other popular names of the medieval elite who were descended from Norman families include Balliol, Baskerville, Bruce, Glanville, Lacy and Venables.
The Bastard family's crest is seen in a window at Kitley House, pictured.
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To contact William Telford: william.telford@reachplc.com